Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GCM response to an Antarctic polynya

The sensitivity of the Southern Hemisphere circulation to a Weddell Sea polynya is investigated with an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). Two simulations, one with standard sea ice distribution, and one with a patch of open water (a polynya) in the sea ice of the Eastern Weddell Sea are made. The mean temperature and geopotential responses are comparable to former sea ice anomaly experiments, with, however, much larger sea ice anomalies. The response is much stronger than the response to a Kara Sea polynya, which we investigated in a previous paper. It had only a third of the extent of the present polynya. The lower layer of the atmosphere above the polynya is warmed and the upper layer is cooled as is the whole troposphere equatorward of the polar region. The pole-to-equator geopotential gradient is diminished. The gradient between the midlatitude trough and the subtropical ridge, however, is stronger in case of the Weddell Sea polynya. The transient synoptic eddy heat transport is strongly enhanced in case of the polynya. This is different from our previous Kara Sea experiment, where the baroclinic heat transport was diminished.
Analysis of the Moderating Effect of Media Literacy on Cervical Cancer Preventive Behaviours

Media literacy can be defined as the ability to access, assay, create, and interpret media messages which are therefore able to impact the beliefs and practices of their audience towards specific topics. In the field of health communications, the effects of media literacy can often be seen as the predisposing factor for health information acceptance towards preventive behaviours. Meanwhile, there are several moderating factors which could act as changing agents for media literacy so that it becomes the reinforcing factor and increases the resultant outcome of preventive behaviours. The initial focus of this study was to analyse the moderating factor of media literacy in regards to the cervical cancer preventive behaviour model by using PLS-SEM with smartPLS 3.0 statistical software. The analysis was conducted among 506 respondents with a formative research design. The findings indicated that the indirect effect of media literacy towards preventive behaviours, (p-value 0.038) with the level of education as a moderating factor (R2 0.14), significantly influenced the interactions occurring in the whole construct of the model. The result of the study is that level of education is revealed to have a significant effect as a moderating factor towards the acceptance of health information and media literacy in general, which in turn enhances the preventive behaviours on cervical cancer issues. These findings confirm that higher education is associated with ancillary benefits, one of which is the understanding of health issues and the resulting improved preventive behaviour outcomes. Keywords: PLS-SEM, moderating factor, health information, media literacy, preventive behaviour.
Systematic detection of brain protein-coding genes under positive selection during primate evolution and their roles in cognition

The human brain differs from that of other primates, but the genetic basis of these differences remains unclear. We investigated the evolutionary pressures acting on almost all human protein-coding genes ( N =11,667; 1:1 orthologs in primates) based on their divergence from those of early hominins, such as Neanderthals, and non-human primates. We confirm that genes encoding brain-related proteins are among the most strongly conserved protein-coding genes in the human genome. Combining our evolutionary pressure metrics for the protein-coding genome with recent datasets, we found that this conservation applied to genes functionally associated with the synapse and expressed in brain structures such as the prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum. Conversely, several genes presenting signatures commonly associated with positive selection appear as causing brain diseases or conditions, such as micro/macrocephaly, Joubert syndrome, dyslexia, and autism. Among those, a number of DNA damage response genes associated with microcephaly in humans such as BRCA1 , NHEJ1 , TOP3A, and RNF168 show strong signs of positive selection and might have played a role in human brain size expansion during primate evolution. We also showed that cerebellum granule neurons express a set of genes also presenting signatures of positive selection and that may have contributed to the emergence of fine motor skills and social cognition in humans. This resource is available online and can be used to estimate evolutionary constraints acting on a set of genes and to explore their relative contributions to human traits. syndrome, a recessive disease characterized by agenesis of the cerebellar vermis and difficulties coordinating movements.
of Environmental Biology

Aim: Methodology: Results: Interpretation: To examine the effectiveness of 6-benzyladenine (BA) alone or in combination with gibberellic acid (GA ) on sylleptic shoots formation on one-year-3 old apple cv. Gala Mast grafted on MM-106 rootstock. During the second vegetative period, the actively growing apical portion of the nursery tree was sprayed with varying doses of BA and BA+GA (200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 3 700 ppm) using a hand sprayer until run-off. Three spray treatments were performed at one week apart. The first spray was applied when the growth of the central leader reached 70-80 cm. All plant growth regulators treatments significantly increased the number and length of sylleptic shoots, branching zone and per cent branched trees compared to control. The unsprayed trees had an average of 1.95 useful sylleptic per tree, 1.1 m total sylleptic shoot length, 10.24 cm branching zone and 35 per cent branched trees. Application of BA (700 ppm) resulted in four-fold increase in the number of sylleptic shoots (7.8), more than two-fold increase in total length of sylleptic shoots (2.44 m), and around four-fold increase in branching zone (38.96 cm). The 100 per cent branched trees were obtained with the application of BA (500, 600, 700 ppm) and BA+GA (600, 3 700 ppm) in both experimental years. Moreover, these treatments obtained 2.78 to 2.90 values of the trunk and mean sylleptic shoot diameter ratio. Application of BA alone or in combination with GA played an important role in overcoming apical dominance and therefore in the 3 production of well-branched apple nursery tree. However, application of BA alone has a stronger positive effect on sylleptic shoot formation. More than 400 ppm BA appears to give a significant stimulation for the production of sylleptic shoots, with the highest beneficial effect reported with the application of 700 ppm BA. However, it is cost-effective to apply 3 sprays of 500 ppm BA for adequate growth and sylleptic shoot production.
Inner Bay of Fundy (iBoF) Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Marine Habitat: Proposal for Important Habitat

iv RESUME v INTRODUCTION 1 CONTEXT 1 BACKGROUND 2 REGULARLY FREQUENTED MARINE HABITAT 2 THE GULF OF MAINE 4 Circulation Patterns 4 BAY OF FUNDY 4 Geomorphology 4 Surface Currents 5 Tides 6 Salinity 6 Temperature 7 Productivity 7 Prey of Atlantic Salmon 7 FRESHWATER AREAS OF CRITICAL HABITAT 9 ESTUARINE AND MARINE AREAS OF OCCUPANCY 9 SMOLT 9 POST-SMOLTS 10 Historical Tagging: 1963-1990 10 First Electronic Tagging Study: 1999 11 Second Electronic Tagging Study: 2001-2002 13 Trawling Surveys: 2001-2003 15 MATURING AND NON-MATURING SALMON 17 RETURNING ADULTS 17 Bay of Fundy Commercial/Salmon Fisheries 18 Inner Bay of Fundy in-River Recreational Fisheries 20 KELTS 21 SUMMARY: LIFE STAGE USAGE OF ESTUARINE/MARINE HABITAT 22 Smolts 22 Post-Smolts 23 Maturing/Non-Maturing Salmon 24 Returning Adults 24 Kelts 25 PROPOSAL FOR IMPORTANT HABITAT 25 RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS 26 ADDITIONAL RESEARCH 29 ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS 29 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 29 LITERATURE CITED 30 TABLES 37 FIGURES 42 ANNEX 1 67 Maritimes Region iBoF Atlantic Salmon Marine Habitat
Double Gumbel Q-Learning

We show that Deep Neural Networks introduce two heteroscedastic Gumbel noise sources into Q-Learning. To account for these noise sources, we propose Double Gumbel Q-Learning, a Deep Q-Learning algorithm applicable for both discrete and continuous control. In discrete control, we derive a closed-form expression for the loss function of our algorithm. In continuous control, this loss function is intractable and we therefore derive an approximation with a hyperparameter whose value regulates pessimism in Q-Learning. We present a default value for our pessimism hyperparameter that enables DoubleGum to outperform DDPG, TD3, SAC, XQL, quantile regression, and Mixture-of-Gaussian Critics in aggregate over 33 tasks from DeepMind Control, MuJoCo, MetaWorld, and Box2D and show that tuning this hyperparameter may further improve sample efficiency.
Comparison of the General Health of Parents of Hearing-Impaired Children with Early and Late Intervention

Background: Late identification and intervention of hearing loss in children negatively impact their hearing, language, and cognitive skills. Parents of hearing-impaired children (HIC) often experience high stress levels and depression. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of early intervention on the general health of parents of HIC. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted with parents of moderate to severe HIC who received either early or late intervention. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), which measures four subscales of physical symptoms, anxiety, social dysfunction, and depression, was administered to both groups of parents. The independent t-test, analysis of variance, and the Tukey test were employed to compare general health and its subscales between the two groups. Results: A significant difference (P=0.042) was found between the overall general health scores of parents (both fathers and mothers) of HIC with early interventions and parents of HIC with late interventions, particularly on the social dysfunction subscale (P=0.003). Mothers of children with late interventions exhibited a greater disturbance on the GHQ’s social dysfunction subscale than other parents (P<0.05). Conclusion: Early intervention improves the general health of HIC’s parents, especially in the social dysfunction subscale. However, late intervention appears to have a more pronounced impact on the general health and social function of HIC mothers than other parents.
Effects of long-term consumption of broccoli sprouts on inflammatory 1 markers in overweight subjects

López-Chillón, MT; Carazo-Díaz, C; Prieto-Merino, D; Zafrilla, P; Moreno, DA; Villaño, D; (2018) Effects of long-term consumption of broccoli sprouts on inflammatory markers in overweight subjects. Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland). ISSN 0261-5614 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu. 2018.03. 006 Downloaded from: http://researchonline.lshtm. ac.uk/4647168/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu. 2018.03. 006
Hot Carrier Injection Induced Random Telegraph Noise Degradation in a 0.8um-pitch 8.3Mpixel Stacked CMOS Image Sensor

— In this work we investigate the degradation of the random telegraph noise (RTN) and the threshold voltage ( 𝑽 𝒕 ) shift of an 8.3Mpixel stacked CMOS image sensor (CIS) under hot carrier injection (HCI) stress. We report for the first time the significant statistical differences between these two aging behaviors. The 𝑽 𝒕 shift is relatively uniform among the whole population and gradually evolves over stress time. By contrast, the RTN degradation is evidently discrete and random in nature. The generation of new RTN traps during the time of stress is demonstrated both statistically and on the individual device level.
The role of rhizosphere signalling in the plant-cyst nematode interaction

Cyst nematodes of the genera Heterodera and Globodera - such as Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN), Globodera pallida and Globodera rostochiensis - have a major impact on global agriculture. They have a life cycle that includes a hypobiotic phase that can last for years, up to decades for some species, depending on the presence of a host. This phase resembles the infective stage of several animal-parasitic nematodes, such as Strongyloides stercoralis , in several ways: it serves as a survival strategy in case of host absence; it is a non-feeding, non-ageing stage; and it ends by perception of a host-derived cue. However, despite the similarities it is unknown whether the molecular signalling pathways involved are similar in these phylogenetically distant nematodes. In animal-parasitic nematodes, the infective stage is regulated by the dauer signalling pathway, which culminates in the biosynthesis of dafachronic acid (DA). However, whether this also applies for cyst nematodes is still undetermined as many of the animal-parasitic species in which this was shown, are only distantly related to these plant-parasitic nematode species. In the present study, we use RNAseq to show that the hatching factor solanoeclepin A and potato root exudate induce transcriptional changes in the dauer signalling pathway of PCN. Furthermore, we show that PCN hatching, which marks the end of the hypobiotic stage, is inhibited through chemical inhibition of the dauer signalling pathway. Lastly, through enzymatic assays using PCN homologues of daf-9 , the key biosynthetic enzyme in the production of DA, we show that PCN species can synthesize DA. With this work, we provide evidence that the dauer signalling pathway underlies the regulation of hypobiosis in PCN. This potentially provides the basis for the development of alternative approaches to control cyst nematodes.
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic ‘It is not fashionable to suffer nowadays’: Community motivations to repeatedly participate in outreach HIV testing indicate UHC potential in Tanzania

Objective This study examined people’s motivations for (repeatedly) utilizing HIV testing services during community-based testing events in urban and rural Shinyanga, Tanzania and potential implications for Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Methods As part of a broader multidisciplinary study on the implementation of a HIV Test and Treat model in Shinyanga Region, Tanzania, this ethnographic study focused on community-based testing campaigns organised by the implementing partner. Between April 2018 and December 2019, we conducted structured observations (24), short questionnaires (42) and in-depth interviews with HIV-positive (23) and HIV-negative clients (8). Observations focused on motivations for (re-)testing, and the counselling and testing process. Thematic analysis based on inductive and deductive coding was completed using NVivo software. were 51.1% had campaigns Community-based testing campaigns serve three valuable functions related to HIV prevention and treatment: 1) enable community members to check their HIV status regularly as part of a personalized prevention strategy that reinforces responsible behaviour; 2) identify recently sero-converted clients who would not otherwise be targeted; and 3) engage community with general prevention and care messaging and services. This model could be expanded to include routine management of other (chronic) diseases and provide an entry for scaling up UHC.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Social Work: Evidence for Impact?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereafter CRPD) has provided a radical imperative for the reform of mental health and capacity legislation around the world. The interpretation of the CRPD has been controversial, ranging from the complete abolition of detention, forcible treatment, and substitute decision-making to accepting that elements of these measures need to be retained based on non-discriminatory criteria, additional safeguards, and a comprehensive shift towards supported decision-making. While the potential effects of the CRPD on mental health social work and social work generally are considerable given their shared commitment towards social justice, to date there has been no review of research evidence exploring their relationship. In addressing this knowledge gap, this study held a preliminary discussion with practitioners and academics at the European Association of Social Work Mental Health Special Interest Group in Amsterdam 2022, followed by a scoping literature review on the question: What impact, if any, has the CRPD had on social work practice? The review produced four main findings: impact on legislation; positive impact on practice; limited impact on practice; and impact on social work education and research. In sum, while there were some positive indications of social work and mental health social work practice being influenced by the CRPD, these were scant. Barriers to change included tendencies among some social workers to practise substitute decision-making, in part related to resourcing and policy contexts, and understandings of disability aligned to individualised/medical rather than social perspectives. The results indicate that legal reform on its own is insufficient to impact social work practice, and that realising the potential of the CRPD will necessitate good quality training, as well as improving social workers’ knowledge of the human rights of people with mental impairment.
The Effects of a Parent-Focused Social Media Intervention on Child Sun Safety: Pilot and Feasibility Study

Background Middle childhood (ages 8-12 years) is a critical period for forming behavioral habits and reducing the risk for the development of skin cancer later in life. During this time, children develop more autonomy and spend more unsupervised time away from their parents. Professional agencies recommend that all children engage in regular sun protection behaviors and avoid the sun during peak daytime hours. Unfortunately, in middle childhood, child sun protection often declines and UV radiation exposure increases. Effective parenting involves balancing ways to encourage the child’s increasing independence while providing practical assistance to ensure sun protection is implemented. Objective The goal was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of Sun Safe Families, a Facebook group intervention for parents of children between 8 and 12 years of age. Methods The team developed Facebook messages targeting parent knowledge, normative influences, sun safety barriers, planning and goal setting, confidence in implementing sun safety, communication, forming habits, and managing sun safety in risky situations. A total of 92 parents were enrolled, and the groups ran for 6 weeks. Feasibility was measured by enrollment and retention rates. Acceptability was measured by engagement in the Facebook groups. Satisfaction was assessed by a treatment evaluation. At pre- and post-intervention, parents completed measures of child sun protection, UV radiation exposure, sunburn, sun safety knowledge, child risk, barriers, sun protection self-efficacy, planning, sun safe habits, norms for child sun safety, and communication about sun safety. Results Enrollment (64.3%, 92/143) and retention (94.6%, 87/92) were good. On average, participants viewed 67.6% (56.8/84) of posts, “liked” 16.4% (13.77/84) of posts, commented on 14.8% (12.43/84) of posts, and voted on 46% (6.4/14) of polls. Satisfaction was excellent. From pre- to post-intervention, there were significant increases in child sun protection, sun exposure, and sunburn (P<.01; moderate effect sizes), as well as statistically significant increases in planning and self-efficacy (P<.05) and family norms and parent communication (P<.01). Conclusions This study demonstrated high survey retention, acceptability, and satisfaction with the intervention. There were promising preliminary effects on child sun protection behaviors and parent sun protection attitudes and communication with their child. Replication with a larger sample size and a comparison condition is warranted.
The effect of Permcath on cardiac function in patients with ESRD and mid-range ejection fraction.

: Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) could present cardiac dysfunction. Recent studies have revealed that advanced CKD at baseline is associated with progressive worsening in cardiac structure and function. Furthermore, the left-to-right shunting of blood through an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) can significantly increase the preload on the heart. Objectives: To answer for consultations about patients with mid-range ejection fraction (EF :40-50 %), who were candidates for renal dialysis, regarding which access of dialysis is more suitable for such patients and associated with better outcome. Due to a lack of definitive criteria that guide the selection of patients for different access routes, our study tried to identify which access for dialysis (AVF vs Permicath), was associated with better outcome with regard to cardiac function as judged by ejection fraction in such patients. Patient and Methods: Patients dialyzing with a tunneled cuffed double-lumen central venous catheter (CVC) tend to experience higher rate of infection but less preload on the heart. Results: In our study, dialysis via AVF & Permicath was associated with marked reduction of the systolic and diastolic blood pressure but no effect on heart rate. AVF significantly improved the LV systolic function but impaired the diastolic function. Permicath associated with significant improvement
Geostationary aerosol retrievals of extreme biomass burning plumes during the 2019-20 Australian bushfires

Extreme biomass burning (BB) events, such as those seen during the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season, are becoming more frequent and intense with climate change. Ground-based observations of these events can provide useful information on the macro-and micro-physical properties of the plumes, but these observations are sparse, especially in regions which are at risk of intense bushfire events. Satellite observations of extreme BB events provide a unique perspective, with the newest generation of 5 geostationary imagers, such as the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), observing entire continents at moderate spatial and high temporal resolution. However, current passive satellite retrieval methods struggle to capture the high values of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) seen during these BB events. Accurate retrievals are necessary for global and regional studies of shortwave radiation, air quality modelling and numerical weather prediction. To address these issues, the Optimal Retrieval of Aerosol and Cloud (ORAC) algorithm has used AHI data to measure extreme BB plumes from the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season. 10 The sensitivity of the retrieval to the assumed optical properties of BB plumes is explored by comparing retrieved AOT with AERONET L1.5 data over the AERONET site at Tumbarumba, New South Wales, between 1 December 2019 00:00 UTC to 3 January 2020 00:00 UTC. The study shows that for AOT values > 2, the sensitivity to assumed optical properties is substantial. The ORAC retrievals and AERONET data are compared against the JAXA Aerosol Retrieval Product (ARP), MODIS Deep Blue over land, MODIS MAIAC SLSTR SYN and VIIRS Deep Blue products. The comparison shows the ORAC retrieval 15 significantly improves coverage of optically thick plumes relative to the JAXA ARP, with approximately twice as many pixels retrieved and peak retrieved AOT values 1.4 higher than the JAXA ARP. The ORAC retrievals have accuracy scores between 0.742 - 0.744 compared to the values of 0.718 - 0.833 for the polar-orbiting satellite products, despite successfully retrieving approximately 28 times as many pixels over the study period as the most successful polar-orbiting satellite product. The AHI and MODIS satellite products are compared for three case studies covering a range of BB plumes over Australia. The results 20 show good agreement between all products for plumes with AOT values ≤ 2. For extreme BB plumes, the ORAC retrieval