Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microstructure and Crystallographic Preferred Orientations of an Azimuthally Oriented Ice Core from a Lateral Shear Margin: Priestley Glacier, Antarctica

A 58 m long azimuthally oriented ice core has been collected from the floating lateral sinistral shear margin of the lower Priestley Glacier, Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. The crystallographic preferred orientations (CPO) and microstructures are described in order to correlate the geometry of anisotropy with constrained large-scale kinematics. Cryogenic Electron Backscatter Diffraction analysis shows a very strong fabric (c-axis primary eigenvalue ∼0.9) with c-axes aligned horizontally sub-perpendicular to flow, rotating nearly 40° clockwise (looking down) to the pole to shear throughout the core. The c-axis maximum is sub-perpendicular to vertical layers, with the pole to layering always clockwise of the c-axes. Priestley ice microstructures are defined by largely sub-polygonal grains and constant mean grain sizes with depth. Grain long axis shape preferred orientations (SPO) are almost always 1–20° clockwise of the c-axis maximum. A minor proportion of “oddly” oriented grains that are distinct from the main c-axis maximum, are present in some samples. These have horizontal c-axes rotated clockwise from the primary c-axis maximum and may define a weaker secondary maximum up to 30° clockwise of the primary maximum. Intragranular misorientations are measured along the core, and although the statistics are weak, this could suggest recrystallization by subgrain rotation to occur. These microstructures suggest subgrain rotation (SGR) and recrystallization by grain boundary migration recrystallization (GBM) are active in the Priestley Glacier shear margin. Vorticity analysis based on intragranular distortion indicates a vertical axis of rotation in the shear margin. The variability in c-axis maximum orientation with depth indicates the structural heterogeneity of the Priestley Glacier shear margin occurs at the meter to tens of meters scale. We suggest that CPO rotations could relate to rigid rotation of blocks of ice within the glacial shear margin. Rotation either post-dates CPO and SPO development or is occurring faster than CPO evolution can respond to a change in kinematics.
The Improvement of Ventilation Behaviours in Kitchens of Residential Buildings

This research investigated resident behaviours in relation to kitchen ventilation in residential buildings in order to improve kitchen indoor air quality (IAQ) in South Korean living spaces. The research involved a survey study of 182 households, which identified resident behaviour with respect to ventilation, their satisfaction level regarding the IAQ, and their use and maintenance of range hoods in the kitchens. This paper describes the kitchen CO2 concentrations with both natural and mechanical ventilation. The adequacy of the ventilation behaviour was determined by monitoring the CO2 concentration and ventilation behaviours in 10 sampled households of residential buildings. The results showed that natural ventilation was conducted for less than 20 min once a day and that 23.3% of respondents used both natural ventilation and mechanical ventilators. Moreover, the results demonstrated that mechanical ventilators were not properly maintained. In addition, the average CO2 concentration was greater than 1000 ppm during cooking, and natural ventilation was more effective than were mechanical ventilators. Most residents performed inadequate kitchen ventilation to achieve comfortable IAQ. This study suggests ways to improve the ventilation behaviours of residents. The findings of this research should aid in the development of IAQ standards for Korean residential buildings and may contribute to the establishment of ventilation guidelines.
SHEAR TRANSFER IN REINFORCED CONCRETE-RECENT RESEARCH

THE WAY IN WHICH CONCRETE STRENGTH, SHEAR PLANE CHARACTERISTICS, REINFORCEMENT, AND DIRECT STRESS AFFECT THE SHEAR TRANSFER STRENGTH OF REINFORCED CONCRETE IS DEMONSTRATED. FUNDAMENTAL BEHAVIOR OF TEST SPECIMENS UNDER LOAD IS REPORTED, AND HYPOTHESES TO EXPLAIN THE BEHAVIOR ARE DEVELOPED. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT SHEAR-FRICTION PROVISIONS OF ACI 318-71 GIVE A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE OF SHEAR-TRANSFER STRENGTH BELOW THE STATED LIMIT OF 800 PSI. A DESIGN EQUATION TO DEVELOP HIGHER SHEAR TRANSFER STRENGTH IS PRESENTED. /JPCI/
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Attentional Control Training for Treating Alcohol Use Disorder

Background: There is consistent evidence that community and clinical samples of individuals with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) have attentional biases toward alcohol cues. The alcohol attentional control training program (AACTP) has shown promise for retraining these biases and decreasing alcohol consumption in community samples of excessive drinkers. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of ACTP in clinical AUD samples. The main aim of the present study is to investigate whether primary pharmacological and psychological, evidence-based alcohol treatment can be enhanced by the addition of a gamified AACTP smartphone application for patients with an AUD. Design and Methods: The study will be implemented as a randomized controlled trial. A total of 317 consecutively enrolled patients with AUD will be recruited from alcohol outpatient clinics in Denmark. Patients will be randomized to one of three groups upon initiation of primary alcohol treatment: Group A: a gamified AACTP smartphone application + treatment as usual (TAU); Group B: a gamified AACTP sham-control application + TAU; or Group C: only TAU. Treatment outcomes will be assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Repeated measures MANOVA will be used to compare the trajectories of the groups over time on alcohol attentional bias, alcohol craving, and drinking reductions. It is hypothesized that Group A will achieve better treatment outcomes than either Group B or Group C. Perspectives: Because attentional bias for alcohol cues is proportional to the amount of alcohol consumed, and these biases are not addressed within current evidence-based treatment programs, this study is expected to provide new evidence regarding the effectiveness of the gamified AACTP in a clinical population. Furthermore, due to promising results found using AACTP in community samples of excessive drinkers, there is a high probability that the AACTP treatment in this study will also be effective, thereby allowing AACTP to be readily implemented in clinical settings. Finally, we expect that this study will increase the effectiveness of evidence-based AUD treatment and introduce a new, low-cost gamified treatment targeting patients with an AUD. Overall, this study is likely to have an impact at the scientific, clinical, and societal levels. Clinical Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05102942? term=NCT05102942&draw=2&rank=1, identifier: NCT05102942.
Molecular and Mechanical Cues for Somite Periodicity

Somitogenesis refers to the segmentation of the paraxial mesoderm, a tissue located on the back of the embryo, into regularly spaced and sized pieces, i.e., the somites. This periodicity is important to assure, for example, the formation of a functional vertebral column. Prevailing models of somitogenesis are based on the existence of a gene regulatory network capable of generating a striped pattern of gene expression, which is subsequently translated into periodic tissue boundaries. An alternative view is that the pre-pattern that guides somitogenesis is not chemical, but of a mechanical origin. A striped pattern of mechanical strain can be formed in physically connected tissues expanding at different rates, as it occurs in the embryo. Here we argue that both molecular and mechanical cues could drive somite periodicity and suggest how they could be integrated.
Heat Balance When Climbing Mount Everest

Background: Mountaineers must control and regulate their thermal comfort and heat balance to survive the rigors of high altitude environment. High altitudes feature low air pressure and temperatures, strong winds and intense solar radiation, key factors affecting an expedition’s success. All these climatic elements stress human heat balance and survival. We assess components of human heat balance while climbing Mt. Everest. Materials and Methods: We calculated climbers’ heat balance using the Man-ENvironment heat EXchange model (MENEX-2005) and derived meteorological data from the National Geographic Expedition’s in situ dataset. Three weather stations sited between 3810 and 7945 m a.s. l. provided data with hourly resolution. We used data for summer (1 May–15 August 2019) and winter (16 October 2019–6 January 2020) seasons to analyze heat balance elements of convection, evaporation, respiration and radiation (solar and thermal). Results: Meteorological and other factors affecting physiology—such as clothing insulation of 3.5–5.5 clo and activity levels of 3–5 MET—regulate human heat balance. Elevation above sea level is the main element affecting heat balance. In summer two to three times more solar radiation can be absorbed at the summit of the mountain than at the foot. Low air pressure reduces air density, which reduces convective heat loss at high altitude by up to half of the loss at lower locations with the same wind speed and air temperature. Conclusion: 1. Alpinists face little risk of overheating or overcooling while actively climbing Mt. Everest, despite the potential risk of overcooling at extreme altitudes on Mt. Everest in winter. 2. Convection and evaporation are responsible for most of the heat lost at altitude. 3. Levels of physical activity and clothing insulation play the greatest role in counteracting heat loss at high altitude.
The Efference Copy Signal as a Key Mechanism for Consciousness

Animals need to distinguish sensory input caused by their own movement from sensory input which is due to stimuli in the outside world. This can be done by an efference copy mechanism, a carbon copy of the movement-command that is routed to sensory structures. Here I tried to link the mechanism of the efference copy with the idea of the philosopher Thomas Reid that the senses would have a double province, to make us feel, and to make us perceive, and that, as argued by psychologist Nicholas Humphrey, the former would identify with the signals from bodily sense organs with an internalized evaluative response, i.e., with phenomenal consciousness. I discussed a possible departure from the classical implementation of the efference copy mechanism that can effectively provide the senses with such a double province, and possibly allow us some progress in understanding the nature of consciousness.
Monocyte/High-Density Lipoprotein Ratio Predicts the Prognosis of Large Artery Atherosclerosis Ischemic Stroke

Objective: Monocyte to high-density lipoprotein ratio is considered as a new inflammatory marker and has been used to predict the severity of coronary heart disease and the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events (ACEs). However, there is a lack of data relative to large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) ischemic stroke. We investigated whether the monocyte to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio (MHR) is related to the 3-month functional prognosis of LAA ischemic stroke. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 316 LAA ischemic stroke patients. The 3-month functional outcome was divided into good and poor according to the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between MHR and prognosis of ischemic stroke. Results: The MHR level of poor functional outcome group was higher than that of the good functional outcome group [0.44 (0.3, 0.55) vs. 0.38 (0.27, 0.5), P = 0.025]. Logistic stepwise multiple regression revealed that MHR [odds ratio (OR) 9.464, 95%CI 2.257–39.678, P = 0.002] was an independent risk factor for the 3-month poor outcome of LAA ischemic stroke. Compared to the lower MHR tertile, the upper MHR tertile had a 3.03-fold increase (95% CI 1.475–6.225, P = 0.003) in the odds of poor functional outcome after adjustment for potential confounders. Moreover, a multivariable-adjusted restricted cubic spline (RCS) showed a positive close to a linear pattern of this association. Conclusion: Elevated MHR was independently associated with an increased risk of poor 3-month functional outcome of patients with LAA ischemic stroke.
Phloem Exit as a Possible Control Point in Selective Systemic Transport of RNA

Phloem sieve tubes constitute the route for the transport of photosynthesis products and consist of sieve elements (SEs), highly specialized cells that degrade the nucleus and some other organelles when they differentiate (Lucas et al., 2013). Therefore, the maintenance of mature SEs is assumed to depend on the transport of essential proteins from companion cells (CCs) connected to SEs by specialized pore plasmodesmata with a high size exclusion limit of 70 kDa (Oparka and Turgeon, 1999). As suggested by analyses of phloem exudate preparations, enucleate mature SEs incapable of transcription contain a plethora of RNA (Kehr and Kragler, 2018; Maizel et al., 2020), raising questions on the origin and functions of RNA in the phloem sieve tubes that are still largely unanswered. Here, we discuss the concept of selective RNA transport through the phloem directed by specific signals in RNA molecules. RNA in the phloem translocation stream is assumed to be transported to distant plant parts. For a number of RNA species, including both mRNAs and small RNAs (Lin et al., 2008; Pant et al., 2008; Hannapel and Banerjee, 2017), long-distance transport has been documented to take part in plant development and responses to external stimuli (Lough and Lucas, 2006; Lucas et al., 2013; Maizel et al., 2020). In some mRNAs, regions responsible for their ability for transport through the phloem or “phloem transport signals” (PTSs) have been mapped. One known PTS type is represented by polypyrimidine tracts found in mRNAs of pumpkin CmGAI and CmPP16-1 proteins (XoconostleCázares et al., 1999; Ham et al., 2009) and potato StBEL5 and POTH1 proteins (Banerjee et al., 2006; Mahajan et al., 2012). In pumpkin, polypyrimidine tracts in phloem-mobile RNAs can be bound by RBP50, a phloem polypyrimidine-binding protein, serving as a core component in a multiprotein ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex, presumably the RNA transport form (Ham et al., 2009). Another PTS type is represented by diverse highly-structured RNA regions such as tRNA sequences in untranslated regions of certain mRNAs, tRNA-like structures in RNA genomes of particular plant viruses, micro-RNA precursors, and viroids (Tolstyko et al., 2020). Although not studied in detail, these structures are shown to mediate phloem transport of native RNAs (Gopinath and Kao, 2007; Ding, 2009; Zhang W. et al., 2016) and heterologous reporter RNAs (Zhang W. et al., 2016; Lezzhov et al., 2019). The model of specific phloem transport of PTS-containing RNAs does not fully comply with the available data. Phloem exudate preparations contain thousands of mRNA species, as well as rRNA, tRNA, snRNA, and other non-coding RNAs in their native and truncated forms (Zhang et al., 2009; Kehr and Kragler, 2018). These RNAs can originate from CCs and transcription-competent
The Monte Carlo Simulation of Three Antimicrobials for Empiric Treatment of Adult Bloodstream Infections With Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales in China

Introduction: The aim of this study was to predict and evaluate three antimicrobials for treatment of adult bloodstream infections (BSI) with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) in China, so as to optimize the clinical dosing regimen further. Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility data of blood isolates were obtained from the Blood Bacterial Resistance Investigation Collaborative Systems in China. Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to estimate the probability target attainment (PTA) and cumulative fraction of response (CFR) of tigecycline, polymyxin B, and ceftazidime/avibactam against CRE. Results: For the results of PTAs, tigecycline following administration of 50 mg every 12 h, 75 mg every 12 h, and 100 mg every 12 h achieved > 90% PTAs when minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 0.25, 0.5, and 0.5 μg/mL, respectively; polymyxin B following administration of all tested regimens achieved > 90% PTAs when MIC was 1 μg/mL with CRE; ceftazidime/avibactam following administration of 1.25 g every 8 h, 2.5 g every 8 h achieved > 90% PTAs when MIC was 4 μg/mL, 8 μg/mL with CRE, respectively. As for CFR values of three antimicrobials, ceftazidime/avibactam achieved the lowest CFR values. The highest CFR value of ceftazidime/avibactam was 77.42%. For tigecycline and ceftazidime/avibactam, with simulated regimens daily dosing increase, the CFR values were both increased; the highest CFR of tigecycline values was 91.88%. For polymyxin B, the most aggressive dosage of 1.5 mg/kg every 12 h could provide the highest CFR values (82.69%) against CRE. Conclusion: This study suggested that measurement of MICs and individualized therapy should be considered together to achieve the optimal drug exposure. In particular, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling based on local antimicrobial resistance data can provide valuable guidance for clinicians for the administration of empirical antibiotic treatments for BSIs.
Human Development Index, ICT, and Renewable Energy-Growth Nexus for Sustainable Development: A Novel PVAR Analysis

The relevance of information and communication technology to long-lasting human improvement cannot be disregarded in this modern world. From this perspective, this study analyzed the association between information and communication technologies, renewable energy, economic growth, and human development indices considering CO2 emissions and remittances from 1990 to 2017 in 30 developing countries by using the panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model. The findings of the empirical investigation point to the considerable favorable relationship between information and communication technology, renewable energy, and economic growth with the human development index. The causality results suggest that there is bidirectional causality between renewable energy and the human development index. In addition, there is unidirectional causality from human development to information and communication technology. However, the study recommends implementing information and communication technology-related policies to trigger renewable energy for sustainable growth and the human development index.
Brown Adipose Transplantation Improves Polycystic Ovary Syndrome-Involved Metabolome Remodeling

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex reproductive, endocrine, and metabolic disorder in reproductive-age women. In order to explore the active metabolites of brown adipose tissue (BAT) transplantation in improving the reproductive and metabolic phenotypes in a PCOS rat model, the metabolites in the recipient’s BAT were explored using the liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry technique. In total, 9 upregulated and 13 downregulated metabolites were identified. They were roughly categorized into 12 distinct classes, mainly including glycerophosphoinositols, glycerophosphocholines, and sphingolipids. Ingenuity pathway analysis predicted that these differentially metabolites mainly target the PI3K/AKT, MAPK, and Wnt signaling pathways, which are closely associated with PCOS. Furthermore, one of these differential metabolites, sphingosine belonging to sphingolipids, was randomly selected for further experiments on a human granulosa-like tumor cell line (KGN). It significantly accelerated the apoptosis of KGN cells induced by dihydrotestosterone. Based on these findings, we speculated that metabolome changes are an important process for BAT transplantation in improving PCOS. It might be a novel therapeutic target for PCOS treatment.
Temperature-dependent characteristics of 1.3-μm AlGaInAs-InP lasers with multiquantum barriers at the guiding layers

Strain-compensated 1.3-/spl mu/m AlGaInAs-InP multiquantum-well (MQW) lasers with multiquantum barriers at both the n- and p-type guiding layers are comprehensively studied. The laser exhibits a characteristic temperature as high as 95 K and degradation in slope efficiency as low as -1.06 dB in the temperature range from 25/spl deg/C to 75/spl deg/C. The characteristic temperature of transparency current density is deduced to be 129 K. It is also found that the internal loss increases slowly with temperature, while the temperature dependence of the internal quantum efficiency dominates the degradation of the external quantum efficiency due to the degradation of the stimulated recombination, and significant increase of electron and hole leakage at high temperature.
A Data-Based Approach for Selecting Pre- and Intra-Operative Language Mapping Tasks

Background: Pre- and intra-operative language mapping in neurosurgery patients frequently involves an object naming task. The choice of the optimal object naming paradigm remains challenging due to lack of normative data and standardization in mapping practices. The aim of this study was to identify object naming paradigms that robustly and consistently activate classical language regions and could therefore be used to improve the sensitivity of language mapping in brain tumor and epilepsy patients. Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from two independent groups of healthy controls (total = 79) were used to generate threshold-weighted voxel-based consistency maps. This novel approach allowed us to compare inter-subject consistency of activation for naming single objects in the visual and auditory modality and naming two objects in a phrase or a sentence. Results: We found that the consistency of activation in language regions was greater for naming two objects per picture than one object per picture, even when controlling for the number of names produced in 5 s. Conclusion: More consistent activation in language areas for naming two objects compared to one object suggests that two-object naming tasks may be more suitable for delimiting language eloquent regions with pre- and intra-operative language testing. More broadly, we propose that the functional specificity of brain mapping paradigms for a whole range of different linguistic and non-linguistic functions could be enhanced by referring to databased models of inter-subject consistency and variability in typical and atypical brain responses.
Distillation of Regional Activity Reveals Hidden Content of Neural Information in Visual Processing

Multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) has become a standard tool for decoding mental states from brain activity patterns. Recent studies have demonstrated that MVPA can be applied to decode activity patterns of a certain region from those of the other regions. By applying a similar region-to-region decoding technique, we examined whether the information represented in the visual areas can be explained by those represented in the other visual areas. We first predicted the brain activity patterns of an area on the visual pathway from the others, then subtracted the predicted patterns from their originals. Subsequently, the visual features were derived from these residuals. During the visual perception task, the elimination of the top-down signals enhanced the simple visual features represented in the early visual cortices. By contrast, the elimination of the bottom-up signals enhanced the complex visual features represented in the higher visual cortices. The directions of such modulation effects varied across visual perception/imagery tasks, indicating that the information flow across the visual cortices is dynamically altered, reflecting the contents of visual processing. These results demonstrated that the distillation approach is a useful tool to estimate the hidden content of information conveyed across brain regions.