Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of the tilt angle on the bow shock shape and location

[1] The bow shock is created in front of an obstacle immersed into a supersonic flow and its location depends on the size and shape of the obstacle. It was found that the obstacle (magnetopause) is scaled with the solar wind dynamic pressure and changes its dimensions and shape with the dipole tilt angle and interplanetary magnetic field orientation. Similar functional dependencies would be expected for the bow shock position, however, none of the bow shock models considers the parametrization of bow shock properties with the tilt angle. The present study employs a set of bow shock crossings registered during 1994–2002 by different spacecraft and demonstrates the tilt angle influence on the bow shock location. The study is based on a comparison of a recent bow shock model with observations and shows that the night–side bow shock moves in the direction of the positive ZGSM axis for positive tilt angles. The magnitude of the displacement can reach ≈3 RE. The analysis reveals that the high–latitude bow shock surface is significantly distorted near the dawn–dusk meridian. This effect was identified as a counterpart of the magnetopause indentation in the cusp region.
Spatial analysis of nanoparticle distribution in human breast xenografts reveals nanoparticles targeted to cancer cells localized with tumor-associated stromal cells

The biological influence of physicochemical parameters of “targeted” nanoparticles on their delivery to cancer tumors remains poorly understood. A comparative analysis of nanoparticle distributions in tumors following systemic delivery across several models can provide valuable insights. Methods: Bionized nanoferrite nanoparticles (iron oxide core coated with starch), either conjugated with a targeted anti-HER2 antibody (BH), or unconjugated (BP), were intravenously injected into athymic nude or NOD-scid gamma (NSG) female mice bearing one of five human breast cancer tumor xenografts growing in a mammary fat pad. Tumors were harvested 24 hours after nanoparticle injection, fixed, mounted, and stained. We performed detailed histopathology analysis by comparing spatial distributions of nanoparticles (Prussian blue) with various stromal cells (CD31, SMA, F4/80, CD11c, etc.) and the target antigen-expressing (HER2) tumor cells. Results: Only BH nanoparticles were retained in tumors and generally concentrated in the tumor periphery, with nanoparticle content diminishing towards the tumor interior. Nanoparticle distribution correlated strongly with specific stromal cells within each tumor type, which varied among tumor types and between mouse strains. Weak or no correlation between nanoparticle distribution and HER2 positive cells, or CD31 cells was observed. Conclusion: Antibody-labeled nanoparticles were retained across all tumors, irrespective of presence of the “target” antigen. Though presence of antibody on nanoparticles correlated with retention, non-cancerous host stromal cells were responsible for their retention in the tumor microenvironment. This study highlights gaps in our understanding of the complex biological interplay between disease and host immune biology, and the need to account for the influence of underlying aberrant tumor biology as factors determining nanoparticle fate in vivo.
On the thermohaline circulation in flat bottom marginal seas

The thermohaline circulation in an idealized marginal sea is studied using both numerical and analytical models. The circulation is forced by repeating an annual cycle of cooling in the interior of the marginal sea for 2 months and turning off the surface forcing for 10 months. The marginal sea is connected to an open ocean through a narrow strait, thus providing a means to equilibrate the cooling within the marginal sea by exchange with the open ocean. The resulting upper ocean circulation consists of a warm boundary current that flows into the marginal sea through the strait that is gradually eroded as it circulates cyclonically around the marginal sea. The interior of the marginal sea is relatively cold and has a closed cyclonic circulation. The mean downwelling is concentrated within a narrow boundary layer that for a Laplacian parameterization of subgridscale mixing of density and momentum, has a width of L d σ 1/2 and an along-boundary decay scale of L d σ 3/2 D -1 , where L d is the internal deformation radius, σ is the horizontal Prandtl number, and E is a horizontal Ekman number. The net downwelling outside of this boundary layer is very small at all times. The heat balance near the boundary is between vertical advection and horizontal diffusion at scales smaller than the mesoscale. In the interior, cooling by surface forcing and vertical convection is balanced by horizontal eddy fluxes. For some configurations, these eddy fluxes are characterized by very low frequency oscillations (periods of 1-10 years) in the gyre-scale circulation. One of the main results of this study is that the downwelling in the marginal sea is concentrated near the boundaries and depends on details of the mixing of momentum and density on scales smaller than the mesoscale. The basin-scale stratification and circulation also depend on how momentum and density mix within this boundary layer. This suggests that, in addition to resolving the mesoscale eddy field, improved parameterizations of submesoscale mixing are needed to properly represent the circulation in marginal seas and the downwelling limb of the thermohaline circulation.
A Perspective on Using Organic Molecules Composing Carbon Dots for Cancer Treatment

Fluorescent Carbon dots (CDs) derived from biologically active sources have shown enhanced activities compared to their precursors. With their prominent potentiality, these small-sized (<10nm) nanomaterials could be easily synthesized from organic sources either by bottom-up or green approach. Their sources could influence the functional groups present on the CDs surfaces. A crude source of organic molecules has been used to develop fluorescent CDs. In addition, pure organic molecules were also valuable in developing practical CDs. Physiologically responsive interaction of CDs with various cellular receptors is possible due to the robust functionalization on their surface. In this review, we studied various literatures from the past ten years that reported the potential application of carbon dots as alternatives in cancer chemotherapy. The selective cytotoxic nature of some of the CDs towards cancer cell lines suggests the role of surface functional groups towards selective interaction, which results in over-expressed proteins characteristic of cancer cell lines. It could be inferred that cheaply sourced CDs could selectively bind to overexpressed proteins in cancer cells with the ultimate effect of cell death induced by apoptosis. In most cases, CDs-induced apoptosis directly or indirectly follows the mitochondrial pathway. Therefore, these nanosized CDs could serve as alternatives to the current kinds of cancer treatments that are expensive and have numerous side effects.
Curcumin Nanofiber PCL/PLGA/Collagen Enhanced the Therapeutic Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cells against Liver Fibrosis in Animal Model and Prevented its Recurrence

The aim of this study is preconditioning of hBM-MSCs using curcumin modified nanomembrane to optimize therapy of hepatic fibrosis and preventing its recurrence. Methods: The nanomembrane was prepared by electrospinning technique and characterized using conventional method (cur- nanoscaffold and cur+ nanoscaffold). Kinetic release of curcumin was also measured by spectrophotometry. MSCs were isolated from human bone marrow (hBM-MSCs) and cultured on the both nanoscaffolds. We evaluated the in-vivo effect of hBM-MSCs from both nanoscaffold cultures (cur- nanoscaffold/hMSCs and cur+ nanoscaffold/MSCs) on liver fibrosis from its effective and preventive points and we assessed the mechanisms of these effects as in vitro studies as cell proliferation, its effect on hepatogenic differentiation, its effect on paracrine release of hBM-MSCs and in-vivo studying the effect on cell migration, survival, engraftment, fate of transplanted cells, modifying the fibrogenic and inflammatory microenvironments. Results: The results of animal model showed that single injection of preconditioning of hBM-MSCs using curcumin modified nanoscaffold ameliorate the fibrosis and prevent its recurrence until 24 weeks of therapy in contrast to improvement but not ameliorative effect of hBM-MSCs/ curcumin negative nanoscaffold which recurred progressively after 12 weeks of therapy. These effects of curcumin modified nanoscaffold were results from its highly efficacy on cell proliferation, in-vitro and in-vivo hepatogenic differentiation, increasing cell migration, engraftment and survival in the inflammatory microenvironment which was markedly improved by down regulation of inflammatory mediators and upregulation of anti-oxidant factors. Conclusion: hBM-MSCs cultured on the prepared curcumin nanomembrane in this study is promising in regenerative therapy for ameliorating the hepatic fibrosis and to prevent its recurrence.
The geochronology of the igneous rocks of Eastern Queensland

Abstract Isotopic dating of igneous rocks in eastern Queensland south of Bowen has indicated phases of granite emplacement in the Devonian (360 m.y.), Carboniferous (310 and 285 m.y.), Permian (265, 245 and 235 m.y.), Triassic (220 m.y.) and Cretaceous (125 and 110 m.y.). This activity moved generally eastwards with time. The combination of Rb‐Sr and K‐Ar dating has produced a better understanding of the geological history in the complex area of the Connors Arch than would have resulted from the use of either method alone. Also, it was found that, contrary to predictions that the argon retentivity of hornblende is greater than that of biotite during metamorphism, the two minerals had a similar degree of retentivity under burial metamorphism. The relationship between granite intrusion and tectonic phases is examined. The emplacement of Carboniferous granites in the Connors and western Auburn Arches was synchronous with the Kanimbla Movement, while episodes of igneous intrusion in the Late Permian, from Mar.
Post-stroke outcomes predicted from multivariate lesion-behaviour and lesion network mapping.

Clinicians and scientists alike have long sought to predict the course and severity of chronic post-stroke cognitive and motor outcomes, as the ability to do so would inform treatment and rehabilitation strategies. However, it remains difficult to make accurate predictions about chronic post-stroke outcomes due, in large part, to high inter-individual variability in recovery and a reliance on clinical heuristics rather than empirical methods. The neuroanatomical location of a stroke is a key variable associated with long-term outcomes, and because lesion location can be derived from routinely collected clinical neuroimaging data there is an opportunity to use this information to make empirically based predictions about post-stroke deficits. For example, lesion location can be compared to statistically weighted multivariate lesion-behavior maps (LBMs) of neuroanatomical regions that, when damaged, are associated with specific deficits based on aggregated outcome data from large cohorts. Here, our goal was to evaluate whether we can leverage LBMs based on data from two large cohorts of individuals with focal brain lesions to make predictions of 12-month cognitive and motor outcomes in an independent sample of stroke patients. Further, we evaluated whether we could augment these predictions by estimating the structural and functional networks disrupted in association with each LBM through the use of structural and functional lesion network mapping (sLNM & fLNM, respectively), which use normative structural and functional connectivity data from neurologically healthy individuals to elucidate lesion-associated networks. We derived these brain network maps using the anatomical regions with the strongest association with impairment for each cognitive and motor outcome based on LBM results. These peak regional findings became the 'seeds' to generate networks, an approach that offers potentially greater precision compared to previously used single-lesion approaches. Next, in an independent sample, we quantified the overlap of each lesion location with the LBM, sLNM, and fLNM and evaluated how much variance each could explain in 12-month behavioral outcomes using a latent growth curve statistical model. We found that each lesion-deficit mapping modality was able to predict a statistically significant amount of variance in cognitive and motor outcomes. Both fLNM and sLNM were able to predict variance in 12-month outcomes beyond LBM. fLNM performed best for the prediction of language deficits, and sLNM performed best for the prediction of motor deficits. Altogether, these results support the notion that lesion location and lesion network mapping can be combined to improve the prediction of post-stroke deficits at 12-months.
Spatial scales of climate response to inhomogeneous radiative forcing

[1] The distances over which localized radiative forcing influences surface temperature have not been well characterized. We present a general methodology to analyze the spatial scales of the forcing/response relationship and apply it to simulations of historical aerosol forcing and response in four climate models. We find that the surface temperature response is not strongly sensitive to the longitude of forcing but is fairly sensitive to latitude. Surface temperature responses in the Arctic and the Southern Hemisphere extratropics, where forcing was small, show little relationship to local forcing. Restricting the analysis to 30°S–60°N, where nearly all the forcing was applied, shows that forcing strongly influences response out to ∼4500 km away examining all directions. The meridional length of influence is somewhat shorter (∼3500 km or 30°), while it extends out to at least 12,000 km in the zonal direction. Substantial divergences between the models are seen over the oceans, whose physical representations differ greatly among the models. Length scales are quite consistent over 30°S–60°N land areas, however, despite differences in both the forcing applied and the physics of the models themselves. The results suggest that better understanding of regionally inhomogeneous radiative forcing would lead to improved projections of regional climate change over land areas. They also provide quantitative estimates of the spatial extent of the climate impacts of pollutants, which can extend thousands of kilometers beyond polluted areas, especially in the zonal direction.
Hydrological flow paths at the allt A' mharcaidh catchment: An analysis of plot and catchment scale observations

An integrated programme of hydrological monitoring at the 10 km 2 Allt a' Mharcaidh catchment in north-east Scotland has been based on observations at plot, hillslope and catchment scale. The response of the principal soil types has been characterized from a combination of throughflow and three-dimensional tensiometer data at plot scale, and plot sequences have been used to investigate hillslope scale effects. Seep emergence is associated with downslope drainage and local topographic convergence; in parallel preferential pathways generate a highly dynamic throughflow response. Catchment and subcatchment hydrographs mirror the twin dynamic observed at hillslope scale, and a unified hypothesis of response is presented which is consistent with all scales of observations
Farmers' perception of vegetation changes in semi‐arid Niger

Vegetation changes due to climate and human impact in Sahelian countries are rarely documented at species composition level. The decrease or disappearance of certain plant species reduces vegetation cover and enhances the exposure of soil surfaces to wind and water erosion leading to increased land degradation. Men and women in Niger were asked to note plant species and relate their numerical development to pre-defined observation criteria comparing the present and past. Plant species in decline or that had disappeared were reported more often than species that had increased or were newly introduced. The increasing species that were mentioned were often in use for different purposes and seem to be robust enough and well adapted to the semi-arid environment. But the interviewed farmers also stated the loss of many valuable species that they used for construction and hand tools, consumption, medicine or fodder. Those declining species are of socio-economic importance for individual households and the rural ecology. Men mentioned 18 species that had disappeared. Differences in the perception of men and women could be found. Women seemed to have a better perception for species which had increased or were newly introduced, whereas men perceived more a decrease or disappearance of species. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Thermal constraints on the seismogenic portion of the southwestern Japan subduction thrust

For coastal cities an important factor in earthquake hazard from subduction zone earthquakes is the landward extent of the seismogenic portion of the subduction thrust fault. In this study we test the hypothesis that the maximum downdip extent is defined by a critical temperature. We have developed a transient thermal model for the Nankai subduction zone of southwest Japan to allow comparison of the thermally estimated downdip extent of the seismogenic zone with that from (1) seismicity and tsunami data for two great subduction earthquakes, (2) the coseismic faulting extent of these events estimated from geodetic deformation data, and (3) the interseismic locked zone determined from interseismic geodetic data. The Nankai margin has extensive heat flow and heat production data to control thermal models and thus crustal temperatures. It has earthquake, tsunami, and geodetic data that constrain the coseismic rupture portion of the subduction thrust fault for past great earthquakes and the portion of the thrust fault that is locked and storing interseismic elastic strain. On the Nankaido margin off Shikoku Island, the thermal model indicates that a temperature of 350°C (taken to be the limit for seismic initiation from laboratory and field data) is reached on the subduction thrust fault 150 km from the trench. A transition zone into which rupture may extend with decreasing offset (taken to be 450°C) extends an additional 45 km downdip. The thermal model results are in excellent agreement with the maximum downdip extent of coseismic displacement for the 1946 Nankaido Ms = 8.2 earthquake off Shikoku Island and with the downdip extent of the present locked zone. In the region of the 1944 Tonankai Ms = 8.2 earthquake to the northeast, the subduction angle is much steeper and the thermal models indicate a narrower downdip seismogenic extent. The seismogenic-locked zone from earthquake and geodetic data is also narrower. Thus our analysis of the southwest Japan margin indicates that all three constraints on the downdip extent of the seismogenic zone, thermal, coseismic and interseismic geodetic data, are in general agreement. The study also supports the hypothesis that the seismogenic portion of subduction thrust faults is limited primarily by temperature. The thermal control implies that subduction thrust faults with shallow dip have wider seismogenic zones compared to those with steep dip. The subducting plate age and thus heat flow, and the thickness of the insulating sediments on the incoming plate, are also very important to the thermal regime and thus to the seismogenic width. The relation of the maximum seismic rupture area to the interseismic locked zone is particularly important for earthquake hazard estimation on subduction margins such as Cascadia where there have been no great historical events.
A global study of pain prevalence across 52 countries: examining the role of country-level contextual factors.

ABSTRACT There is wide variation in population-level pain prevalence estimates in studies of survey data around the world. The role of country-level social, economic, and political contextual factors in explaining this variation has not been adequately examined. We estimated the prevalence of unspecified pain in adults aged 25+ years across 52 countries using data from the World Health Survey 2002 to 2004. Combining data sources and estimating multilevel regressions, we compared country-level pain prevalence and explored which country-level contextual factors explain cross-country variations in prevalence, accounting for individual-level demographic factors. The overall weighted age- and sex-standardized prevalence of pain across countries was estimated to be 27.5%, with significant variation across countries (ranging from 9.9% to 50.3%). Women, older persons, and rural residents were significantly more likely to report pain. Five country-level variables had robust and significant associations with pain prevalence: the Gini Index, population density, the Gender Inequality Index, life expectancy, and global region. The model including Gender Inequality Index explained the most cross-country variance. However, even when accounting for country-level variables, some variation in pain prevalence remains, suggesting a complex interaction between personal, local, economic, and political impacts, as well as inherent differences in language, interpretations of health, and other difficult to assess cultural idiosyncrasies. The results give new insight into the high prevalence of pain around the world and its demonstrated association with macrofactors, particularly income and gender inequalities, providing justification for regarding pain as a global health priority.
An observationally based evaluation of WRF seasonal simulations over the Central and Eastern Pacific

This study uses multiple satellite data sets to evaluate seasonal simulations of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model over Central and Eastern Pacific. Experiments with five different convective parameterizations all show reasonably good performance for precipitation simulations. However, large discrepancies exist in the model‐simulated ice clouds compared to CloudSat observations. Underestimations of ice clouds, mainly snow and graupel, are present in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in all the experiments compared to CloudSat. In the ITCZ, all the experiments show a systematic overestimation of outgoing longwave radiation at the top of the atmosphere and downward shortwave radiation at the surface, along with biased cloud cooling in the middle and upper troposphere and biased cloud warming in the lower troposphere. Vertical motion is enhanced in the ITCZ compared to reanalysis. A weaker low‐level circulation over the midlatitude oceans is evidenced in all simulations with an eastward overextension of the South Pacific Convergence Zone and overestimated moisture over the Southern Hemisphere oceans when compared to Special Sensor Microwave/Imager observations. Sensitivity experiment demonstrates that doubling the radiative effect of snow can reduce high biases in vertical motion within the ITCZ and improve the large‐scale circulation and moisture over the midlatitude oceans.
Simultaneous core sample measurements of elastic properties and resistivity at reservoir conditions employing a modified triaxial cell – a feasibility study

Adaptations of existing triaxial cells for ultrasonic P‐ and S‐wave measurements are well documented. This paper proposes further modification of such a cell so that also resistivity measurements can be carried out simultaneously at reservoir conditions. By employing the top cap and the pedestal of the cell as electrodes, axial resistivity measurements are now feasible. In order to minimize the polarization effect of this two‐electrode arrangement, careful analyses have been carried out to optimize the choice of electrode coating and measurement frequency band. Radial resistivity measurements are also included in the system by introducing a strap‐electrode system.