Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interdecadal Change and Cause Analysis of Extreme Summer and Winter Droughts over China

Temperature and precipitation data from 540 meteorological stations in China from 1961 to 2009, and the piecewise-linear fitting model(PLFIM) was used to analyze the changes in summer and winter temperature and precipitation at the interdecadal timescale. The Palmer drought severity index(PDSI) was chosen to examine the frequency of extreme droughts. Consequently, the interdecadal changes and spatial distribution characteristics of extreme droughts were analyzed for summer and winter. Furthermore, we considered the effect of temperature and precipitation on the occurrence probability of extreme droughts. The results suggest that from 1961 to 2009, extreme droughts were more frequent in northern China than in southern China during summer, whereas they were more frequent in eastern China than in western China during winter. After the last trend change, the occurrence probabilities of extreme summer and winter droughts increased. At the regional scale, the probability of extreme summer droughts increased in Northeast China, North China, and Northwest China, whereas the probability of extreme winter droughts significantly increased in Northeast China, North China, South China, and Southwest China. The analysis of the causes of the variations in the occurrence probabilities of extreme droughts showed that the precipitation change controlled the trend in the occurrence probability of extreme droughts before the 1990s. Subsequently, climate warming led to an increasing trend in the occurrence probability of extreme droughts, whereas the temperature and precipitation changes controlled the occurrence probability of extreme droughts over China.
ORIGINAL PAPER

Depression belongs to the most severe diseases of the elderly people. Quite often, depression is not diagnosed and treated at the older age. Consequently, it leads to deterioration of the overall physical, psychological and social state of an elderly person. Aim: The goal of the quantitative research was to roughly estimate the prevalence of depression among persons who live in houses for the elderly or similar institutions and to find the factors which influence the occurrence of depression. Methods: The sample of the elderly comprised 84 individuals who were intentionally chosen. The quantitative research was based on the use of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Other statistical tests were used to evaluate the influence of individual factors on the prevalence of depression among the elderly: Pearson’s chi-squared test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Results: The GDS revealed depression in 28.6% of individuals in the tested sample. The appropriate statistical tests showed increased depression rates among the elderly who were lonely, widowed, suffering from chronic diseases or pain, and those with impaired cognitive thinking. Conclusion: Depression among individuals living in houses for the elderly or similar institutions is a grave and contemporary problem. The solution of this problem depends on the timely recognition of depression and analysis of factors which influence the prevalence of depression among the elderly.
Prospects and constraints of artisanal fishing in s elected communities in Delta State, Nigeria

The study addressed three issues: the prospects and constraints of artisanal fishing in selected riverine communities in Delta, and relationship bet ween demographic characteristics of respondents and their economic returns. To achieve this, data were collected from 92 fisher folks and analyzed using frequency distribution, percenta ge, mean and multiple regression analysis. Result showed that the average earning of the respo ndents was N24, 456.52 per month. The major impediments to artisanal fishing were high co st of fishing inputs with a mean score of 3.81, insufficient capital (3. 72), storage problem s (3. 63), spoilage of fish caught (3. 55) and poor catch (3 .53). Age (b= -0.102), sex (b=0.329) and household size (b= 0.166) of the fisher folks has significant influence on income. The stud y recommends improving farmers’ access to cheap credit and mobilizing their savings to amelio rate the constraints imposing by inadequate finance as well as providing a joint cold storage f acility in the communities.
Original Paper

The genetic structure of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana, an extremophile halophilic microcrustacean, from the Great Salt Lake (USA), was investigated by analysis of nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), genomic fingerprinting by ISSR-PCR (inter-simple sequence repeats polymerase chain reaction) and biometry. Samples from six different geographical localities of Great Salt Lake revealed ten distinct haplo-types with a mean high level of haplotype diversity (HD=0.6). Phylogenetic and genetic fingerprinting analyses supported the null hypothesis, that the brine shrimps of this lake form a panmictic gene pool with a low level of genetic differentiation index (F ST =0.05) and a high rate of gene flow (Nm=2.8) between geographical areas. Moreover, morphological parameters revealed no population structure among all examined populations. Neutrality tests and mismatch distribution revealed that A. franciscana has undergone a recent population expansion. In spite of hypersaline conditions in the Northern (Gunnison Bay) regions of the Great Salt Lake, the genetic population structures of different areas of the lake are not linked to ecological or limnological conditions. Therefore, A. franciscana from the Great Salt Lake should be considered as a single management unit for conservation.
New constraints on subduction zone structure in northern Cascadia

SUMMARY A detailed passive seismic experiment was carried out across southwestern British Columbia and northwestern Washington to investigate the structure of the subducting Juan de Fuca plate and mantle wedge in Cascadia and its relation to intraslab seismicity. As part of the POLARIS project, 31 three-component broad-band stations were deployed in an approximately linear array spanning southern Vancouver Island, the Gulf and San Juan Islands, Watcom county and the British Columbia lower mainland. P-wave coda from 41 teleseismic events have been employed in formal inversions for fine-scale shear-velocity structure. Our results indicate a structure very similar to that identified across a comparable profile in central Oregon. The continental Moho is evident at the eastern end of the profile near 35-km depth but disappears towards Georgia Strait/Puget Sound. A prominent low-S-velocity zone is clearly evident below southern Vancouver Island dipping eastwards through Georgia Strait/Puget Sound, and coincides with the E-reflection zone originally identified in LITHOPROBE studies. Structure below the E-layer is much less prominent and varies intermittently along the array. Based on the observations and interpretations of similar structures beneath Oregon, Alaska and South America, and its projection to mantle depths, we suggest that the low-velocity E-layer represents the dehydrating oceanic crust of the subducting Juan de Fuca plate. This interpretation is consistent with recent seismicity studies that place shallow Wadati‐Benioff events within the oceanic mantle, and implies that the oceanic crust is 6‐8 km shallower beneath Vancouver Island than previously assumed. As in Oregon, we interpret the diminished signature of oceanic crust below a depth of 45 km to signal the presence of eclogitization, which in turn supplies water to serpentinize the overlying forearc mantle.
A theory for microtremor H/V spectral ratio: application for a layered medium

SUMMARY Microtremors are produced by multiple random sources close to the surface of the Earth. They may include the effects of multiple scattering, which suggests that their intensities could be well described by diffusion-like equations. Within this theoretical framework, the average autocorrelation of the motions at a given receiver, in the frequency domain, measures average energy density and is proportional to the imaginary part of the Green’s function (GF) when both source and receiver are the same. Assuming the seismic field is diffuse we compute theH/Vratio for a surface receiver on ah orizontally layered medium in terms of the imaginary part of the GF at the source. This theory links average energy densities with the GF in 3-D and considers theH/Vratio as an intrinsic property of the medium. Therefore, our approach naturally allows for the inversion ofH/V ,t he well-known Nakamura’s ratio including the contributions of Rayleigh, Love and body waves. Broad-band noise records at Texcoco, a soft soil site near Mexico City, are studied and interpreted using this theory.
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Background: The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is widely used as a unidimensional instrument, but factor analyses tended to suggest that it contains two or three factors. Not much is known about the usefulness of the GHQ-12 factors, if they exist, in revealing between-patient differences in clinical states and health-related quality of life. Methods: We addressed this issue in a cross-sectional survey of out-patients with psychological disorders in Singapore. The participants (n = 120) completed the GHQ-12, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Short-Form 36 Health Survey. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare six previously proposed factor structures for the GHQ-12. Factor scores of the bestfitting model, as well as the overall GHQ-12 score, were assessed in relation to clinical and healthrelated quality of life variables. Results: The 3-factor model proposed by Graetz fitted the data better than a unidimensional model, two 2-factor models, and two other 3-factor models. However, the three factors were strongly correlated. Their values varied in a similar fashion in relation to clinical and health-related quality of life variables. Conclusions: The 12-item General Health Questionnaire contains three factors, namely Anxiety and Depression, Social Dysfunction, and Loss of Confidence. Nevertheless, using them separately does not offer many practical advantages in differentiating clinical groups or identifying association with clinical or health-related quality of life variables. Published: 11 November 2004 Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2004, 2:63 doi:10.1186/1477-7525-2-63 Received: 26 October 2004 Accepted: 11 November 2004 This article is available from: http://www.hqlo. com/content/2/1/63 © 2004 Gao et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cause of the mid‐latitude evening increase in ƒo F 2

The behavior of the electron density and the electron temperature in the F2 region above Millstone Hill radar observatory (42.6°N, 71.5°W) has been explored throughout 1963 by means of radar backscatter experiments. In this paper results are presented for April, July, and November 1963. It is shown that the evening increase in ƒ0F2, observable at mid-latitude stations in summer, is caused by downward diffusion of ionization from above hmaxF2. This motion appears to be induced by the large fall in the electron temperature Te that occurs at sunset. On the basis of this explanation it is possible to show why the evening increase is absent in winter and is less pronounced at sunspot maximum, and also to account for why the effect is particularly pronounced for North American stations.
Toward an Integrative Understanding of Social Behavior: New Models and New Opportunities

Social interactions among conspecifics are a fundamental and adaptively significant component of the biology of numerous species. Such interactions give rise to group living as well as many of the complex forms of cooperation and conflict that occur within animal groups. Although previous conceptual models have focused on the ecological causes and fitness consequences of variation in social interactions, recent developments in endocrinology, neuroscience, and molecular genetics offer exciting opportunities to develop more integrated research programs that will facilitate new insights into the physiological causes and consequences of social variation. Here, we propose an integrative framework of social behavior that emphasizes relationships between ultimate-level function and proximate-level mechanism, thereby providing a foundation for exploring the full diversity of factors that underlie variation in social interactions, and ultimately sociality. In addition to identifying new model systems for the study of human psychopathologies, this framework provides a mechanistic basis for predicting how social behavior will change in response to environmental variation. We argue that the study of non-model organisms is essential for implementing this integrative model of social behavior because such species can be studied simultaneously in the lab and field, thereby allowing integration of rigorously controlled experimental manipulations with detailed observations of the ecological contexts in which interactions among conspecifics occur.
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Background: Existing measures of injection drug users' quality of life have focused primarily on health and health-related factors. Clearly, however, quality of life among injection drug users is impacted by a range of unique cultural, socioeconomic, medical, and geographic factors that must also be considered in any measure. The Injection Drug User Quality of Life (IDUQOL) scale was designed to capture the unique and individual circumstances that determine quality of life among injection drug users. The overall purpose of the present study was to examine the validity of inferences made from the IDUQOL by examining the (a) dimensionality, (b) reliability of scores, (c) criterion-related validity evidence, and (d) both convergent and discriminant validity evidence. Methods: An exploratory factor analysis using principal axis factoring in SPSS 12.0 was conducted to determine whether the use of a total score on the IDUQOL was advisable. Reliability of scores from the IDUQOL was obtained using internal consistency and one-week test-retest reliability estimates. Criterion-related validity evidence was gathered using variables such as stability of housing, sex trade involvement, high-risk injection behaviours, involvement in treatment programs, emergency treatment or overdose over the previous six months, hospitalization and emergency treatment over the subsequent six month period post data collection. Convergent and discriminant validity evidence was gathered using measures of life satisfaction, self-esteem, and social desirability. Results: The sample consisted of 241 injection drug users ranging in age from 19 to 61 years. Factor analysis supports the use of a total score. Both internal consistency (alpha = .88) and oneweek test-retest reliability (r = .78) for IDUQOL total scores were good. Criterion-related, convergent, and discriminant validity evidence supports the interpretation of IDUQOL total scores as measuring a construct consistent with quality of life. Conclusion: The findings from this study provide initial evidence to support the use of the IDUQOL total score. The results of the study also suggest the IDUQOL could be further strengthened with additional attention to how some IDUQOL domains are described and satisfaction is measured. Published: 19 July 2005 Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2005, 3:43 doi:10.1186/1477-7525-343 Received: 04 May 2005 Accepted: 19 July 2005 This article is available from: http://www.hqlo. com/content/3/1/43 © 2005 Hubley et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Optimization of pediatric haematopoietic stem cell transplant outcomes through the application of pharmacokinetics and supportive care

This study evaluates our institution’s target trough cyclosporine (CSA) concentrations as predictors of severe acute graft versus host disease (aGvHD) in children receiving either matched related or unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The outcomes of 87 consecutive children who underwent allogeneic HSCT and received CSA and methotrexate as prophylaxis against aGvHD between October 1, 1999 and September 30, 2002 were retrospectively evaluated. The proportion of time that each patient maintained a whole blood CSA concentration within or above the initial target range (105–155 ng/mL or 155–210 ng/mL) was calculated for each of the following time periods: in each week after HSCT from day 0 to +28; in the week preceding engraftment; and in the week preceding the onset of aGvHD. Patients were prospectively evaluated twice weekly for the presence and severity of aGvHD by senior attending physicians. The relationship between potential predictors and the development of severe aGvHD was examined using univariate logistic regression. The main variables of interest were the proportion of time that therapeutic or supratherapeutic CSA concentrations were maintained; median CSA concentrations; the number of methotrexate doses received; and the use of folinic acid rescue. Mean follow-up time was 3.0 6 1.9 years among children who survived beyond day +100. Three variables were significantly associated with the development of severe aGvHD on univariate analysis: initial CSA target concentration [odds ratio (OR), 0.24; P = 0.03], proportion of time the target CSA concentration was achieved during the second week after transplant (OR, 0.16; P = 0.02), and proportion of time the target CSA concentration was achieved during the week before engraftment (OR, 0.22; P = 0.0489). Multivariable analysis demonstrated an inverse relationship between the median CSA concentration during the week before engraftment and the development of severe aGvHD (OR, 0.99; P = 0.045). These results suggest that achievement of our CSA target concentrations is important to aGvHD outcomes.
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Background: Premature ejaculation (PE) is a common sexual dysfunction among men which affects men and their partners. Little qualitative data are available to characterize the impact of PE on men and their partners about ejaculatory control, sexual satisfaction, emotional distress and relationships. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of PE from the perspective of men with PE and the female partners of men with PE on their sexual experience, distress and relationships. Methods: Qualitative data were collected through 14 focus groups in the US and through one-on-one interviews in the US, UK, Italy, France, Germany, and Poland. Study participants included heterosexual men with PE and female partners of males with PE. All participants were asked about how PE affects their daily life, including emotional impacts. One-on-one interviews also included obtaining feedback on the male and female versions of 4-single item measures of PE focusing on ejaculatory control, satisfaction with intercourse, interpersonal distress, and relationship difficulty. Results: Participants included 172 males with PE and 67 female partners of men with PE. Lack of control over ejaculation and dissatisfaction with intercourse emerged as central themes of PE. Lack of ejaculatory control resulted in greater dissatisfaction and greater emotional distress, including feelings of inadequacy, disappointment, and anxiety. Continued PE ultimately leads to greater problems with partners and often disrupts partner relationships. Participants indicated that PE was keeping them from attaining complete intimacy in their relationships even when their partners were generally satisfied with sexual intercourse. Impacts of PE on sexual satisfaction, emotional distress and partner relationships were consistent across countries. Feedback on the single-item PE measures confirmed relevance of the item content and further confirmed major themes identified from the qualitative data. Conclusion: This qualitative study provides valuable insights on the substantial psychosocial burden of PE in the US and the Europe. Lack of control over ejaculation resulted in dissatisfaction with intercourse and increased emotional distress, and wide-ranging impact for both men with PE and their partners of men with PE. Data collected in this study may help inform the content of new patient reported measures for use in PE research. Published: 12 May 2008 Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2008, 6:33 doi:10.1186/1477-7525-6-33 Received: 27 June 2007 Accepted: 12 May 2008 This article is available from: http://www.hqlo. com/content/6/1/33 © 2008 Revicki et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
STUDY ON CONSOLIDATION AND PERMEABILITY PROPERTIES OF LIANYUNGANG MARINE CLAY BASED ON PIEZOCONE PENETRATION TEST

The coefficient of consolidation and coefficient of permeability of the Lianyungang marine clay are studied by laboratory and piezocone penetration test(CPTU) in order to evaluate the consolidation and permeability characteristics.The horizontal coefficient of consolidation ch of the clay is also back analyzed according to field data of monitored settlement.Comparisons of the results obtained by different methods indicate that the values of horizontal consolidation coefficients determined by CPTU are in the range of(3.0–6.5)×10-3 cm2/s,typically 2–4 times higher than those of vertical consolidation coefficients.The value of horizontal consolidation coefficient with back analysis is slightly lower than that deduced from CPTU based on Teh and Houlsby′s method.It could be possible due to the smear effect incurred during the installation of the vertical drains.For Lianyungang marine clay,it is recommended that Teh and Houlsby′s method,which takes the rigidity index into consideration,should be used.The coefficient of permeability of Lianyungang marine clay is in the order of 10-6–10-8 cm/s.The value of horizontal permeability coefficient measured by falling-head permeability tests agrees well with that determined by CPTU.It can be indicated when the vertical drains are used in Lianyungang marine clay,the smear effect on consolidation properties of soil has to be taken into consideration in the soil improvement design.For soil improvement schemes of the Lianyungang marine clay,the coefficient of consolidation determined by CPTU dissipation tests is recommended in practice.