Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-resolution environmental reconstruction in SW Peloponnese, Greece, covering the last c. 6000 years: Evidence from Agios Floros fen, Messenian plain

A paleolimnological record from the central Messenian plain (southwestern Peloponnese, southern Greece) indicates rapid changes in the water level and chemistry of a transient lake on the flanks of the Taygetos Mountains during the last c. 6000 years. The analyses are based on diatoms as well as carbon and nitrogen isotopes from bulk sediments in a 7.5-m-long sediment core retrieved from the drained fen of Agios Floros, at the northern banks of the ancient River Pamisos. The sequence consists of fen peat in the uppermost section underlain by lacustrine sediments, which are punctuated by two layers of clay with diatomaceous silt bands. High accumulation rate is recorded in the oldest part of the section (up to 23 mm/yr), particularly during two decadal-long periods centered at c. 5700 and c. 5300 cal. BP. The diatom record reveals pronounced peaks in the planktonic taxon Cyclotella distinguenda, which correspond to the laminated sequences, reflecting the rapid development of a deep lake with an open water environment during these two time periods. Another two events with intermediate water levels are inferred at c. 5200 and c. 4600 cal. BP. These short-lived phases were probably, to a large extent, caused by local tectonic processes and the consequent hydrological anomalies of the nearby karst springs, although abrupt climatic changes with enhanced precipitation might have also played a role. At c. 4500 cal. BP, our data suggest the development of terrestrial conditions in this area, which can be attributed to the decreasing activity/dry up of springs, probably associated with more arid climate. After c. 2500 cal. BP, the diatom record infers a return to wetter conditions, probably as a response to more humid climate with marked seasonality and human activities, developing the present-day environment with cultivated and seasonally semi-flooded fields.
The contribution of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio on prognosis in patients diagnosed with epidermal growth factor receptor mutant lung adenocarcinoma

: BACKGROUND AND AIM: The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been demonstrated to be a prognostic marker in various cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nevertheless, very little is known about this ratio in the specific NSCLC population that includes a targetable epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. METHODS: Histologically or cytologically confirmed stage IIIB or IV NSCLC cases with a targetable EGFR mutation between 2014 and 2018 were retrospectively evaluated. The optimal cut-off value for NLR for prognostic purposes was determined by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. The patients were divided into two groups according to the determined cut-off value, and the groups were compared in terms of variables, and the effect on overall survival was evaluated. Univariate cox regression analysis included age, gender, the extent of the primary tumor (T), involvement of regional lymph nodes (N), Tumor, Node, and Metastasis (TNM), and cancer treatment, in addition to NLR. RESULTS: The study included 62 patients. In the ROC analysis, Area Under the Curve (AUC): 0.643 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.504−0.783), and the cut-off for NLR was determined as 2.57 considering the highest “Youden’s index”. Accordingly, the specificity was found to be 51.85%, and sensitivity was 74.29%. Survival was 23 (15.824−30.176) months in the NLR>2.57 group, while it was 38 (29.665−46.335) months in the NLR equal to or lower than 2.57 (p=0.218). No statistically significant difference was found between the NLR rate and overall survival (OS). CONCLUSIONS: Although no statistical significance was reached, the high NLR ratio was possibly found to be associated with poor prognosis in cases with EGFR mutant lung cancer, mostly composed of stage 4 cancer.
Clinicians’ Interpretation of Unreported Chest Radiographs in Biologic Prescription Workup Service: A Comprehensive Analysis

Clinicians without a radiology specialization face difficulties when they attempt to interpret chest X-rays (CXRs), a crucial and extensively utilized diagnostic tool that plays a fundamental role in the detection of pulmonary and cardiovascular disorders. This cross-sectional study assessed the confidence and competence of clinicians, including junior specialty trainees, higher specialty trainees, and specialist nurses, in interpreting CXRs before starting biological treatment. An online survey was used to collect data from clinicians in various healthcare settings, focusing on their experience, training, confidence levels, and CXR interpretation proficiency. The survey uncovered clinicians’ insufficient confidence in interpreting the pre-biological screening CXRs despite their clinical expertise. This uncertainty raises concerns about potential misinterpretations, affecting timely treatment decisions. A Kruskal-Wallis test indicated a significant difference between training levels required with a p-value of 0.001, rejecting the null hypothesis. Subsequently, a Dunn-Bonferroni test revealed that the higher specialty trainee-specialist nurse pair differed significantly, with the specialist nurse group requiring more training. This study highlighted the need for enhanced radiology education for clinicians involved in chest radiograph interpretation for pre-biological screening. Implementing a structured training program is essential to improve skills and ensure accurate interpretation of non-formally reported chest radiographs, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes and healthcare practices.
Effect of Giving Red Ginger Oil on WOMAC Scores in Elderly People with Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a slowly progressive non-inflammatory disease of the diarthrodial (synovial) joints with increasing incidence age with initial symptoms of joint pain during activity. The pain will slowly get worse, resulting in obstacles to joint movement and affecting the patient's functional abilities. This study aims to identify the effectiveness of giving red ginger oil for pain, joint stiffness and functional abilities. This research will usetime series with research design of Quasi Experiments pre and post test design with the control group. The intervention by administering red ginger oil was carried out once in a day for 7 days. The sampling technique used non equivalent control group design. Evaluation was carried out on the first day, third day, fifth day and seventh day using the WOMAC score. The result of research shows the significance figure tested using the Pillai, Wilk's Lambda, Hotelling and Roy's procedures, shows the significance figure is below 0.05 (ie 0.000), it can be concluded that the total WOMAC score data at pre, day-3, day-5 and day-7 are different significant between the intervention group and the control group. The results of the study showed a decrease in womac scores in the intervention group, so it is hoped that red ginger oil can be used as an alternative therapy for elderly patients with OA.
Comparative analysis of obesity prevalence, antioxidant and oxidant status in children with Down syndrome – a sibling-controlled study

Introduction Down syndrome (DS), a common genetic disorder, leads to various physical, cognitive, and developmental challenges. The supplementary copy of chromosome 21 introduces an abundance of genes, which potentially can influence metabolic irregularities. The aim of the study is to conduct a comprehensive comparative assessment of oxidative stress indicators (TAS, TOS, OSI), BMI, fasting glucose, and insulin levels, HOMA-IR among children and adolescents with DS in contrast to their non-DS siblings. Material and methods and the control group (CG) comprised 20 individuals, siblings of SG (mean age 15.92 years). Anthropometric measurements were conducted. TAS, TOS, fasting glucose, and insulin were assessed. BMI, BMI SDS, OSI and HOMA-IR were calculated. Results SG vs. CG: BMI – overweight (29,19% vs. 15%), obese (19,05% vs. 5%); TAS (1.92 mmol/l vs. 1.79 mmol/l (p = 0.0015)); TOS (51.52 mmol/l vs. 33.05 mmol/l (p = 0.014)); OSI (2475.02 vs. 1949,75 (p = 0.038)); no significant differences in fasting glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR. Statistically significant correlations in SG: TOS and BMI, BMI SDS, HOMA-IR; OSI and BMI, BMI SDS, HOMA-IR; HOMA-IR and BMI SDS; fasting insulin and BMI PC; in CG: TAS and BMI; fasting glucose and fasting insulin. The research results indicate differences in metabolic processes between the group of individuals with DS compared to the CG, despite shared environmental conditions. The presence of an additional copy of chromosome 21 may contribute to the occurrence of metabolic disorders. These findings emphasize the need for further research that will lead to a better understanding of these relationships and contribute to the development of effective therapeutic strategies.
Trade-offs between winter cover crop production and soil water depletion in the San Joaquin Valley, California

Cover crops are currently not widely used in annual crop production systems in California's semiarid Central Valley due to concerns about lost opportunity costs and uncertainties about water use. From 1999 through 2014, we quantified cover crop biomass production for a variety of mixtures under winter precipitation and limited supplemental irrigation. In a separate study, we also determined changes in soil water storage under three cover crop mixtures compared to fallowed plots during two (2013 and 2014) winter periods to investigate tradeoffs associated with water use by cover crops in this region. Over the 15 years of the project that were characterized by recurring drought, a total of 22.8 Mg ha−1 (20,360 lb ac−1) of aboveground cover crop biomass was produced with a total precipitation of 209 and 20 cm (82 and 8 in) of supplemental irrigation applied in 1999, 2012, and 2014. Cover crop biomass varied from 0.39 Mg ha−1 (348 lb ac−1) in the low precipitation period (winter of 2006 to 2007) to 9.34 Mg ha−1 (8,340 lb ac−1; winter of 2000 to 2001). Soil water storage in the sampled depth (0 to 90 cm [0 to 35 in]) for the fallow and each of the cover crop mixtures was compared each year from January to March, the primary growing period for cover crops in this region. Net soil water storage increased during this period by 4.8 and 4.3 cm (1.9 and 1.7 in) in 2013 and 2014, respectively, for the fallow system, but in the cover crop mixture plots, there was no additional water storage. Instead, water use by the cover crop mixes resulted in a negative water balance over the cover crop growth period on an average of 0.47 and 0.26 cm (0.19 and 0.10 in) in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Thus, compared to the fallow system, cover crops depleted 5.3 and 0.67 cm (2.1 and 0.26 in) and more water from the 0 to 90 cm (0 to 35 in) profile in 2013 and 2014, respectively. From this long-term systems research, we conclude that while vigorous growth of winter cover crops in the Central Valley of California may not be possible in all years due to low and erratic precipitation patterns, there may be benefits in terms of providing ground cover, residue, and photosynthetic energy capture in many years. However, cover crop biomass production may come at a cost of soil water depletion in this semiarid, drought-prone region.
MCPIP1 alleviates depressive‑like behaviors in mice by inhibiting the TLR4/TRAF6/NF‑κB pathway to suppress neuroinflammation

Lipopolysaccharide-induced (LPS) neuroinflammation serves an important role in the development of depression. Monocyte chemotactic protein-1-induced protein 1 (MCPIP1, also known as ZC3H12A and Regnase-1) possesses endoribonuclease and deubiquitinase activities. In the present study, the effects of MCPIP1 on LPS-induced depression were assessed. A mouse model of hippocampal neuroinflammation was established by intraperitoneal injection of LPS. Microglia were treated with LPS, MCPIP1 overexpression vector, MCPIP1 knockdown vector or TLR4 inhibitor. MCPIP1 alleviated LPS-induced depressive-like behaviors. MCPIP1 facilitated M2 polarization of microglia. MCPIP1 attenuated the inflammatory response in microglia via inhibition of the TLR4/TNF receptor associated factor 6 (TRAF6)/NF-κB signaling pathway. The results indicated that MCPIP1 accelerated M2-polarization of microglia and alleviated depressive-like behaviors of mice via the inhibition of the TLR4/TRAF6/NF-κB signaling pathway.
Assessment of Metal Elements and Biochemical Constituents of Wild Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) Mushrooms Collected from the Shivalik Foothills of the Himalayas, India

Wild medicinal mushrooms are known to contain significant amounts of essential biochemical compounds with potential health benefits. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the metal elements and biochemical constituents of wild turkey tail (Trametes versicolor) mushrooms collected from the Shivalik foothills of the Himalayas, India. Mushroom samples were purposefully collected from eleven (11) sampling sites located in three (3) districts of North Indian states (Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand). The results of this study indicated that wild T. versicolor showed the presence of eight metal elements (Cd: 0.011–0.139, Cr: 0.225–0.680, Cu: 1.073–3.108, Fe: 4.273–8.467, Mn: 2.157–3.892, Zn: 3.069–4.478, Ni: 0.065–0.186, and Co: 0.035–0.120 mg/kg). The samples also showed a significant presence of total phenolics (51.81–70.13 mg GAE/g), flavonoids (9.02–14.01 mg QE/mg), lycopene (0.02–0.08 mg/g), and β-carotene (0.31–0.72 mg/g). The proximate analysis also showed that T. versicolor is a good source of carbohydrate (38.33%–41.94%), protein (8.12%–11.06%), fat (0.93%–1.26%), moisture (63.80%–70.64%), dietary fiber (9.59%–14.30%), and total ash (2.42%–3.48%). In addition, gas chromatography (GC-FID) analysis revealed the presence of the five most dominant fatty acids, including linoleic acid (18:2n6c), palmitic acid (C16:0), oleic acid (18:1n9c), linolenic acid (18:3n3), and stearic acid (C18:0). Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were helpful in identifying variations and similarities among different constituents of T. versicolor at selected sampling sites. Due to its low metal element content and rich biochemical profile, T. versicolor was highlighted in this research for its significant potential as a functional food or nutraceutical ingredient. This work promotes its sustainable use in the healthcare and food industries and lays the groundwork for further research into its therapeutic applications.
THE BREAKOUT OF CHINA-INDIA STRATEGIC RIVALRY IN ASIA AND THE

Submerged tensions between India and China have pushed to the surface, revealing a deep and wide strategic rivalry over several security-related issues in the Asia-Pacific area. The U.S.-India nuclear deal and regular joint naval exercises informed Beijing’s assessment that U.S.-India friendship was aimed at containing China’s rise. China’s more aggressive claims to the disputed northern border—a new challenge to India’s sovereignty over Kashmir—and the entry of Chinese troops and construction workers in the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan region escalated the conflict. India’s reassessment of China’s intentions led the Indian military to adopt a two-front war doctrine against potential simultaneous attacks by Pakistan and China. China’s rivalry with India in the Indian Ocean area is also displacing New Delhi’s influence in neighboring countries. As China’s growing strength creates uneasiness in the region, India’s balancing role is welcome within ASEAN. Its naval presence facilitates comprehensive cooperation with other countries having tense relations with China, most notably Japan. India’s efforts to outflank China’s encirclement were boosted after Beijing unexpectedly challenged U.S. naval supremacy in the South China Sea and the Pacific. The Obama Administration reasserted the big picture strategic vision of U.S.-India partnership first advanced by the nuclear deal. Rivalry between China and India in the Indian Ocean, now expanded to China and the United States in the Pacific, is solidifying an informal coalition of democracies in the vast Asia-Pacific area. T he past few years have seen a dangerous rise in mutual suspicion between India and China, propelling bilateral relations toward a deep and wide strategic rivalry. This article examines the security issues that have led to the open breakout of competition between India and China long implicit in their geographical proximity and their great power ambitions in neighboring areas and the Indian Ocean. New Delhi’s perspective of Chinese policies that aim at the strategic encirclement of India, as well as Beijing’s outlook on India’s attempt to limit China’s influence in South and Southeast Asia and its power projection into the Indian
Enhancing Biometric Speaker Recognition Through MFCC Feature Extraction and Polar Codes for Remote Application

While extensive research has been conducted in the field of biometrics, particularly in face and fingerprint recognition, remote speaker recognition has yet to gain global acceptance due to challenges related to accuracy and data integrity. Previous studies in speaker recognition have explored techniques such as Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), yielding accuracy rates of 90.4% and 92.8%, respectively over a fixed and small database with a standalone system. To address the data integrity and accuracy issues for enhancement in remote speaker recognition, a novel approach is proposed in this paper. Initially, remote speaker recognition is implemented using a client-server setup, but the presence of channel noise hindered any noticeable improvement in accuracy compared to existing methods. The new approach involves extracting MFCC parameters from voice samples and subsequently applying polar error-correcting coding techniques for storage as well as transmission to achieve fidelity. Using a code rate of 1/2 and a block length of 1024 bits, the transmission of polar-coded MFCC features over a noisy channel yielded a lower bit error rate when coupled with successive list decoding. Simulation results demonstrate a reduction in bit error rate, resulting in an accuracy of 95.2% in the implemented remote speaker recognition system. This represents a significant 5% improvement over the existing standalone system that uses uncoded MFCC features. These findings highlight that the Polar codes can be effectively utilized in speaker recognition systems to enhance their robustness and reliability, especially in scenarios with noisy channels or challenging conditions.
Oxygen-Free Csp3-H Oxidation of Pyridin-2-yl-methanes to Pyridin-2-yl-methanones with Water by Copper Catalysis

Aromatic ketones are important pharmaceutical intermediates, especially the pyridin-2-yl-methanone motifs. Thus, synthetic methods for these compounds have gained extensive attention in the last few years. Transition metals catalyze the oxidation of Csp3-H for the synthesis of aromatic ketones, which is arresting. Here, we describe an efficient copper-catalyzed synthesis of pyridin-2-yl-methanones from pyridin-2-yl-methanes through a direct Csp3-H oxidation approach with water under mild conditions. Pyridin-2-yl-methanes with aromatic rings, such as substituted benzene, thiophene, thiazole, pyridine, and triazine, undergo the reaction well to obtain the corresponding products in moderate to good yields. Several controlled experiments are operated for the mechanism exploration, indicating that water participates in the oxidation process, and it is the single oxygen source in this transformation. The current work provides new insights for water-involving oxidation reactions.
Waveforms clustering and single-station location of microearthquake multiplets recorded in the northern Sicilian offshore region

ray tracer-based determination of the epicentral distance and hypocentral depth was proposed. All the multiplets were generated by events with hypocentres that were very close to each other. However, not all the identiﬁed clusters are also clustered in the time–magnitude domain. It was also observed that some multiplets have clouds of hypocentres overlapping each other. These clusters, indistinguishable without the application of a waveforms clustering technique, show differences in the waveforms that must be attributed to differences in the focal mechanisms which generated the waveforms. The local seismic events recorded are typical of a seismicity generated by a volume characterized by a highly complex fracturing pattern and by an important role in the dynamics of ﬂuid systems that, given the great depth of some multiplets, could come from the mantle. This picture is in agreement with the geometric characterization of the Palermo 2002 seismogenic volume.
Fault geometry, coseismic-slip distribution and Coulomb stress change associated with the 2009 April 6, Mw 6.3, L’Aquila earthquake from inversion of GPS displacements

SUMMARY The 2009 April 6, Mw= 6.3 L’Aquila earthquake occurred within a complex system of NW–SE trending normal faults in the Abruzzi Central Apennines (Italy). We analyse the coseismic deformation as measured by >70 global positioning system (GPS) stations, both from continuous and survey-mode networks, providing unprecedented details for a moderate normal faulting earthquake in Italy from GPS measurements. We use rectangular, uniform-slip, dislocations embedded in an elastic, homogeneous and isotropic half-space and a constrained, non-linear optimization algorithm, to solve for the best-fitting rectangular dislocation geometry and coseismic-slip distribution. We use a bootstrap approach to investigate uncertainties in the model parameters and define confidence bounds for all the inverted parameters. The rupture occurred on a N129°E striking and 50° southwestward dipping normal fault, in agreement with geological observations of surface breaks along the Paganica fault. Our distributed slip model exhibits a zone of relatively higher slip (>60 cm) between ∼1.5 and ∼11 km depth, along a roughly downdip, NW–SE elongated patch, confined within the fault plane inverted assuming uniform-slip. The highest slip, of the order of ∼1 m, occurred on a ∼16 km2 area located at ∼5 km depth, SE of the mainshock epicentre. The analysis of model resolution suggests that slip at depth below ∼5 km can be resolved only at a spatial scale larger than 2 km, so a finer discretization of different asperities within the main patch of coseismic-slip is not allowed by GPS data. We compute the coseismic Coulomb stress changes in the crustal volume affected by the major aftershocks, and compare the results obtained from the uniform-slip and the heterogeneous-slip models. We find that most of the large aftershocks occurred in areas of Coulomb stress increase of 0.2–13 bar and that a deepening of the slip distribution down to a depth greater than 6 km in the SE part of the fault plane, in agreement with the inverted slip model, can explain the deepest, April 7, Mw 5.3 aftershock.
Impact of GPS ZTD on Rainfall Estimates in an Hourly Update Cycle of a Numerical Weather Prediction Model

In this paper, it is shown that GPS Zenith Total Delay (ZTD) estimates from a network of groundbased GPS receivers can fill this lack of information. Estimation of GPS-ZTD by processing a network of around 30 stations around the Netherlands in real time (in meteorological sense) provides ZTD values 5 minutes after observation time. The impact of this data is shown using two simultaneous runs in a semi-operational setting; one run without GPS-ZTD and one with GPS-ZTD assimilated. The run with GPS-ZTD data assimilated shows good agreement with rainfall rates observed by radar, while the run without GPS-ZTD largely underestimates the rainfall rates.