Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulator Sickness and Related Findings in a Virtual Environment

Research indicates that users of Virtual Environments (VEs) can experience a variety of effects known as “simulator sickness. ” A PC-based VE system was used to investigate sickness occurring in conjunction with a 20-minute exposure to the game Ascent. Forty undergraduates served as participants. Sickness was measured with the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ). Data on gender, possible lingering/delayed effects, inter-pupillary distance (IPD), and final level reached in Ascent were also collected. Statistical comparison of the pre- and post-exposure SSQ data established sickness occurrence. The results indicated that sickness could be severe and may involve lingering and/or delayed effects. Gender differences in mean sickness scores were not statistically significant. A significant negative correlation was found between IPD and the SSQ Eyestrain symptom. Significant negative correlations were also found between sickness scores and final level reached in Ascent. These findings provide some insight into possible effects of VE exposure and suggest some areas for research.
Emergence of Directional Actomyosin Flows from Active Matter Vibrations

Cortical actomyosin flows play pivotal roles in cell motility, cell division and animal morphogenesis. According to many model systems, myosin motor induced local contractions are key for generating cortical flows. However, the original mechanism how large-scale directed flows emerge from local motor activity in an apparently isotropic cortex is unknown. We reconstituted and confined minimal actomyosin cortices to the interfaces of emulsion droplets. The presence of ATP leads to myosin-induced cortical contractions that self-organize into directed flow-like actomyosin motions. By combining our experiments with theory, we found that the large-scale directional motion of actomyosin clusters emerges from individual asymmetric cluster vibrations, caused by intrinsic non-isotropic ATP consumption, in conjunction with spherical confinement. By tracking individual actomyosin clusters, we identified fingerprints of vibrational states as the basis of directed motions. These vibrations may represent a generic key driver of directed actomyosin flows under spatial confinement in vitro and in living systems.
Land‐ocean contrasts in lightning activity over the Indian region

Land‐ocean contrasts in the lightning activity over Indian land and two surrounding oceanic regions viz. Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal have been studied. Satellite‐based lightning flash data for 5‐year (1998–2002) period have been used. The study revealed that lightning activity over Bay of Bengal was three times higher than that over Arabian Sea and 9.3 times lower than that over land. The bimodal distribution is seen over Arabian Sea (peaks in April and November), and land (peaks in May and September). A unimodal distribution is observed over Bay of Bengal with peak in May. The maximum activity over Bay of Bengal occurs more at northern latitudes (28–30°N) compared with Arabian Sea (12–14°N). The land–ocean contrast is dominated by monsoon season. Comparison of lightning activity in the El Nino (2002) and La Nina year (1998–2001) shows that the lightning activity is increased by nearly 18% over the land region and it maybe attributed to in the increase in surface air temperature during the warm phase of El Nino, land sea breeze circulations and difference in the continental and the oceanic convection. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society
Assessing the effect of protein corona formation in the process of EV surface engineering

To be profitably exploited in medicine, nanosized systems must be endowed with biocompatibility, targeting capability, the ability to evade the immune system, and resistance to clearance. Currently, biogenic nanoparticles, such as Extracellular Vesicles (EVs), are intensively investigated as the platform that naturally recapitulates these highly needed characteristics. EV native targeting properties and pharmacokinetics can be further augmented by decorating the EV surface with specific target ligands as antibodies. However, up to date, works dealing with the functionalization of EV surface with proteins have never considered the biomolecular corona (BC) “variable”, namely the fact that extrinsic biomolecules, mainly proteins, may spontaneously adsorb on the EV surface in biofluids, contributing to determine the biological identity of the EV. In this work, we explore and compare EVs modified with the antibody Cetuximab (CTX) by chemisorption (covalent binding of CTX via biorthogonal click-chemistry) and by physisorption (formation of a CTX corona). Results (surprisingly) indicate that (i) no differences exist between the two formulations in terms of binding affinity imparted by molecular recognition of CTX versus its natural binding partner (epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFR), but (ii) significative differences emerge at the cellular level, where CTX-EVs prepared by click chemistry display superior binding and uptake toward target cells in Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)-supplied culture medium, very likely due to the higher robustness of the CTX anchorage that resists to the formation of a BC due to interaction with the FBS proteins.
Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) services and its role in HIV/AIDS prevention and management in Nepal

HIV/AIDS has emerged as a serious epidemic in Nepal, concentrated amongst the most-at-risk populations. Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) is a proven strategy for the prevention and management of HIV/AIDS especially in developing countries. Given that the utilization of VCT is low in Nepal, it is important to understand the barriers and challenges that Nepal is facing in the provision and utilization of these services. This study aimed to provide recommendations for policy makers to improve the utilization of VCT services in Nepal. A qualitative study of VCT health service providers and government officials was undertaken in 4 cities of Nepal. Sixteen interviews, three joint interviews and one focus group discussion were conducted, audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were then analyzed using a thematic analysis framework and major themes were identified. Various barriers including sociocultural issues, geography, the presence of stigma and discrimination faced by people with HIV/AIDS and a lack of knowledge and awareness were identified as important factors limiting the utilization of VCT services. Current government efforts to improve VCT service provision, although promising, require ongoing development. Systemic barriers included the sustainability of the temporary NGO VCT services, lack of staff and training, inadequate monitoring and evaluation and limited access to services for people living in rural areas. To increase the sustainability and utilization of VCT services, the Government can intervene in a number of areas including the integration of VCT services with existing primary health care services and addressing ongoing education and quality assurance.
Properties of the lithosphere and asthenosphere deduced from geoid observations.

Data from the GEOS-3 and SEASAT Satellites provided a very accurate geoid map over the oceans. Broad bathymetric features in the oceans such as oceanic swells and plateaus are fully compensated. It is shown that the geoid anomalies due to the density structures of the lithosphere are proportional to the first moment of the density distribution. The deepening of the ocean basins is attributed to thermal isostasy. The thickness of the oceanic lithosphere increases with age due to the loss of heat to the sea floor. Bathymetry and the geoid provide constraints on the extent of this heat loss. Offsets in the geoid across major fracture zones can also be used to constrain this problem. Geoid bathymetry correlations show that the Hawaiian and Bermuda swells and the Cape Verde Rise are probably due to lithospheric thinning.
Estuarine Beach Morphology in Microtidal Middle Harbour, Sydney

Microtidal Middle Harbour, Sydney, contains a range of estuarine beach morphologies from steep reflective beachfaces to wide low-tide terraces. The most exposed beaches are morphologically similar to lowest-energy open-ocean beaches; however, the remainder of the profiles cannot be adequately explained by established beach morphodynamic models. Estuarine beach morphology in Middle Harbour appears to be primarily influenced by storm events. Deep-water ocean waves rework profiles in the lower part of estuary. For beaches protected from these waves, tidal fluctuations are the main determinant of beach profile. Locally-generated wind waves are only a significant energy contributor where the fetch is large enough; however, this only occurs on two beaches where low-tide terraces are formed.
Late Quaternary History of Tundra Vegetation in Northwestern Alaska

Abstract Pollen analysis of a new core from Joe Lake indicates that the late Quaternary vegetation of northwestern Alaska was characterized by four tundra and two forest-tundra types. These vegetation types were differentiated by combining quantitative comparisons of fossil and modern pollen assemblages with traditional, qualitative approaches for inferring past vegetation, such as the use of indicator species. Although imprecisely dated, the core probably spans at least the past 40,000 yr. A graminoid-Salix tundra dominated during the later and early portions of the glacial record. The middle glacial interval and the transition from glacial to interglacial conditions are characterized by a graminoid-Betula-Salix tundra. A Populus forest-Betula shrub tundra existed during the middle potion of this transition, being replaced in the early Holocene by a Betula-Alnus shrub tundra. The modern Picea forest-shrub tundra was established by the middle Holocene. These results suggest that the composition of modem tundra communities in northwestern Alaska developed relatively recently and that throughout much of the late Quaternary, tundra communities were unlike the predominant types found today in northern North America. Although descriptions of vegetation variations within the tundra will always be restricted by the innate taxonomic limitations of their herb-dominated pollen spectra, the application of multiple interpretive approaches improves the ability to reconstruct the historical development of this vegetation type.
Seismic observation of the Earth's small-scale structure

The Earth’s mantle is chemically and thermally heterogeneous varying in 3-dimensions and on many length-scales. Subduction introduces slabs into the mantle while interactions with the core may enrich the mantle in iron. The lower mantle demonstrates the strongest seismic anomalies outside of the crust. The Large Low Shear Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs), two volumes 1000s km across with seismic velocity reductions of 1-3 %, are likely thermally and chemically distinct from the surrounding mantle. Smaller velocity anomalies are detected close to the Core-Mantle Boundary (CMB) such as velocity increases ∼100 km thick often related to subducted slabs, and strong velocity decreases 10-100 km thick called Ultra Low Velocity Zones. Array analysis of signals arriving before PKP demonstrates that they are waves scattered from volumes of anomalous material with 10 km scale-lengths in the lowermost mantle under South Africa. The data image a heterogeneous 80 km tall ridge at the CMB likely related to the edge of the African LLSVP. Scattering is likely caused by heterogeneities with strongly reduced velocities and increased densities probably elevated above the CMB by entrainment into the LLSVP. Scattered PKKP waves (PK•KP) reveal heterogeneities irregularly distributed in the lowermost 300 km of the mantle. Scattering is also seen under South Africa, co-located with PKP observations. Anomalies are preferentially located towards the edges of the LLSVPs and regions of subducted material. The predisposition of small-scale anomalies towards the edge of the large-scale structure suggests control by dynamic processes. P(Pdiff )-travel-times are used to resolve the boundary of the Pacific LLSVP. The east of the LLSVP displays a sharp (60 km wide) transition and is traced steeply upwards sloping at 70◦. The transition at the northern edge is broader (120 km wide) and shallower (30◦slope). The proximity to active subduction may sharpen and steepen the boundary of the LLSVP, providing insight into the dynamics of the lowermost mantle.
Circulating biomarkers in classical Hodgkin lymphoma

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) derived from whole blood, serum, plasma or extracellular vesicles have the potential to serve as non-invasive biomarkers for a wide spectrum of diseases and have therefore received an increasing amount of interest. However, several pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical challenges need to be overcome to increase reproducibility of results before clinical application. In this review we summarize these issues from sample collection until data analysis. We discuss main causes of lack of reproducibility in the majority of current reports and place current findings into biological perspective. We conclude that there is an urgent need for standardization of collection procedures, isolation methods and data normalization, comparison of different profiling platforms and accurate description of methods. Only when these challenges will be resolved, circulating miRNAs might redeem their promise as non-invasive disease specific biomarkers.
Reply to the Comment of A. Pszczółkowski on “Calpionellid distribution and microfacies across the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary in western Cuba (Sierra de los Órganos)” by López-Martínez et al. (2013)

1Instituto de Geologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegacion Coyoacan, C.P. 04510 Mexico D.F. , Mexico; rafaelopez83@hotmail.com 2Comenius University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Geology and Paleontology, Mlynska dolina G, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovak Republic; rehakova@fns.uniba. sk 3Departamento de Geologia, Universidad de Pinar del Rio, Marti 270, Pinar del Rio, C.P. 20100, Cuba
Modulation of the flow structure by progressive bedforms in the Kinoshita meandering channel

An in‐house fully three‐dimensional general‐purpose finite element model is applied to solve the hydrodynamic structure in a periodic Kinoshita‐generated meandering channel. The numerical model solves the incompressible Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations for mass and momentum, while solving the k − ε equations for turbulence. The free surface is described by the rigid‐lid approximation (using measured water surface data) for flat (smooth‐bed) and self‐formed (rough‐bed) conditions. The model results are compared against experimental measurements in the ‘Kinoshita channel’, where three‐dimensional flow velocities and turbulence parameters were measured. This validation was carried out for the upstream‐valley meander bend orientation under smooth (flat bed) conditions. After validation, several simulations were carried out to predict the hydrodynamics in conditions where either it was not possible to perform measurements (e.g. applicability of the laboratory acoustic instruments) and to extrapolate the model to other planform configurations. For the flat smooth‐bed case, a symmetric (no skewness) planform configuration was modeled and compared to the upstream‐skewed case. For the self‐formed rough‐bed case, prediction of the hydrodynamics during the progression of bedforms was performed. It appears that the presence of bedforms on a bend has the following effects: (i) the natural secondary flow of the bend is disrupted by the presence of the bedforms, thus depending on the location of the dune, secondary flows might differ completely from the traditional orientation; (ii) an increment on both the bed and bank shear stresses is induced, having as much as 50% more fluvial erosion, and thus a potential increment on the migration rate of the bend. Implications on sediment transport and bend morphodynamics are also discussed in the paper. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Use of grain size and magnetic fabric analyses to distinguish among depositional environments

The combined use of grain size and magnetic fabric analyses provides the ability to discriminate among depositional environments in deep-sea terrigenous sediments. We analyzed samples from three different depositional settings: turbidites, pelagic or hemipelagic interlayers, and sediment drifts. Results indicate that sediment samples from these different environments can be distinguished from each other on the basis of their median grain size, sorting, as well as the intensity and shape of magnetic fabric as determined from an examination of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility. We use these discriminators to interpret downcore samples from the Bermuda Rise sediment drift. We find that the finer grains of the Bermuda Rise (relative to the Blake Outer Ridge) do not result from lower depositional energy (current speed) and so may reflect a difference in the nature of sediment being delivered to the site (i.e., distance from source) between the two locations.
Going beyond the LMS logs. The complexity of analyzing learning evidences

The analysis of students' learning evidences is a key issue in the assessment process. This analysis has become more affordable because educational institutions use Learning Management Systems that track what students are doing. However, evaluation of students learning is much more complex than just presenting or summarizing some of their results; it requires to consider issues such as the context, the type of activities carried out, the learning objectives to achieve or the students’ interactions. This paper presents this situation and a sample of how to deal with Learning Analytics for the evaluation of teamwork competence. In order to do this, first we explore the issues related with complexity in LA approaches, later on explore how to assess teamwork competence and present a case study at the University of León, that describe how teamwork assessment was carried out along several academic years.
Map Quality for Site‐Specific Fertility Management

Maps are fundamental to SSFM because they repThe quality of soil fertility maps affects the efficacy of site-specific resent either the spatial state of a condition of soil fertility management (SSFM). The purpose of this study was to interest, the prescription of inputs needed to manage a evaluate how different soil sampling approaches and grid interpolation particular condition site-specifically, or a record of inschemes affect map quality. A field in south central Michigan was puts or outputs (Pierce and Nowak, 1999). In his review soil sampled using several strategies including grid-point (30- and 100- of variable rate technology (VRT), Sawyer (1994) conm regular grids), grid cell (100-m cells), and a simulated soil map cluded that the success of VRT depends to a large extent unit sampling. Soil fertility [pH, P, K, Ca, Mg, and cation-exchange on the quality of fertility management maps. Although capacity (CEC)] data were predicted using ordinary kriging, inverse methods exist for measuring map quality, in general, distance weighted (IDW), and nearest neighbor (NN) interpolations maps used in SSFM are rarely examined for quality for the various data sets. Each resulting map was validated against (Sawyer, 1994; Pierce and Nowak, 1999). Thus, poor an independent data (n 62) set to evaluate map quality. While soil properties were spatially structured, kriging predictions were marginal map quality may explain why results of some SSFM (prediction efficiencies 48%) at high sample densities and poor at agronomic and economic studies have produced mixed lower densities (i.e., 61- and 100-m grids; prediction efficiencies or negative results (Wibawa et al., 1993; Wollenhaupt 21%). The average optimal distance exponent at each scale of mea- and Bucholz, 1993; Snyder et al., 1996; Lowenberg-Desurement was 1.5. The performance of kriging relative to IDW meth- boer and Swinton, 1997). Map quality consists of two ods (with a distance exponent of 1.5) improved with increasing sam- components, map precision and map accuracy. The forpling intensity (i.e., IDW was superior to kriging for 100% of cases mer is a measure of residual variability in map predicwith the 100-m grid, 79% of the cases with the 61.5-m grid scale, and tion, whereas the latter measures the closeness to the 67% of the cases with the 30-m grid). Practically, there was little true conditions. Map quality is quantified as the mean difference between these interpolation methods. Grid sampling with square error (MSE) of residuals (predicted measured) a 100-m grid, grid cell sampling, and simulated soil map unit sampling obtained with an independent validation data set. yielded similar prediction efficiencies to those for the field average approach, all of which were generally poor.
Current status of the pediatric congenital heart disease management pathway in low and low-middle income countries: A review

There is evidence that children with congenital heart disease (CHD) in low and low-middle income countries (LMICs) do not have access to timely intervention. The concept of the ‘Management Pathway’ (MP) for CHD has been developed to facilitate a pragmatic assessment of the quality of care. The MP is comprised three phases: diagnosis, treatment (intervention) and follow-up. Best practice recommendations regarding how each phase should be executed have been published. The fundamental tenets of these recommendations can be summarised as follows: timely diagnosis, timely treatment and robust follow-up. We aimed to examine the status of the MP in LMICs. Google Scholar and PUBMED were searched between January 1st 1966 and August 31st 2022. Twenty-nine articles, representing 43,082 patients were included: sixteen (55.2%) were from Asia; eight (27.6%) were from Africa; three (10.3%) were regional and two (6.9%) were from the Middle East. Twelve (41.4%) studies examined two phases of the MP: eleven examined diagnosis and treatment; one examined treatment and follow-up. Eight (27.6%) studies did not examine the MP at all and only one (3.4%) examined all three phases of the MP. The majority of studies found that MP phases had not been executed as recommended. No study found that all the three phases of the MP had been executed as recommended. Most papers revealed that best practice goals for the MP were not achieved; it is likely that most children with CHD in LMICs do not receive optimal surgical intervention.
Modeling the long-period body waves from shallow earthquakes at regional ranges

A procedure for modeling P and PL waves recorded on long-period WWSSN instruments at ranges 1° to 12° is presented. Following the experience gained by modeling explosions (Helmberger, 1972), we demonstrate that these long-period phases are adequately treated by a single crustal layer for most of Western United States. After generating the Green's functions at the various ranges for the three fundamental dislocation types, we need only construct linear combinations of these vectors to represent any arbitrary oriented earthquake. The waveform patterns produced from the various fault types are quite diagnostic with the dip-slip orientations showing a strong ringing nature which is caused by the vertical SV lobes. To test the usefulness of this technique, we construct synthetics for some well-studied west coast earthquakes where the orientation, time history, and moment have been determined independently. Comparing the predicted seismograms with observations, we find good agreement in waveshapes and amplitudes.