Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel ultrashort self-assembling peptide bioinks for 3D culture of muscle myoblast cells

The ability of skeletal muscle to self-repair after a traumatic injury, tumor ablation, or muscular disease is slow and limited, and the capacity of skeletal muscle to self-regenerate declines steeply with age. Tissue engineering of functional skeletal muscle using 3D bioprinting technology is promising for creating tissue constructs that repair and promote regeneration of damaged tissue. Hydrogel scaffolds used as biomaterials for skeletal muscle tissue engineering can provide chemical, physical and mechanical cues to the cells in three dimensions thus promoting regeneration. Herein, we have developed two synthetically designed novel tetramer peptide biomaterials. These peptides are self-assembling into a nanofibrous 3D network, entrapping 99.9% water and mimicking the native collagen of an extracellular matrix. Different biocompatibility assays including MTT, 3D cell viability assay, cytotoxicity assay and live-dead assay confirm the biocompatibility of these peptide hydrogels for mouse myoblast cells (C2C12). Immunofluorescence analysis of cell-laden hydrogels revealed that the proliferation of C2C12 cells was well-aligned in the peptide hydrogels compared to the alginategelatin control. These results indicate that these peptide hydrogels are suitable for skeletal muscle tissue engineering. Finally, we tested the printability of the peptide bioinks using a commercially available 3D bioprinter. The ability to print these hydrogels will enable future development of 3D bioprinted scaffolds containing skeletal muscle myoblasts for tissue engineering applications.
Diurnal activities of Green-winged Teal and Pintail wintering in Louisiana

Observations were made on American Green-winged Teal Anas crecca carolinensis and Pintail A. acuta wintering in Louisiana. Both species flocked by day in very large concentrations (up to 80,000 ducks) on some restricted resting grounds, both during the hunting periods and at other times. Lesser concentrations lasted no longer than one or two weeks. Teal and Pintail mostly sleep, preen and swim during the day. Preening lasts two to three hours per day at the beginning of the season and is related to the moult. Sleeping is the longest diurnal activity (eight to nine hours). Both these activities are often performed by standing ducks, flocked on the borders of the resting area or on floating organic matter where they face the sun the day long. Feeding is an insignificant diurnal activity. Timing and directions of the crepuscular feeding flights are fairly constant. Ducks reach the feeding grounds at night and return the next morning to the resting area. These data are quite similar to those obtained in the Camargue, Iran and Senegal and can be considered as characteristic of wintering dabbling ducks. Hunting pressure cannot be considered responsible for that diurnal gregarious behaviour and nocturnal feeding activity. An important diurnal requirement is large open areas where the birds can stand and sunbathe in flocks.
Stochastic Analysis of Unsaturated Flow in Heterogeneous Soils: 3. Observations and Applications

Results of stochastic theory for flow in heterogeneous soils are analyzed by comparisons with laboratory experiments and field observations, and through applications examples. The two key theoretical results are (1) the variability of capillary pressure or moisture content increases when mean capillary pressure increases and (2) the anisotropy ratio (horizontal/vertical) of effective (mean) unsaturated hydraulic conductivity increases when mean capillary pressure increases or mean moisture content decreases. Comparisons with the field data on moisture content and capillary pressure variability show trends similar to those predicted by the theory. Calculations of hydraulic conductivity anisotropy based on two actual soils show that the variations in soil texture produce large changes in anisotropy as the mean capillary pressure changes. Several previously reported field observations and laboratory experiments support the theoretical finding of a capillary pressure dependent hydraulic anisotropy for unsaturated flow. The importance of this anisotropy effect in applications involving groundwater recharge, irrigation, surface runoff generation, and waste isolation is discussed.
The Beaten Track: European Tourism, Literature, and the Ways to 'Culture', 1800-1918

Tourist and traveller in the network of 19th-century travel tourism and anti-tourism - conventions and strategies a scripted continent - British and American travel-writers in Europe, c. 1825-1875 ambivalent appropriations - culture and the tourist in James Forster's trespasses - tourism and cultural politics epilogue.
Litter-Carbon Dynamics: The Importance of Decomposition, Accretion, and Sequestration in Understanding Ecosystem Carbon Cycling

The litter carbon (C) pool of a single litter cohort in an agroecosystem is the difference between net primary productivity and decomposition and comprises 1113% of the total C pool (litter and soil 0-15 cm depth) post-harvest. This litter-C pool is highly dynamic and up to 50% can be decomposed in the first 12 months of decomposition. Thus, understanding litter-C dynamics is key in understanding monthly and annual total ecosystem carbon dynamics. While the effects of management practices such as irrigation and fertilization on productivity are well understood, the effects on decomposition are less studied. While irrigation and fertilization increase productivity, this will only lead to increased litter-C residence time and litter-C pool accretion if these techniques do not also result in equivalent or greater increases in decomposition. Management could potentially have impacts on litter-C accretion by increasing litter inputs, changing plant-C allocation, plant tissue quality, or decomposition rates. We examined carbon loss of one annual cohort of maize litter using in situ nylon litterbags for three years in three no-till fields with differing management regimes: irrigated continuous maize with a pre-planting fertilization application and two fertigation events, irrigated maize-soybean rotation with the same fertilization regime as the irrigated continuous maize management regime, and rainfed maize-soybean rotation with a single pre-planting fertilization event. We addressed the effects of these different management 12 regimes on net primary productivity and litter inputs, litter nitrogen (N) concentrations and carbon quality measures, plant C allocation, decomposition rates and the potential changes in the overall litter-C balance. We found that irrigation/fertigation management increased litter inputs, led to changes in plant tissue quality, had no effect on carbon allocation, and increased decomposition rates. This balance of both greater litter inputs and outputs of C from the irrigated management regimes led to a similar litter-C balance for this litter cohort in the irrigated and rainfed management regimes after three years of decomposition. Our data clearly show that merely increasing litter-C inputs through irrigation/fertigation practices is not sufficient to increase litter-C residence time because decomposition rates also increase. Therefore, close monitoring of decomposition rates is essential for understanding litter-C pool dynamics.
The Role of Climate and Bed Topography on the 
Evolution of the Tasman Glacier Since the Last 
Glacial Maximum

Mountain glaciers respond to climatic changes by advancing or retreating, leaving behind a potentially powerful record of climate through moraine deposition. Estimates of past climate have been made based on the moraine record alone, using geometrical arguments; however, these methods necessarily ignore the effects of glacier dynamics and bed modification. Here, a one-dimensional coupled mass balance-flowline model is used to place constraints on the climate of the Late-glacial (13.5–11.6 kyr ago) and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 28 – 17.5 kyr ago) based on the well-mapped and -dated moraines at Tasman Glacier/Lake Pukaki, South Island, New Zealand. Due to the highly-dynamic nature of the system, distinct longitudinal bed profiles are considered for each of the glaciations modelled; the reconstructions show that terminal overdeepenings are likely present in all bed profiles, and hundreds of metres of sediment has been deposited in the glacier valley since the LGM. Using the coupled model and calculated bed topography, a 2.2°C temperature depression from the present is necessary to reproduce the Lateglacial ice extent, and 7.0°C is required for the early LGM, assuming presentday precipitation. The modelled Late-glacial ice extent is more sensitive to precipitation variability than that during the LGM, but the Tasman Glacier during both periods is primarily driven by temperature changes. While the Tasman Glacier shrank between the early and late LGM, modelling demonstrates that changes in bed topography due to erosion, transport and deposition of sediment are a major driver in reduction of glacier extent; a temperature increase of only 0.1°C is required to cause the transition between the two periods, which may be attributable to interannual, zero-trend climate variability. Thus, the consideration of the coupled glacier-sediment system is critical in accurately reconstructing past climate. Future work focusing on modelling this coupled system, such that the bed profile can evolve interactively with glacier flow, will be critical in better resolving transient events such as the early to late LGM transition.
Lunar gravitational atmospheric tide, surface to 50 km in a global, gridded data set

The lunar gravitational semidiurnal atmospheric tide L2 is detected in the geopotential field in the ERA‐Interim reanalysis by regressing the data for each of the four daily analysis times onto periodic lunar half‐synodic cycle time series and differencing the resulting regression maps. A robust pattern dominated by zonal wave number 2 emerges, which agrees with tidal theory and with previous observational studies based on station data in terms of its amplitude, phase, and seasonality at the Earth's surface. Above the 100 hPa level, the tidal signal amplifies with height and it is downward propagating; below that level it is almost barotropic. The L2 signal is resolvable even in data for individual months of individual years. Monthly time series of tidal amplitude and phase exhibit a well‐defined pattern of seasonality year after year. Since the ERA forecast model has no L2 gravitational forcing, the source of its L2 signal must be in the observations.
ELASTIC WAVE VELOCITIES IN HETEROGENEOUS AND POROUS MEDIA

Longitudinal wave velocities in numerous synthetic and natural porous media at room temperature and pressure have been measured. Basic characteristics of the measuring device are briefly described. Wave velocities have been found for aggregates of uniform spheres of various diameters both when dry and when saturated with water, brine, organic liquids and plastics. The effect of porosity on the wave velocity through aggregates of glass spheres saturated with plastic has been determined over the porosity range 19%–70%. Experimental measurements have been made of the effect of varying brine‐oil and brine‐gas saturations on the wave velocity through natural sedimentary rock samples. The effect of salinity and temperature on the wave velocity through sodium chloride brines has been redetermined. Results are graphically presented to show experimental relationships between wave velocity, porosity, pore content and matrix nature of sedimentary rocks. Some conclusions are drawn regarding general relationships betw.
Prominent Levels of the Profibrotic Chemokine CCL18 during Peritonitis: In Vitro Downregulation by Vitamin D Receptor Agonists

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is used as a renal replacement therapy, which can be limited by peritoneal membrane ultrafiltration failure (UFF) secondary to fibrotic processes. Peritonitis, a frequent complication of PD, is a major risk factor for peritoneal membrane fibrosis and UFF. Low peritoneal levels of the chemokine CCL18 are associated with preservation of peritoneal membrane function in PD. Given that CCL18 is involved in fibrotic processes and recurrent peritonitis, it is a risk factor for peritoneal membrane failure; thus, we evaluated CCL18 concentrations in peritoneal effluents from patients undergoing peritonitis episodes. Pharmacological interventions aimed at diminishing the production of CCL18 were also explored. Fivefold higher CCL18 peritoneal concentrations were found during acute bacterial peritonitis, in parallel with the increased infiltration of macrophages. Unexpectedly, CCL18 was also highly (50-fold) increased during sterile eosinophilic peritonitis, and peritoneal eosinophils were found to express CCL18. In vitro treatment of peritoneal macrophages with the vitamin D receptor agonist paricalcitol was able to reduce the secretion and the expression of CCL18 in isolated peritoneal macrophages. In conclusion, our study suggests that the chemokine CCL18 can be a mediator of peritoneal membrane failure associated with peritonitis episodes as well as providing a new potential therapeutic target.
Transfer functions to reconstruct ocean palaeoproductivity: a comparison

Abstract Oceanic plankton (export) productivity contributes to the control of glacial-to-interglacial changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration. The extent of this contribution may be deciphered from global reconstructions of palaeoproductivity. We quantitatively estimate palaeoproductivity over the last 350 000 years in the eastern equatorial Atlantic, using equations based on foraminiferal assemblages and marine organic carbon accumulation rates; and make qualitative estimates using diatom and radiolarian accumulation rates. These proxydata are calibrated to data on modern primary production. When applied to the same set of marine sediment samples, the various reconstruction techniques produce productivity estimates with similar temporal productivity oscillations and a long-term similar absolute productivity level, suggesting that each provides a good signal of productivity changes.
Assessing soil erosion after fire and rehabilitation treatments in NW Spain: Performance of rusle and revised Morgan–Morgan–Finney models

Although the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and the revised Morgan–Morgan–Finney (MMF) are well‐known models, not much information is available as regards their suitability in predicting post‐fire soil erosion in forest soils. The lack of information is even more pronounced as regards post‐fire rehabilitation treatments.
Assessing the Efficiency of an Elver Ladder Using a Multi‐State Mark–Recapture Model

The decline of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) stock has led the European Commission to enforce a regulation (Council Regulation N° 1100/2007), in which each member state was required to establish an eel management plan. Various measures in the French plan aim at restoring river connectivity by mitigating the impact of obstacles on the colonization of continental water by eels. Consequently, many obstacles are going to be equipped with elver ladder in the near future. In this context, a method to assess the passability of an obstacle seems essential. In this study, we developed a tag–recapture method, appropriate to glass eels and elvers, and an associated multi‐state mark–recapture model (i) to assess the passability of a ladder and (ii) to quantify the effect of various environmental factors on this passability. An application to a specific obstacle is applied as an illustrative example that demonstrates the relevance of the assessment method, and how the results can be used to propose technical solution to improve the efficiency of the ladder. Nine tag–recapture campaigns were carried on this obstacle, and about 4400 young eels were tagged. The model demonstrates that the efficiency of the ladder was rather low, especially during low river flow periods, mainly because of accessibility problems. The model also demonstrates the major influence of the river flow on the probability for an eel to pass the ladder; consequently, managing river flow during the migration period can be a relevant measure to improve river connectivity and facilitate colonization of the watershed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A giant brachyopoid temnospondyl from the Upper Triassic or Lower Jurassic of Lesotho

A jaw fragment of a giant temnospondyl from the Upper Triassic or Lower Jurassic of Lesotho (southern Africa), initially regarded as a Triassic mastodonsaurid because of its size, is redescribed in detail and considered to be a member of the Brachyopoidea (Brachyopidae + Chigutisauridae sensu Warren and Marsicano [2000]) based on its dental morphology, presence of a well-developed ectopterygoid tusk, and the concavity of the ventral margin of the skull in lateral view. Recognition of the specimen as a brachyopid, rather than as a chigutisaurid, is of palaeobiogeographical significance in representing one of the youngest known brachyopids from Gondwana. The Lesotho specimen is also of palaeobiological interest in that an estimate of its overall size indicates that it represents one of the largest amphibians sensu lato ever known.
Estimating vertical distribution of CO2 efflux in a temperate cypress forest

We estimated the vertical distribution of CO2 effluxes from trunks, branches, and leaves in a temperate cypress forest by estimating the spatial distribution of biomass. To quantify the distribution of the CO2 source per unit biomass of each organ, we measured the respiration rate of 47 trunk, 26 branch, and 30 leaf samples from one representative tree. To quantify the distribution of biomass per unit height, we measured the positions of all of the branches and leaves, and then collected them to estimate branch volume and leaf area from their dry weight. Trunk respiration rate per sapwood volume increased with height within the canopy, but no clear difference was apparent below the canopy. The respiration rate per unit volume of lower branches was less than that of higher branches. Small-diameter branches had a higher respiration rate per unit volume than did large-diameter branches. The respiration rate per leaf surface area of leaves higher on the tree was greater than that of lower leaves, as was also the case of leaves farther from the trunk compared with those nearer the trunk. The cumulative trunk, branch, and leaf respiration per ground area at 25℃ was estimated to be 1.36, 0.62, and 2.19 μmol m –2 s –1 , respectively. CO2 efflux from the trunk per unit height did not differ significantly throughout the tree. The peak CO2 efflux per unit height was greater for leaves than branches. CO2 efflux from the canopy level (＞ 11.5 m) accounted for 75％ of cumulative above ground CO2 efflux, excluding soil respiration, and 38％ of total ecosystem respiration including soil respiration.
Atmospheric Moisture Transport over the United States and Mexico as Evaluated in the NCEP Regional Reanalysis

Abstract The large-scale atmospheric hydrologic cycle over the United States and Mexico derived from the 23-yr NCEP regional reanalysis (RR) was evaluated by comparing the RR products with satellite estimates, independent sounding data, and the operational Eta Model three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVAR) system (EDAS). In general, the winter atmospheric transport and precipitation are realistic. The climatology and interannual variability of the Pacific, subtropical jet streams, and low-tropospheric moisture transport are well captured. During the summer season, the basic features and the evolution of the North American monsoon (NAM) revealed by the RR compare favorably with observations. The RR also captures the out-of-phase relationship of precipitation as well as the moisture flux convergence between the central United States and the Southwest. The RR is able to capture the zonal easterly Caribbean low-level jet (CALLJ) and the meridional southerly Great Plains low-level jet (GPLLJ). T.
Deficiency of Nuclear Receptor Nur77 Aggravates Mouse Experimental Colitis by Increased NFκB Activity in Macrophages

Nuclear receptor Nur77, also referred to as NR4A1 or TR3, plays an important role in innate and adaptive immunity. Nur77 is crucial in regulating the T helper 1/regulatory T-cell balance, is expressed in macrophages and drives M2 macrophage polarization. In this study we aimed to define the function of Nur77 in inflammatory bowel disease. In wild-type and Nur77-/- mice, colitis development was studied in dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)- and 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced models. To understand the underlying mechanism, Nur77 was overexpressed in macrophages and gut epithelial cells. Nur77 protein is expressed in colon tissues from Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis patients and colons from colitic mice in inflammatory cells and epithelium. In both mouse colitis models inflammation was increased in Nur77-/- mice. A higher neutrophil influx and enhanced IL-6, MCP-1 and KC production was observed in Nur77-deficient colons after DSS-treatment. TNBS-induced influx of T-cells and inflammatory monocytes into the colon was higher in Nur77-/- mice, along with increased expression of MCP-1, TNFα and IL-6, and decreased Foxp3 RNA expression, compared to wild-type mice. Overexpression of Nur77 in lipopolysaccharide activated RAW macrophages resulted in up-regulated IL-10 and downregulated TNFα, MIF-1 and MCP-1 mRNA expression through NFκB repression. Nur77 also strongly decreased expression of MCP-1, CXCL1, IL-8, MIP-1α and TNFα in gut epithelial Caco-2 cells. Nur77 overexpression suppresses the inflammatory status of both macrophages and gut epithelial cells and together with the in vivo mouse data this supports that Nur77 has a protective function in experimental colitis. These findings may have implications for development of novel targeted treatment strategies regarding inflammatory bowel disease and other inflammatory diseases.
The determination of the large-scale circulation of the Pacific Ocean from satellite altimetry using model Green's functions

A Green's function method for obtaining an estimate of the ocean circulation using both a general circulation model and altimetric data is demonstrated. The fundamental assumption is that the model is so accurate that the differences between the observations and the model-estimated fields obey a linear dynamics. In the present case, the calculations are demonstrated for model/data differences occurring on a very large scale, where the linearization hypothesis appears to be a good one. A semi-automatic linearization of the Bryan/Cox general circulation model is effected by calculating the model response to a series of isolated (in both space and time) geostrophically balanced vortices. These resulting impulse responses or “Green's functions” then provide the kernels for a linear inverse problem. The method is first demonstrated with a set of “twin experiments” and then with real data spanning the entire model domain and a year of TOPEX/POSEIDON observations. Our present focus is on the estimate of the time-mean and annual cycle of the model. Residuals of the inversion/assimilation are largest in the western tropical Pacific, and are believed to reflect primarily geoid error. Vertical resolution diminishes with depth with 1 year of data. The model mean is modified such that the subtropical gyre is weakened by about 1 cm/s and the center of the gyre shifted southward by about 10°. Corrections to the flow field at the annual cycle suggest that the dynamical response is weak except in the tropics, where the estimated seasonal cycle of the low-latitude current system is of the order of 2 cm/s. The underestimation of observed fluctuations can be related to the inversion on the coarse spatial grid, which does not permit full resolution of the tropical physics. The methodology is easily extended to higher resolution, to use of spatially correlated errors, and to other data types.