Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The changing albedo of the Greenland ice sheet: implications for climate modeling

Although the snow albedo feedback mechanism has been shown to amplify global warming effects in nearly all models of global climate, it continues to be represented as a simplistic parameterization. Here, we demonstrate how changes in snow-pack energy-balance drive the seasonal fluctuations in snow albedo for the Greenland ice sheet. For a detailed, point-based investigation of the relationship between snowpack energy balance and albedo, two models are coupled together; one that calculates snow grain-size and the other that uses those grain-size data as input to a radiative-transfer code to obtain spectral albedo. These data indicate that in the near-infrared wavelengths, albedo values drop nearly 20%, during a 10 day period during which grain-sizes increased dramatically. Satellite data were used to map monthly changes in albedo over the entire Greenland ice sheet during the spring and summer months. These monthly albedo images indicate albedo reductions of as much as 80% in coastal regions. Even in areas that experience little or no melt, albedo decreases of 10–20% were common. From these results, it is clear that snow albedo parameterizations for climate models must incorporate the dynamics of snowpack energy balance.
Distinctiveness effect due to contextual information in a categorization task

The main objective of our study was to confirm that the distinctiveness effect could emerge in implicit memory tasks and to show that the specificity of an item can be varied by manipulating the contextual information associated with the item during encoding. In an encoding phase and test phase, participants had to categorize target words as referring to artifactual or natural items. Each target word was associated with a context consisting of a colored frame in which the word was presented. To manipulate the distinctiveness of the contextual information, 75 % of the words were encoded with the same color (frequent context) and the remaining 25 % with a different color (rare context). We tested the context effect by presenting words in the test phase with a context of either the same color as in the encoding phase or the other color. The results confirmed our predictions and are discussed in the theoretical framework of episodic memory models.
Halloween Effect and Equity Mutual Funds in Thailand

This paper investigates one of the most famous seasonal anomalies, namely Halloween effect. It is based on the observation that return during November to April so-called winter period tend to perform better than return during May to October so-called summer period. Using a sample of 97 Thailand equity funds during 2012-2021, we extend previous research by focusing on the Halloween effect in mutual funds market. Our research consists of three main objectives. First, we investigate the existence of Halloween effect in Thailand equity mutual funds. Second, we look into different characteristics of funds by categorizing based on categories from Morningstar database. As different types of funds may have different strengths of Halloween effect, we further examine the presence of Halloween effect in 6 groups of 11 different types of characteristics includes different market capitalization, book-to-market ratio, investment style of active and passive and sectors. Then, we create trading strategies which based on the different strength of Halloween effect by investing in a funds characteristic with the highest Halloween effect during winter and a funds characteristic with no or less Halloween effect during summer months and compare with the benchmark of buy-and-hold strategy. Third, we generate modified momentum strategy, which is to long loser portfolio in winter, and long winner portfolio and short loser portfolio in summer and investigate whether it outperforms conventional momentum long-short strategy. Consistent with Kenourgios and Samios (2021), our results show that Halloween effect exists in equity mutual funds with significant positive winter months return. We provide evidence of a robust Halloween effect in every characteristic�except for growth funds. Our findings also show that size of Halloween effect varies across different characteristics of mutual funds similar to Arendas et al. (2018) and Jacobsen and Visaltanachoti (2009). Halloween effect is stronger for passive funds than active funds. One possible explanation�is fund manager who acknowledge this phenomenon create their own strategy of what to invest during each period. Kenourgios and Samios (2021) suggests that fund managers increase their equity exposure during May to October. We also show that the investment based on rotation strategy and modified momentum strategy is profitable and outperform their benchmark. The rotation strategy of investing largevalue/midsmallvalue funds and passive/active funds generate a positive and significant abnormal return.
Enriching Chest Radiography Representations: Self-Supervised Learning With a Recalibrating and Importance Scaling

Chest radiography (CXR) is a widely researched area in medical imaging processing due to its diagnostic utility in heart-related and thoracic diseases. However, the scarcity of labeled data poses challenges for fully supervised approaches. Self-supervised learning (SSL), capable of deriving meaningful representations from unlabeled data, offers a promising solution. Unfortunately, most existing self-supervised instance discrimination methods primarily focus on learning global invariant representations, whereas local spatial representations are pivotal in diagnosing diseases within the CXR domain. Moreover, due to substantial differences between natural images and CXR images, such as color distribution and texture, the performance of SSL methods with CXR data remains uncertain. To address these challenges, we propose a novel unit called the Recalibrating and Importance Scaling Layer (RS-Layer), which aims to learn adequate representation from CXR data to provide more fine-grained and discriminative features for diverse downstream tasks. The RS-Layer consists of a recalibrating module that extracts general features from compressed features and an importance scaling module that assesses the significance of each feature. By emphasizing crucial feature components based on their calculated importance and suppressing non-essential features, the RS-Layer empowers the SSL method to capture valuable information for meaningful representations explicitly. We conduct a systematic analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the RS-Layer from three key perspectives: 1) Demonstrating its generalizability and transferability across diverse downstream tasks, 2) Analyzing the feature space it produces, and 3) Conducting an extensive ablation study on the components that constitute the RS-Layer. Importantly, the RS-Layer offers the advantage of being adaptable to existing SSL instance discrimination methods.
Airway Management During Diagnostic Laparoscopic Surgery: A Comparison of I-Gel and Proseal Laryngeal Mask Airway

Background: Supraglottic airway devices (SADs) may be used during laparoscopic procedures in place of the often utilised endotracheal tube. The Proseal laryngeal mask airway (PLMA) is designed with an inflatable cuff, which provides an excellent oropharyngeal seal, and the I-gel is a newer SAD designed with a softer and noninflatable cuff and sharing similar features with PLMA. Aim and Objectives: This study compared the ease of insertion, haemodynamic and ventilatory parameters as well as morbidities associated with these SADs when used for airway management during diagnostic laparoscopic procedures. Patients and Methods: Eighty American Society of Anaesthesiologist I and II patients aged 18–60 years undergoing diagnostic laparoscopic surgery under controlled ventilation had either I-gel or PLMA used for airway management. Anaesthesia was induced with standard dose of propofol, patient received atracurium, fentanyl and the SAD inserted. Pulse oximetry, capnography, noninvasive blood pressure, oropharyngeal leak pressure (OLP), and evidence of pharyngolaryngeal morbidity were assessed. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21.0. The quantitative variables were analysed using the Student’s t test and the qualitative using the Chi-square test. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The success rates at first insertion for I-gel and PLMA were 95% and 80%, respectively (P = 0.04). The mean changes in mean arterial pressure following insertion were 9.6 mmHg (±4.7) and 10.6 mmHg (±8) for I-gel and PLMA, respectively (P = 0.02). The OLP during insufflation was higher in the PLMA (35.8 cmH2O) than in the I-gel group (27.9 cmH2O) (P = 0.57). In the I-gel group, 12.5% of the patients had oropharyngeal morbidities compared with 37.5% in the PLMA group (P = 0.009). Conclusion: Both I-gel and PLMA provide optimal ventilation during abdominal insufflation, with PLMA providing a better oropharyngeal seal, whereas I-gel has a better haemodynamic profile.
Dimensional Stability of Casts Derived from Three Types of Alginate at Different Times After Impression

Objective: To evaluate the dimensional changes in three types of alginate following three different delay times after casting. Material and Methods: In this laboratory study, a maxillary arch-shaped stainless steel model was prepared and three pins with similar and determined diameters and heights were placed (one at mid-line and two on the underside of the model) as reference points to compare the dimensional stability of the three types of alginates. A special metal tray was made from the main model. The main moldel was imprisoned by the metal tray, and these were kept for a specific time in a humid environment. Gypsum Type 4 was poured over the impression to obtain 90 gypsum casts for three types of alginate. The dimensions of casts obtained from each alginate were compared in two lateral and anterior-posterior dimensions, they were compared with each other, and the alginates were also compared to the main model. Results: At a time interval of 15 minutes, the dimensional accuracy of the casts obtained from the three types of alginates, with the main model in both anterior-posterior and transverse dimensions was not significantly different (p<0.05); but there was a significant difference at 60 minutes and 24 hours in both dimensions (p<0.05). Although there was no significant difference between the alginates in both dimensions and all three studied time periods, the least difference with the main model was related to Zhermack and the highest difference was related to Golchai alginates. Pairwise comparisons showed that none of the samples had a significant difference in terms of dimensions. Conclusion: The dimensional stability of alginate was a time-dependent type of alginate and had no significant effect on the dimensional accuracy of casts.
Impact of an online guided physical activity training on cognition and gut-brain axis interactions in older adults: protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Introduction By 2050, the worldwide percentage of people 65 years and older is assumed to have doubled compared to current numbers. Therefore, finding ways of promoting healthy (cognitive) aging is crucial. Physical activity is considered an effective approach to counteract not only physical but also cognitive decline. However, the underlying mechanisms that drive the benefits of regular physical activity on cognitive function are not fully understood. This randomized controlled trial aims to analyze the effect of an eight-week standardized physical activity training program in older humans on cognitive, brain, and gut-barrier function as well as the relationship between the resulting changes. Methods and analysis One-hundred healthy participants aged 60 to 75 years will be recruited. First, participants will undergo an extensive baseline assessment consisting of neurocognitive tests, functional and structural brain imaging, physical fitness tests, and gut-microbiome profiling. Next, participants will be randomized into either a multi-component physical activity group (experimental condition) or a relaxation group (active control condition), with each training lasting 8 weeks and including an equal number and duration of exercises. The whole intervention will be online-based, i.e., participants will find their intervention schedule and all materials needed on the study website. After the intervention phase, participants will have their post-intervention assessment, which consists of the same measures and tests as the baseline assessment. The primary outcome of this study is the change in the cognitive parameter of visual processing speed from baseline to post-measurement, which will on average take place 10 weeks after the randomization. Secondary outcomes related to cognitive, brain, and microbiome data will be analyzed exploratory. Clinical trial registration: https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00028022
TLR7 promotes chronic airway disease in RSV-infected mice

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) commonly infects the upper respiratory tract (URT) of humans, manifesting with mild cold or flu-like symptoms. However, in infants and the elderly, severe disease of the lower respiratory tract (LRT) often occurs and can develop into chronic airway disease. A better understanding of how an acute RSV infection transitions to a LRT chronic inflammatory disease is critically important to improve patient care and long-term health outcomes. To model acute and chronic phases of the disease, we infected wild-type C57BL/6 and toll-like receptor 7 knockout (TLR7 KO) mice with RSV and temporally assessed nasal, airway and lung inflammation for up to 42 days post-infection. We show that TLR7 reduced viral titers in the URT during acute infection but promoted pronounced pathogenic and chronic airway inflammation and hyperreactivity in the LRT. This study defines a hitherto unappreciated molecular mechanism of lower respiratory pathogenesis to RSV, highlighting the potential of TLR7 modulation to constrain RSV pathology to the URT.
The Clinical Validation of Modulated Electro-Hyperthermia (mEHT)

Simple Summary Modulated electro-hyperthermia (mEHT) is a heating therapy that uses synergized thermal and nonthermal effects to heat and destroy malignant cells selectively without damaging healthy cells. This article presents the clinical validation of mEHT. The therapy is dominantly applied for such advanced malignancies when the conventional oncotherapies fail to apply. Survival results of mEHT were collected and compared with other methods. The results demonstrate the superiority of the mEHT method. Abstract The mEHT method uses tissues’ thermal and bioelectromagnetic heterogeneity for the selective mechanisms. The success of the therapy for advanced, relapsed, and metastatic aggressive tumors can only be demonstrated by measuring survival time and quality of life (QoL). The complication is that mEHT-treated patients cannot be curatively treated any longer with “gold standards”, where the permanent progression of the disease, the refractory, relapsing situation, the organ failure, the worsening of blood counts, etc., block them. Collecting a cohort of these patients is frequently impossible. Only an intent-to-treat (ITT) patient group was available. Due to the above limitations, many studies have single-arm data collection. The Phase III trial of advanced cervix tumors subgrouping of HIV-negative and -positive patients showed the stable efficacy of mEHT in all patients’ subgroups. The single-arm represents lower-level evidence, which can be improved by comparing the survival data of various studies from different institutes. The Kaplan–Meier probability comparison had no significant differences, so pooled data were compared to other methods. Following this approach, we demonstrate the feasibility and superiority of mEHT in the cases of glioblastoma multiform, pancreas carcinomas, lung tumors, and colorectal tumors.
PRELIMINARY AGE CLASSIFICATION OF LANDSLIDES FOR INVENTORY MAPPING

A preliminary age classification for landslides is proposed for inventory mapping, based on morphologic criteria visible on aerial photographs. Because landslide scars and deposits are generally disequilibrium landforms, they progress through observable morphologic stages as they age. Four age classes are distinguished: 1) active; 2) inactive-young; 3) inactive-mature; 4) inactiveold. Each age class reflects the age of latest movement only. The morphologic IIfreshness" of each part of the landslide must be evaluated, including: the head scarp, lateral scarps, marginal drainage, internal scarps and blocks, internal drainage pattern, vegetation type and density, and toe morphology. Morphologic parameters defined from air photos are similar to the morphologic relative-dating (RD) parameters used for glacial deposits, which are also bouldery disequilibrium landforms (Burke and Birkeland, 1979). In addition, cross-cutting relationships between the landslide and other landforms are used for age estimation. The proposed classification has limitations caused by both internal and external factors: 1) Aerial photographs have limited resolution in identifying such small features as tilted ("jackstrawed") trees; 2) Morphologic differences exist among landslide types, which can cause two slides of different~ to appear similar, even if of different age; 3) Landslides on surfaces of different aspect or slope are modified at different rates by different dominant slope processes; and 4) It is commonly difficult to obtain absolute ages with which to "calibrate" the age classification.
Jumping Mechanography: Reference Centiles in Childhood and Introduction of the Nerve–Muscle Index to Quantify Motor Efficiency

Jumping mechanography provides robust motor function indicators among children. The study aim was to develop centiles for the single 2-leg jump (S2LJ) in German children and adolescents and to identify differences in children with obesity. Data were collected in 2004–2021 through the German DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) study. All participants (6–18 years, mean age 11.4) performed annually an S2LJ aiming for maximum height on a Ground Reaction Force Platform. LMS (lambda-mu-sigma), including resampling, was used to develop centiles for velocity (vmax), jump height (hmax), relative force (Fmax/BW), relative power (Pmax/mass), impulse asymmetry and a new parameter to describe jump efficiency, the Nerve–Muscle Index (NMI), defined as vmax/(Fmax/BW). Data from 882 children and adolescents were analyzed (3062 measurements, median 3 per individual). In females, Fmax/BW values were higher in younger age but remained constant in adolescence. vmax, hmax and Pmax/mass increased in childhood, reaching a plateau in adolescence. In males, vmax, hmax and Pmax/mass showed a constant increase and the Fmax/BW remained lower. Children with obesity showed lower Fmax/BW, hmax, vmax and the NMI, hence, lower velocity per relative force unit and less efficient jump. The centiles should be used to monitor motor development in childhood. The NMI is a surrogate for motor efficiency.
Cross-Domain Sample Relationship Learning for Facial Expression Recognition

Cross-domain facial expression recognition is confronted by the problem of the large distribution discrepancy and samples inconsistencies between the source domain and target domain. To solve this problem, we propose a cross-domain sample relationship learning (CSRL) method that explores useful intrinsic sample relationships of two domains to narrow the domain discrepancy. Specifically, during the training stage, we first design inter-domain sample transformers to explore the sample similarity relationships between the source and target domains, and then deploy intra-domain sample transformers to capture the internal similar structure of the samples in each domain. Thus dual sample relationships can be learned to align the cross-domain similar samples and preserve the domain-specific information, which can facilitate both the inter-domain invariant features and intra-domain invariant features learning. Subsequently, we design a joint alignment strategy by simultaneously deploying the feature distribution alignment and cross-domain sample relationship learning. Thus, both local similar samples and global domain distribution of two domains can be well aligned to enhance the generalization ability of the model. Experimental results on several benchmark databases show the superiority of CSRL over some state-of-the-art methods.
Emergence of Marburg virus: a global perspective on fatal outbreaks and clinical challenges

The Marburg virus (MV), identified in 1967, has caused deadly outbreaks worldwide, the mortality rate of Marburg virus disease (MVD) varies depending on the outbreak and virus strain, but the average case fatality rate is around 50%. However, case fatality rates have varied from 24 to 88% in past outbreaks depending on virus strain and case management. Designated a priority pathogen by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), MV induces hemorrhagic fever, organ failure, and coagulation issues in both humans and non-human primates. This review presents an extensive exploration of MVD outbreak evolution, virus structure, and genome, as well as the sources and transmission routes of MV, including human-to-human spread and involvement of natural hosts such as the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) and other Chiroptera species. The disease progression involves early viral replication impacting immune cells like monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells, followed by damage to the spleen, liver, and secondary lymphoid organs. Subsequent spread occurs to hepatocytes, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and epithelial cells. MV can evade host immune response by inhibiting interferon type I (IFN-1) synthesis. This comprehensive investigation aims to enhance understanding of pathophysiology, cellular tropism, and injury sites in the host, aiding insights into MVD causes. Clinical data and treatments are discussed, albeit current methods to halt MVD outbreaks remain elusive. By elucidating MV infection’s history and mechanisms, this review seeks to advance MV disease treatment, drug development, and vaccine creation. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers MV a high-concern filovirus causing severe and fatal hemorrhagic fever, with a death rate ranging from 24 to 88%. The virus often spreads through contact with infected individuals, originating from animals. Visitors to bat habitats like caves or mines face higher risk. We tailored this search strategy for four databases: Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed. we primarily utilized search terms such as “Marburg virus,” “Epidemiology,” “Vaccine,” “Outbreak,” and “Transmission. ” To enhance comprehension of the virus and associated disease, this summary offers a comprehensive overview of MV outbreaks, pathophysiology, and management strategies. Continued research and learning hold promise for preventing and controlling future MVD outbreaks. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT