Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE RELATIONSHIP OF DROUGHT FREQUENCY AND DURATION TO TIME SCALES

1.0 INTRODUCTION Five practical issues become important in any analysis of drought. These include: 1) time scale, 2) probability, 3) precipitation deficit, 4) application of the definition to precipitation and to the five water supply variables, and 5) the relationship of the definition to the impacts of drought. Frequency, duration and intensity of drought all become functions that depend on the implicitly or explicitly established time scales. Our experience in providing drought information to a collection of decision makers in Colorado is that they have a need for current conditions expressed in terms of probability, water deficit, and water supply as a percent of average using recent climatic history (the last 30 to 100 years) as the basis for comparison. No single drought definition or analysis method has emerged that addresses all these issues well. Of the variety of definitions and drought monitoring methods used in the past, by far the most widely used in the United States is the Palmer Drought Index (Palmer, 1965), but its weaknesses (Alley, 1984) frequently limit its wise application. For example, time scale is not defined for the Palmer Index but does inherently exist. The definition of drought has continually been a stumbling block for drought monitoring and analysis. Wilhite and Glantz (1985) completed a thorough review of dozens of drought definitions and identified six overall categories: meteorological, climatological, atmospheric, agricultural, hydrologic and water management. Dracup et al. (1980) also reviewed definitions. All points of view seem to agree that drought is a condition of insufficient moisture caused by a deficit in precipitation over some time period. Difficulties are primarily related to the time period over which deficits accumulate and to the connection of the deficit in precipitation to deficits in usable water sources and the impacts that ensue.
Photobiomodulation therapy combined with static magnetic field is better than placebo in patients with fibromyalgia: a randomized placebo-controlled trial

BACKGROUND Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by generalized chronic pain and tenderness in specific areas. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) using low-level laser therapy and/or light emitting diode therapy is an electrophysical agent that can be used alone or together with a static magnetic field (PBMT-sMF) to promote analgesia in several health conditions. Little evidence exists regarding the effects of using PBMT and PBMT-sMF in patients with fibromyalgia; this evidence is conflicting. AIM We aimed to investigate the effects of using PBMT-sMF versus a placebo on reduction of the degree-of-pain rating, impact of fibromyalgia, pain intensity, and satisfaction with treatment in patients with fibromyalgia. DESIGN A prospectively registered, monocentric, randomized placebo-controlled trial, with blinding of patients, therapists, and assessors, was performed. SETTING The study was conducted at the Laboratory of Phototherapy and Innovative Technologies in Health (LaPIT) in Brazil, between March and October 2020. POPULATION Ninety female patients with fibromyalgia were randomized to undergo either PBMT-sMF (N.=45) or placebo (N.=45) treatment. METHODS Patients from both groups received nine treatment sessions, three times a week, for 3 weeks. Clinical outcomes were collected at baseline, the end of treatment, and at the follow-up appointment 4 weeks post-treatment. The primary outcome was the degree-of-pain rating, measured by the reduction of the tender point count. RESULTS A decrease in the degree-of-pain rating was observed in patients allocated to the PBMT-sMF group, decreasing the number of tender points when compared to placebo group at the end of treatment (P<0.0001) and at the follow-up assessment (P<0.0001). Patients did not report any adverse events. CONCLUSIONS PBMT-sMF is superior to placebo, supporting its use in patients with fibromyalgia. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT PBMT-sMF might be considered an important adjuvant to the treatment regimens of patients with fibromyalgia.
Knowledge of Adult Sexual Orientation Influences Perceptions of Adult-Child Interactions

ABSTRACT Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a highly prevalent concern that carries lifelong consequences for the survivor. Many instances of CSA may be prevented when people correctly recognize precursory behaviors to abuse; however, research has shown that people’s biases color their perceptions of behavior. Past research demonstrated sexual and gender minority adults are more likely to erroneously be seen as predators and face harsher consequences compared to straight adults. The current study examined how knowledge of adults’ sexual orientation influenced perceptions regarding the nature of adult-child interactions. Participants in the current study read a series of vignettes describing interactions between adults and children where the adult sexual orientation (straight male, gay male) and the gender of the child (male, female) were manipulated. Participants then indicated whether they believed the behavior to be predatory or innocuous. Participants were less likely to recognize dangerous behaviors when the adult was described as a straight man interacting with a male child, suggesting that harmful adult-child interactions are more likely to go undetected in these instances.
SARS-CoV-2 suppresses TLR4-induced immunity by dendritic cells via C-type lectin receptor DC-SIGN

SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19, an infectious disease with symptoms ranging from a mild cold to severe pneumonia, inflammation, and even death. Although strong inflammatory responses are a major factor in causing morbidity and mortality, superinfections with bacteria during severe COVID-19 often cause pneumonia, bacteremia and sepsis. Aberrant immune responses might underlie increased sensitivity to bacteria during COVID-19 but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here we investigated whether SARS-CoV-2 directly suppresses immune responses to bacteria. We studied the functionality of human dendritic cells (DCs) towards a variety of bacterial triggers after exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein and SARS-CoV-2 primary isolate (hCoV-19/Italy). Notably, pre-exposure of DCs to either SARS-CoV-2 S protein or a SARS-CoV-2 isolate led to reduced type I interferon (IFN) and cytokine responses in response to Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 agonist lipopolysaccharide (LPS), whereas other TLR agonists were not affected. SARS-CoV-2 S protein interacted with the C-type lectin receptor DC-SIGN and, notably, blocking DC-SIGN with antibodies restored type I IFN and cytokine responses to LPS. Moreover, blocking the kinase Raf-1 by a small molecule inhibitor restored immune responses to LPS. These results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 modulates DC function upon TLR4 triggering via DC-SIGN-induced Raf-1 pathway. These data imply that SARS-CoV-2 actively suppresses DC function via DC-SIGN, which might account for the higher mortality rates observed in patients with COVID-19 and bacterial superinfections.
A Multivariate Non-Parametric Hazard Model for Earthquake Occurrences in Turkey

This paper provides an introduction to multivariate non-parametric hazard model for the occurrence of earthquakes since the hazard function denes the statistical distribution of inter-event times. The method is ap- plied to the Turkish seismicity since a signicant portion of Turkey is subject to frequent earthquakes and presents several advantages compared to other more traditional approaches. Destructive earthquakes from 1903 to 2009 be- tween the longitudes of (39-42)N and the latitudes of (26-45)E are used. The paper demonstrates how seismicity and tectonics/physics parameters that can potentially inuence the spatio-temporal variability of earthquakes and presents several advantages compared to more traditional approaches.
Copper‐independent lysosomal localisation of the Wilson disease protein ATP7B

In hepatocytes, the Wilson disease protein ATP7B resides on the trans‐Golgi network (TGN) and traffics to peripheral lysosomes to export excess intracellular copper through lysosomal exocytosis. We found that in basal copper or even upon copper chelation, a significant amount of ATP7B persists in the endolysosomal compartment of hepatocytes but not in non‐hepatic cells. These ATP7B‐harbouring lysosomes lie in close proximity of ~10 nm to the TGN. ATP7B constitutively distributes itself between the sub‐domain of the TGN with a lower pH and the TGN‐proximal lysosomal compartments. The presence of ATP7B on TGN‐lysosome colocalising sites upon Golgi disruption suggested a possible exchange of ATP7B directly between the TGN and its proximal lysosomes. Manipulating lysosomal positioning significantly alters the localisation of ATP7B in the cell. Contrary to previous understanding, we found that upon copper chelation in a copper‐replete hepatocyte, ATP7B is not retrieved back to TGN from peripheral lysosomes; rather, ATP7B recycles to these TGN‐proximal lysosomes to initiate the next cycle of copper transport. We report a hitherto unknown copper‐independent lysosomal localisation of ATP7B and the importance of TGN‐proximal lysosomes but not TGN as the terminal acceptor organelle of ATP7B in its retrograde pathway.
Machine learning approaches to coastal water quality monitoring using GOCI satellite data

Since coastal waters are one of the most vulnerable marine systems to environmental pollution, it is very important to operationally monitor coastal water quality. This study attempts to estimate two major water quality indicators, chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations, in coastal environments on the west coast of South Korea using Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) satellite data. Three machine learning approaches including random forest, Cubist, and support vector regression (SVR) were evaluated for coastal water quality estimation. In situ measurements (63 samples) collected during four days in 2011 and 2012 were used as reference data. Due to the limited number of samples, leave-one-out cross validation (CV) was used to assess the performance of the water quality estimation models. Results show that SVR outperformed the other two machine learning approaches, yielding calibration R2 of 0.91 and CV root-mean-squared-error (RMSE) of 1.74 mg/m3 (40.7%) for chl-a, and calibration R2 of 0.98 and CV RMSE of 11.42 g/m3 (63.1%) for SPM when using GOCI-derived radiance data. Relative importance of the predictor variables was examined. When GOCI-derived radiance data were used, the ratio of band 2 to band 4 and bands 6 and 5 were the most influential input variables in predicting chl-a and SPM concentrations, respectively. Hourly available GOCI images were useful to discuss spatiotemporal distributions of the water quality parameters with tidal phases in the west coast of Korea.
Histomorphometric evaluation, SEM, and synchrotron analysis of the biological response of biodegradable and ceramic hydroxyapatite-based grafts: from the synthesis to the bed application

This study aimed to analyze the physicochemical and histological properties of nanostructured hydroxyapatite and alginate composites produced at different temperatures with and without sintering and implanted in rabbit tibiae. Hydroxyapatite-alginate (HA) microspheres (425–600 µm) produced at 90 and 5 °C without (HA90 and HA5) or with sintering at 1000 °C (HA90S and HA5S) were characterized and applied to evaluate the in vitro degradation; also were implanted in bone defects on rabbit’s tibiae (n = 12). The animals were randomly divided into five groups (blood clot, HA90S, HA5S, HA90, and HA5) and euthanized after 7 and 28 d. X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared analysis of the non-sintered biomaterials showed a lower crystallinity than sintered materials, being more degradable in vitro and in vivo. However, the sinterization of HA5 led to the apatite phase’s decomposition into tricalcium phosphate. Histomorphometric analysis showed the highest (p < 0.01) bone density in the blood clot group, similar bone levels among HA90S, HA90, and HA5, and significantly less bone in the HA5S. HA90 and HA5 groups presented higher degradation and homogeneous distribution of the new bone formation onto the surface of biomaterial fragments, compared to HA90S, presenting bone only around intact microspheres (p < 0.01). The elemental distribution (scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy and μXRF-SR analysis) of Ca, P, and Zn in the newly formed bone is similar to the cortical bone, indicating bone maturity at 28 d. The synthesized biomaterials are biocompatible and osteoconductive. The heat treatment directly influenced the material’s behavior, where non-sintered HA90 and HA5 showed higher degradation, allowing a better distribution of the new bone onto the surface of the biomaterial fragments compared to HA90S presenting the same level of new bone, but only on the surface of the intact microspheres, potentially reducing the bone-biomaterial interface.
Synchronous exhumation events around the Arctic including examples from Barents Sea and Alaska North Slope

Abstract In many areas of the Arctic, sedimentary sequences have been exhumed from significantly greater depths during the Cenozoic, with 2 km of section or more removed in some areas. Implications for exploration include enhanced maturity levels, possible loss of reservoired hydrocarbons as a result of seal breach, and phase changes due to pressure reduction. While the importance of Cenozoic exhumation to hydrocarbon prospectivity in individual basins is widely recognized, less well recognized is the regional synchroneity in the main phases of Cenozoic exhumation over wide areas of the Arctic and North Atlantic. Thermal history reconstruction studies in the Barents Sea and the Alaskan North Slope, based on application of apatite fission track analysis and vitrinite reflectance, reveal three main episodes of exhumation, in Paleocene, Eocene–Oligocene and Miocene times, and correlative exhumation episodes have been identified in a number of published studies in these and other areas. Previous attempts to explain these episodes of exhumation have been focussed on local mechanisms. However, our results reveal a pattern of regionally synchronous exhumation over a wide region, not only of the Arctic but also in many areas around the European North Atlantic margin, suggesting that events in each area are a regional response to events at plate boundaries, perhaps coupled to imbalances of crustal forces at continental boundaries. To date, no convincing mechanism has been put forward for producing such regional exhumation episodes, despite the fact that in many areas they exert critical control on regional hydrocarbon prospectivity. We suggest that serious attention should be directed to investigating the underlying mechanisms.
Arterial Stiffness Is Associated With Small Vessel Disease Irrespective of Blood Pressure in Stroke-Free Individuals

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness and hypertension are important risk factors for cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Clinically, there are hypertensive patients with low pulse wave velocity (PWV) and nonhypertensive individuals with high PWV. We aimed to determine the effects of arterial stiffness on CSVD in normotensive individuals. METHODS: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in 1894 stroke-free participants who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) measurements at a health checkup between 2013 and 2020. CSVD was defined as any of following: white matter hyperintensities, cerebral microbleeds, silent lacunar infarcts, and enlarged perivascular spaces. baPWV was measured using an automatic oscillometric device. Participants were divided into 4 groups according to the following cutoff points: low blood pressure (BP, <120/80 mm Hg) with low baPWV (<14.63 m/s, a cutoff value that predicted CSVD); high BP (≥120/80 mm Hg) with low baPWV; low BP with high baPWV (≥14.63 m/s); and high BP with high baPWV. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 57±13 years (41% women). The prevalence of CSVD was 718 (38%), which was higher in the low BP with high baPWV (56%) and high BP with high baPWV (55%) groups than in the high BP with low baPWV (24%) and low BP with low baPWV (22%) groups. Compared with the low BP with low baPWV group, the low BP with high baPWV group (odds ratio, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.09–2.43]) and the high BP with high baPWV group (odds ratio, 1.86 [95% CI, 1.39–2.49]) had a significantly higher multivariable-adjusted risk for CSVD. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with a high baPWV had a higher prevalence of CSVD, independent of BP status. Higher arterial stiffness is likely to be a more important risk factor for CSVD than BP status in stroke-free individuals.
Instream physical habitat modelling types: an analysis as stream hydromorphological modelling tools for EU water resource managers

The introduction of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is providing member state water resource managers with significant challenges in relation to meeting the deadline for ‘Good Ecological Status’ by 2015. Overall, instream physical habitat modelling approaches have advantages and disadvantages as management tools for member states in relation to the requirements of the WFD, but due to their different model structures they are distinct in their data needs, transferability, user-friendliness and presentable outputs. Water resource managers need information on what approaches will best suit their situations. This paper analyses the potential of different methods available for water managers to assess hydrological and geomorphological impacts on the habitats of stream biota, as requested by the WFD. The review considers both conventional and new advanced research-based instream physical habitat models. In parametric and non-parametric regression models, model assumptions are often not satisfied and the models are difficult to transfer to other regions. Research-based methods such as the artificial neural networks and individual-based modelling have promising potential as water management tools, but require large amounts of data and the model structure is complex. It is concluded that the use of habitat suitability indices (HSIs) and fuzzy rules in hydraulic–habitat modelling are the most ready model types to satisfy WFD demands. These models are well documented, transferable, user-friendly and have flexible data needs. They can easily be implemented in new regions using expert information or different types of local data. Furthermore, they are easily presentable to stakeholders and have the potential to be applied over large spatial scales. Integral care must be taken in the use of appropriate HSIs as these are the most sensitive part of the modelling and inaccurate results will be gained if not correctly formulated. If representative HSIs are not available, fuzzy rule-based modelling is recommended, but care must also be taken in the designing of the rule sets. For larger-scale modelling or when only few field data are available, generalized habitat models hold promise for quantifying habitat suitability based on average stream characteristics.
Stress-field rotation and rooted detachment faults: A Coulomb failure analysis

Several well-known mechanical models have shown that unusual boundary or loading conditions can alter principal-stress orientations into configurations consistent with low-angle normal faulting. Such models, however, have not demonstrated whether magnitudes of reoriented stresses are sufficient to initiate and promote slip on low-angle surfaces. We present the results of simple Coulomb failure analyses to determine whether, and where, such models predict frictional slip, assuming geologically plausible boundary stresses, pore pressures, and rock strengths. Models that invoke a sizable shear traction at the base of the upper crust or spatially varying loads on the upper crust reorient principal stresses and failure planes but do not produce frictional failure on crustal-scale detachments either in the absence of pore fluids or at hydrostatic pore fluid pressures. Models that reorient stresses by midcrustal dike intrusion produce slip on low-angle surfaces at relatively deep crustal levels but only in the area of the dike tip; the low-angle failure surfaces curve into a high-angle orientation a short distance from the dike. All of these models also imply unsustainably high absolute tensile stresses in the upper 5 km of the crust and suggest that, in any system in which stresses are allowed to evolve over time, failure and stress release will occur on high-angle faults before low-angle ones have developed. These assertions are true even when near-lithostatic pore pressures are assumed, unless there is an inhomogeneous, extraordinarily fortuitous distribution of pore pressures and rock strengths at the time of initiation of a new detachment fault. One model we tested, for example, required pore pressures exceeding 0.96 times lithostatic in the area of the hypothesized low-angle normal fault, with lower pore pressures both above and below the detachment to prevent slip and stress release on high-angle normal faults in the upper part of the modeled region and on low-angle thrust faults in the lower part.
Geochemical and Os–Hf–Nd–Sr Isotopic Characterization of North Patagonian Mantle Xenoliths: Implications for Extensive Melt Extraction and Percolation Processes

Alkali basalt hosted mantle xenoliths were sampled at four locations within the North Patagonian Massif, Argentina. The subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath Comallo, Puesto Diaz and Cerro Chenque is mostly represented by spinel-harzburgites, whereas at Prahuaniyeu, spinel– garnet- and garnet-peridotites occur next to spinel-peridotites. Partial melting estimates for the north Patagonian mantle xenoliths determined from clinopyroxene trace element abundances reveal up to 25% melt extraction. Whereas the SCLM beneath Puesto Diaz, Cerro Chenque and Comallo is exclusively represented by highly depleted mantle xenoliths, the Prahuaniyeu sample suite comprises both fertile lherzolites and depleted harzburgites. Elevated trace element contents in all the studied north Patagonian mantle samples indicate that melt–rock interaction took place after an initial melt depletion event. Variable primitive mantle normalized REE patterns of clinopyroxenes from within one sample locality suggest compositional changes attributed to melt percolation, which has not signiﬁcantly affected the bulk-rock and mineral major element compositions. Melt percolation processes have also been detected in the isotopic compositions of the xenoliths, as well as in their highly siderophile element systematics. Hf isotopic compositions are decoupled from those of Nd and Sr and have been affected by variable degrees of enrichment. Platinum group element (PGE) abundances also reveal indications of melt–rock reaction. In some samples this is re-ﬂected in fractionation of the iridium-group PGE and/or enrichment in the palladium-group PGE and/or rhenium, which cannot result merely from partial melting processes. Rhenium depletion ages (T RD ) determined from Os isotopic analyses reveal an at least late Paleoproterozoic (1 (cid:2) 7 Ga) stabilization of the Prahuaniyeu SCLM. Mantle xenoliths sampled from beneath Comallo and Puesto Diaz–Cerro Chenque yield distinctly younger T RD of 1 (cid:2) 3 Ga and 1 (cid:2) 0 Ga, respectively. Distinct differences in the character of mantle xenoliths from Prahuaniyeu and from Puesto Diaz and Cerro Chenque (i.e. SCLM stabilization age and range of fertility) suggest that at least two SCLM domains exist below the North Patagonian Massif.