Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time-varying electrical properties of infiltrating river water as a natural tracer for investigating flow and transport in an aquifer trough time-lapse crosshole ERT

Understanding and quantification of flow and transport mechanisms and surface water groundwater exchange processes are necessary for the effective management and protection of precious surface water and groundwater resources. Geophysics provides powerful imaging and quantification tools for this purpose. In this thesis, I use 3D crosshole electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to investigate the hydrogeological properties and hydrological responses of a producing aquifer in northeastern Switzerland. Specifically, I use ERT to define the main lithological structures within the aquifer (through static inversion) and to image the mixing of river water with groundwater and associated groundwater transport (through time-lapse inversion). During rainfall-runoff events, the river water resistivity increases. As a consequence, the electrical characteristics of the infiltrating water can be used as a natural tracer to delineate preferential flow paths and flow velocities. I install a monitoring system that comprises 18 boreholes, each equipped with 10 electrodes extending through the entire thickness of the gravel aquifer. A multichannel resistivity meter is programmed to cycle through various four-point electrode configurations in a rolling sequence. This allows the measurement of ~15,500 apparent resistivity values every seven hours or so on a continuous basis and with a suitable speed for capturing the fast dynamics of the system. The 3D static ERT inversion of data acquired under stable hydrological conditions provides a base model for the time-lapse inversion studies and the means to investigate the resolving capabilities of our acquisition scheme. The final ERT static model delineates a relatively high-resistivity low-porosity intermediate-depth layer throughout the investigated aquifer volume, consistent with results from well logging, and companion seismic and radar tomography models. In deriving this static resistivity model, the boreholes, their contained conductive fluids, and several well-established geological and hydrogeological boundaries are considered in the inversion. If the à priori information is not accounted for, distortions in the resistivity images occur. In particular, 3D finite-element modeling using an unstructured grid demonstrates that the borehole fluid effect is severe for large resistivity contrasts and large borehole diameters when using standard electrode configurations. For a resistivity contrast of
Seismic evidence for broad attenuation anomalies in the asthenosphere beneath the Pacific Ocean

S U M M A R Y We present QADR17, a global model of Rayleigh-wave attenuation based on a massive surface wave data set (372 629 frequency-dependent attenuation curves in the period range 50–260 s). We correct for focusing-defocusing effects and geometrical spreading, and perform a stringent selection to only keep robust observations. Then, data with close epicentres recorded at the same station are clustered, as they sample the same Earth’s structure. After this preselection, our data set consists of about 35 000 curves that constrain the Rayleigh-wave intrinsic attenuation in the upper mantle. The logarithms of the attenuation along the individual rays are then inverted to obtain global maps of the logarithm of the local attenuation. After a first inversion, outliers are rejected and a second inversion yields a variance reduction of about 45 per cent. Our attenuation maps present strong agreement with surface tectonics at periods lower than 200 s, with low attenuation under continents and high attenuation under oceans. Over oceans, attenuation decreases with increasing crustal ages, but at periods sensitive to the uppermost 150 km, mid-ocean ridges are not characterized by a very localized anomaly, in contrast to what is commonly observed for seismic velocity models. Attenuation is rather well correlated with hotspots, especially in the Pacific ocean, where a strong attenuating anomaly is observed in the long wavelength component of our signal at periods sampling the oceanic asthenosphere. We suggest that this anomaly results from the horizontal spreading of several thermal plumes within the asthenosphere. Strong velocity reductions associated with high attenuation anomalies of moderate amplitudes beneath the East Pacific Rise, the Red Sea and the eastern part of Asia may require additional mechanisms, such as partial melting.
Reproductive success in the European shag is linked to annual variation in diet and foraging trip metrics

Seabird populations have declined worldwide, and several of the potential threats are of anthropogenic origin. To understand how changes in seabird populations relate to environmental conditions it is important to know the functional relationships between prey availability and foraging behaviour, prey choice and breeding performance over several years. This was studied by linking breeding success of European shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis to variation in diet composition, and investigating the underlaying mechanism driving this variation, primarily based on be havioural costs associated with foraging, such as foraging range and diving effort. We obtained demographic data and foraging trip metrics (using GPS-loggers and time−depth recorders) from a shag colony at Sklinna, Central Norway, during the 2011−2016 breeding seasons. Breeding population size was closely and positively correlated with breeding success, which in turn was positively correlated with the proportion of saithe Pollachius virens in the diet. When the dietary proportion of uncommon prey species increased, breeding success decreased. Breeding success was negatively influenced by increasing distance travelled and accumulated dive depths on an annual basis. Summed dive depths were greatest when prey species other than saithe dominated the diet. We found that in years with low availability of saithe fewer shags bred, and those that did had lower breeding success. This indicates that in years with poor feeding conditions, there might not be sufficient resources in the foraging area to support the whole breeding population of shags.
2022: Are We Back to the pre-COVID-19 Pandemic Period in the Management of out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest?

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant strain on the Emergency system, particularly for time-dependent diseases like Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA). Studies have shown an increase in the incidence of OHCA during different waves of the pandemic, but there is limited evidence on how survival rates and rescue efforts have been affected in the post-pandemic period. Methods: We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of all OHCA rescues by AREU (Agenzia Regionale Emergenza Urgenza), in the Lombardy region in March in three different years (2019, 2021 and 2022). We used rescue mission data collected in AREU’s database, where logistic information of patient rescue missions managed by the Lombardy Region’s 112 system is recorded.Results: This study was an epidemiology analysis of OHCA after the pandemic. The results showed no significant changes in the probability of receiving bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (22.5% vs 24.0%; p=0.41) and public access defibrillation (3.6 vs 3.2; p=0.50) compared to pre-pandemic period. However, there was a decrease in the probability of ROSC (11.5% vs 6.2%; p<0.01). Conclusion: According to our analysis, there appears to be a return to the pre-pandemic phase with regard to the OHCA network. However, it remains to be pointed out that a careful study of disease networks is essential to understand the resilience of our health system and to understand whether we have returned to a system similar to the pre-pandemic phase after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Water and nitrate movement in earthworm burrows within long-term no-till cornfields

ABSTRACT: To evaluate the conditions under which flow occurs in earthworm burrows during natural rainstorms and its importance to downward nutrient movement, 50 lage earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris L.) burrows in an 18-year, continuous no-till cornfield were instrumented for sampling. During the 5-month growing season following corn emergence, 12 storms caused flow in 6 to 24 of the monitored burrows, me smallest storm that caused flow [3.6 mm (0.14 inch) of rain in 0.3 hour] produced a total of 115 ml (3.9 ounces) in 7 of the 50 holes. During the average storm [24 mm (1 inch) of rain], flow occurred in 29% of the holes, and average flow volume based on all holes was 5 ml (0.17 ounce) per hole. Although holes greater than 5 mm (0.22 inch) in diameter accounted for 0.3% of the horizontal area at the 30-cm (12-inch) sampling depth, flow in these holes during the 12 events with flow accounted for an average of 3.9% (range 1.2 to 10.3%) of the rainfall from each storm, 13 times more than their areal distribution would suggest. Average nitrate (NO3-N) concentration in the samples from the 12 events ranged from 0 to 12.6 mg l−1 (12.6 ppm). Total downward transport of NO3-N in worm holes greater than 5 mm in diameter from the 12 storms was estimated to be 711 g ha−1(0.63 pound/acre).
What Line Drawings Reveal About the Visual Brain

Scenes in the real world carry large amounts of information about color, texture, shading, illumination, and occlusion giving rise to our perception of a rich and detailed environment. In contrast, line drawings have only a sparse subset of scene contours. Nevertheless, they also trigger vivid three-dimensional impressions despite having no equivalent in the natural world. Here, we ask why line drawings work. We see that they exploit the underlying neural codes of vision and they also show that artists’ intuitions go well beyond the understanding of vision found in current neurosciences and computer vision.
Stimulus-driven reorienting in the ventral frontoparietal attention network: the role of emotional content

Activity in the human temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is hypothesized to underlie stimulus-driven, or “bottom-up” attention reorienting. Demanding tasks require focused attention, and as task difficulty increases, activity suppression in the ventral network correlates positively with task performance, an effect thought to reflect the gating of irrelevant cues. However, activation in these structures is elicited by a range of stimulus features and task demands that vary across multiple characteristics, complicating the interpretation of the functional role of this pathway. Consideration of several current studies suggests that, in addition to task difficulty, the motivational relevance or emotional intensity of distractor stimuli may supersede ongoing task priority, and evoke ventral network activation. Support for this possibility is offered from a review of recent reports, and the import of this perspective for models of attention reorienting is discussed.
Prognostic Value of Circulating Cytokines in Chemorefractory Colorectal Cancer

Simple Summary The prognosis of metastatic colorectal cancer patients remains poor despite the increased number of active treatments. This particularly applies to patients with chemorefractory disease. Biomarkers that could help prognostication and management decisions in this setting are lacking. This is the study with the largest panel (n = 182) of circulating cytokines ever assessed in metastatic colorectal cancer. By analyzing 196 chemorefractory colorectal cancer patients with available plasma samples, we showed that high concentrations of IGFBP-1 and/or IGFBP-2 were associated with shorter overall survival. These results are consistent with the extensive literature supporting an association between the IGF pathway and colorectal cancer. Further research is needed to validate our findings in larger independent series, and to elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying the prognostic effect of these cytokines. Abstract Circulating cytokines could be optimal biomarkers for prognostication and management decisions in colorectal cancer (CRC). Chemorefractory CRC patients with available plasma samples were included in this study. In the discovery cohort (n = 85), 182 circulating cytokines were tested with a semi-quantitative multiplex assay, and prognostic cytokines were analyzed in the validation cohort (n = 111) by ELISA. Overall survival (OS) was the primary outcome measure, with the false discovery rate (FDR) method (significance level of <0.01) being used to correct for multiple comparisons. Four cytokines were associated with OS in the discovery cohort: insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1) (HR 2.1 [95%CI: 1.58–2.79], FDR < 0.001), insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 2 (IGFBP-2) (HR 1.65 [95%CI: 1.28–2.13], FDR = 0.006), serum amyloid A (SAA) (HR 1.84 [95%CI: 1.39–2.43], FDR < 0.001), and angiotensin II (HR 1.65 [95%CI: 1.29–2.1], FDR = 0.006). Of these, IGFBP-1 (HR 2.70 [95%CI: 1.56–4.76], FDR = 0.007) and IGFBP-2 (HR 3.33 [95%CI: 1.64–6.67], FDR = 0.008) were confirmed to be independently associated with OS in the validation cohort. Patients with high concentrations of IGFBP-1 and/or IGFBP-2 had a median OS of 3.0 months as compared with 6.9 months for those with low concentrations of both cytokines (HR 2.44 [95%CI: 1.52–4.0], FDR = 0.002) Validation of circulating IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-2 as independent prognostic biomarkers for chemorefractory CRC in larger, independent series is warranted.
Comprehensive analysis of the prognostic implication and immune infiltration of CISD2 in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Background Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common B-cell lymphoma in adults. CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 (CISD2) is an iron–sulfur protein and plays a critical role of cell proliferation. The aberrant expression of CISD2 is associated with the progression of multiple cancers. However, its role in DLBCL remains unclear. Methods The differential expression of CISD2 was identified via public databases, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot were used to identifed the expression of CISD2. We estimated the impact of CISD2 on clinical prognosis using the Kaplan-Meier plotter. Meanwhile, the drug sensitivity of CISD2 was assessed using CellMiner database. The 100 CISD2-related genes from STRING obtained and analyzed using the LASSO Cox regression. A CISD2 related signature for risk model (CISD2Risk) was established. The PPI network of CISD2Risk was performed, and functional enrichment was conducted through the DAVID database. The impacts of CISD2Risk on clinical features were analyzed. ESTIMATE, CIBERSORT, and MCP-counter algorithm were used to identify CISD2Risk associated with immune infiltration. Subsequently, Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were applied, and a prognostic nomogram, accompanied by a calibration curve, was constructed to predict 1-, 3-, and 5-years survival probabilities. Results CISD2 was upregulated in DLBCL patients comparing with normal controls via public datasets, similarly, CISD2 was highly expressed in DLBCL cell lines. Overexpression of CISD2 was associated with poor prognosis in DLBCL patients based on the GSE31312, the GSE32918, and GSE93984 datasets (P<0.05). Nine drugs was considered as a potential therapeutic agents for CISD2. By using the LASSO cox regression, twenty seven genes were identified to construct CISD2Risk, and biological functions of these genes might be involved in apoptosis and P53 signaling pathway. The high CISD2Risk value had a worse prognosis and therapeutic effect (P<0.05). The higher stromal score, immune score, and ESTIMATE score were associated with lowe CISD2Risk value, CISD2Risk was negatively correlated with several immune infiltrating cells (macrophages M0 and M1, CD8 T cells, CD4 naïve T cells, NK cell, etc) that might be correlated with better prognosis. Additionally, The high CISD2Risk was identified as an independent prognostic factor for DLBCL patients using both univariate and multivariate Cox regression. The nomogram produced accurate predictions and the calibration curves were in good agreement. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that high expression of CISD2 in DLBCL patients is associated with poor prognosis. We have successfully constructed and validated a good prognostic prediction and efficacy monitoring for CISD2Risk that included 27 genes. Meanwhile, CISD2Risk may be a promising evaluator for immune infiltration and serve as a reference for clinical decision-making in DLBCL patients.
Modified Cardiovascular Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score in Sepsis: External Validation in Intensive Care Unit Patients

Background There is a need to update the cardiovascular (CV) Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score to reflect the current practice in sepsis. We previously proposed the modified CV SOFA score from data on blood pressure, norepinephrine equivalent dose, and lactate as gathered from emergency departments. In this study, we externally validated the modified CV SOFA score in multicenter intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods A multicenter retrospective observational study was conducted on ICU patients at six hospitals in Korea. We included adult patients with sepsis who were admitted to ICUs. We compared the prognostic performance of the modified CV/total SOFA score and the original CV/total SOFA score in predicting 28-day mortality. Discrimination and calibration were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and the calibration curve, respectively. Results We analyzed 1,015 ICU patients with sepsis. In overall patients, the 28-day mortality rate was 31.2%. The predictive validity of the modified CV SOFA (AUROC, 0.712; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.677–0.746; P < 0.001) was significantly higher than that of the original CV SOFA (AUROC, 0.644; 95% CI, 0.611–0.677). The predictive validity of modified total SOFA score for 28-day mortality was significantly higher than that of the original total SOFA (AUROC, 0.747 vs. 0.730; 95% CI, 0.715–0.779; P = 0.002). The calibration curve of the original CV SOFA for 28-day mortality showed poor calibration. In contrast, the calibration curve of the modified CV SOFA for 28-day mortality showed good calibration. Conclusion In patients with sepsis in the ICU, the modified SOFA score performed better than the original SOFA score in predicting 28-day mortality.
Teleseismic slowness-azimuth station corrections for the International Monitoring System Seismic Network

Abstract The prototype International Data Center (PIDC) in Arlington, Virginia, has been developing and testing software and procedures for use in the verification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. After three years of operation with a global network of array and three-component stations, it has been possible to characterize various systematic biases of those stations that are designated in the Treaty as part of the International Monitoring System (IMS). These biases include deviations of azimuth and slowness measurements from predicted values, caused largely by lateral heterogeneity. For events recorded by few stations, azimuth and slowness are used in addition to arrival-time data for location by the PIDC. Corrections to teleseismic azimuth and slowness observations have been empirically determined for most IMS stations providing data to the PIDC. Application of these corrections is shown to improve signal association and event location. At some stations an overall systematic bias can be ascribed to local crustal structure or to unreported instrumental problems. The corrections have been applied in routine operation of the PIDC since February 1998.
A Close Association between Body Weight, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Risk Behaviors in a Sample of Italian High School Students

Introduction: Adolescents experience rapid physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth with different factors contributing to health and well-being. In this view, an important role is played by body weight and related perceptions. The purpose was to determine, in a sample of Italian high school students, whether health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with the different weight status categories (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese), even considering sex differences. Material and methods: Data were collected from 1826 adolescents (n = 735 males). HRQOL was analyzed using the Italian version of KIDSCREEN-52. Results: Overweight adolescents showed reductions in psychological well-being (p < 0.05) and self-perception (p < 0.05) compared with individuals in other BMI categories. Subjects with obesity reported increased bullying victimization (p < 0.05) and reductions in self-perception and eating disorders (p < 0.001), while underweight individuals were characterized by altered adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p < 0.001), eating disorders (p < 0.001), and problematic use of social media (p < 0.05). No sex differences were found, except for socio-economic status perceptions, where underweight girls reported higher economic well-being than boys (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings may suggest that there is an association between weight status categories and HRQoL that is more pronounced in underweight and overweight adolescents. The association between BMI categories and psychosocial dimensions opens the need to define specific domains on which such preventive interventions should focus, always through a personalized perspective.
Aerobic iron-oxidizing bacteria secrete metabolites that markedly impede abiotic iron oxidation

Abstract Iron is one of the Earth's most abundant elements and is required for essentially all forms of life. Yet, iron's reactivity with oxygen and poor solubility in its oxidized form (Fe3+) mean that it is often a limiting nutrient in oxic, near-neutral pH environments like Earth's ocean. In addition to being a vital nutrient, there is a diversity of aerobic organisms that oxidize ferrous iron (Fe2+) to harness energy for growth and biosynthesis. Accordingly, these organisms rely on access to co-existing Fe2+ and O2 to survive. It is generally presumed that such aerobic iron-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) are relegated to low-oxygen regimes where abiotic iron oxidation rates are slower, yet some FeOB live in higher oxygen environments where they cannot rely on lower oxygen concentrations to overcome abiotic competition. We hypothesized that FeOB chemically alter their environment to limit abiotic interactions between Fe2+ and O2. To test this, we incubated the secreted metabolites (collectively known as the exometabolome) of the deep-sea iron- and hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Ghiorsea bivora TAG-1 with ferrous iron and oxygen. We found that this FeOB's iron-oxidizing exometabolome markedly impedes the abiotic oxidation of ferrous iron, increasing the half-life of Fe2+ 100-fold from ∼3 to ∼335 days in the presence of O2, while the exometabolome of TAG-1 grown on hydrogen had no effect. Moreover, the few precipitates that formed in the presence of TAG-1's iron-oxidizing exometabolome were poorly crystalline, compared with the abundant iron particles that mineralized in the absence of abiotic controls. We offer an initial exploration of TAG-1's iron-oxidizing exometabolome and discuss potential key contributors to this process. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the exometabolome as a whole leads to a sustained accumulation of ferrous iron in the presence of oxygen, consequently altering the redox equilibrium. This previously unknown adaptation likely enables these microorganisms to persist in an iron-oxidizing and iron-precipitating world and could have impacts on the bioavailability of iron to FeOB and other life in iron-limiting environments.