Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gaseous dry deposition of atmospheric mercury: A comparison of two surface resistance models for deposition to semiarid vegetation

In the United States, atmospheric mercury (Hg) deposition, from regional and international sources, is the largest contributor to increased Hg concentrations in bodies of water leading to bioaccumulation of methyl mercury in fish. In this work, modeled dry deposition velocities (vd) for gaseous Hg are calculated using two surface resistance parameterizations found in the literature. The flux is then estimated as the product of the species concentration and modeled vd. The calculations utilize speciated atmospheric mercury concentrations measured during an annual monitoring campaign in southern Idaho. Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) and reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) were monitored with Tekran models 2537A and 1130, respectively. Two anemometers collected meteorological data, including one fast-response three-dimensional sonic anemometer to measure turbulence parameters. For the flux calculation, three resistances are required to model the mechanisms that transport gaseous Hg from the atmosphere to the surface, with the surface resistance being the largest source of error. Results from two surface resistance models are presented. In particular, the downward flux is sensitive to the choice of model and input parameters such as seasonal category and mesophyll resistance. A comparison of annual GEM and RGM fluxes calculated using the two models shows good agreement for RGM (3.2%more » difference for annual deposition); however, for the low-solubility species of GEM, the models show a 64% difference in annual fluxes, with a range of 32% to 200% in seasonal fluxes. Results indicate the importance of understanding the diurnal variation of the physical processes modeled in the surface resistance parameterization for vd. « less
The 2018 biomembrane curvature and remodeling roadmap

The importance of curvature as a structural feature of biological membranes has been recognized for many years and has fascinated scientists from a wide range of different backgrounds. On the one hand, changes in membrane morphology are involved in a plethora of phenomena involving the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells, including endo- and exocytosis, phagocytosis and filopodia formation. On the other hand, a multitude of intracellular processes at the level of organelles rely on generation, modulation, and maintenance of membrane curvature to maintain the organelle shape and functionality. The contribution of biophysicists and biologists is essential for shedding light on the mechanistic understanding and quantification of these processes. Given the vast complexity of phenomena and mechanisms involved in the coupling between membrane shape and function, it is not always clear in what direction to advance to eventually arrive at an exhaustive understanding of this important research area. The 2018 Biomembrane Curvature and Remodeling Roadmap of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics addresses this need for clarity and is intended to provide guidance both for students who have just entered the field as well as established scientists who would like to improve their orientation within this fascinating area.
Spatio - temporal maps and cartographic communication

Abstract During the nineties important challenges to cartography will be related to mapping spatial data's multi-dimensional and temporal component. From a cartographic point of view it is necessary to look at the implications of the use of animated maps. The paper concentrates on communicative aspects of the spatio-temporal map. In order to obtain some concrete evidence of the response of users to spatio-temporal map displays a map user test was carried out. Animated maps and the respective static ones depicting the same subjects were presented to the users and questions were asked. The results indicate that although the correctness of answers is not influenced by the type of map (i.e. static or animated), the users perceive faster from animated map displays.
Systems analysis of the impacts of energy supply shortage in Kamaishi for resilience building after Great East Japan Earthquake

The Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami hit coastal cities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures of Tohoku Region devastating the energy supply system in the region. Following electricity outage and fuel shortages caused severe problems in the city of Kamaishi varying from lack of mobility, communication, heating to reduced health conditions. It is important to build resilience of communities in disaster-prone areas to cope with the problem, meaning that they are able to manage energy supply shortage for themselves right after natural disaster. Resilience building against natural disasters would contribute to sustain safety, sense of security, social connections and social institution of the communities. However, it requires of better understanding of the concept of resilience and the complex interactions in social - energy supply system. This thesis, aims to analyze the impacts of the earthquake and the tsunami on local energy supply system in Kamaishi City by; i) clarifying what energy services were in need when there was a shortage in energy supply right after the disaster by performing semi-structured interviews; and ii) identifying and analyzing causes and effects of the energy supply shortage at local level when the disaster occurred by applying systems thinking and causal loop diagramming. Suggested alternative potential measures in tackling energy supply shortages and in preparing future disaster risk reduction plans from resilience perspective are expected to be use of both policy makers and individuals. Based on these works, the thesis makes an attempt of developing causal loop diagramming as learning tool and decision support tool to build resilience of communities against natural disasters.
Alternative Indices for the Warm-Season NAO and Precipitation Variability in West Greenland

Abstract Observed precipitation records from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, and atmospheric variables from the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis were used in a statistical analysis to elucidate controls on the seasonal variation of precipitation and develop indices that may be potentially useful for analyzing precipitation variability in paleoclimate and future climate change investigations. Three distinct patterns of correlation between precipitation and the 500-hPa geopotential height were found to represent three dominant atmospheric patterns that strongly influence precipitation for different times of the year. All three patterns show a relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation signature found in the first empirical orthogonal function of the 500-hPa height field. Spatially dependent indices were developed based on the 500-hPa geopotential field. The correlation coefficients between precipitation at Kangerlussuaq and these indices range from −0.38 for winter to 0.64 for the warm season (May–September). The warm-season.
A synthetic lethal screen for Snail-induced enzalutamide resistance identifies JAK/STAT signaling as a therapeutic vulnerability in prostate cancer

Despite substantial improvements in the treatment landscape of prostate cancer, the evolution of hormone therapy-resistant and metastatic prostate cancer remains a major cause of cancer-related death globally. The mainstay of treatment for advanced prostate cancer is targeting of androgen receptor signaling, including androgen deprivation therapy plus second-generation androgen receptor blockade (e.g., enzalutamide, apalutamide, darolutamide), and/or androgen synthesis inhibition (abiraterone). While these agents have significantly prolonged the lives of patients with advanced prostate cancer, is nearly universal. This therapy resistance is mediated by diverse mechanisms, including both androgen receptor-dependent mechanisms, such as androgen receptor mutations, amplifications, alternative splicing, and amplification, as well as non-androgen receptor-mediated mechanisms, such as lineage plasticity toward neuroendocrine-like or epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like lineages. Our prior work identified the EMT transcriptional regulator Snail as critical to hormonal therapy resistance and is commonly detected in human metastatic prostate cancer. In the current study, we sought to interrogate the actionable landscape of EMT-mediated hormone therapy resistant prostate cancer to identify synthetic lethality and collateral sensitivity approaches to treating this aggressive, therapy-resistant disease state. Using a combination of high-throughput drug screens and multi-parameter phenotyping by confluence imaging, ATP production, and phenotypic plasticity reporters of EMT, we identified candidate synthetic lethalities to Snail-mediated EMT in prostate cancer. These analyses identified multiple actionable targets, such as XPO1, PI3K/mTOR, aurora kinases, c-MET, polo-like kinases, and JAK/STAT as synthetic lethalities in Snail+ prostate cancer. We validated these targets in a subsequent validation screen in an LNCaP-derived model of resistance to sequential androgen deprivation and enzalutamide. This follow-up screen provided validation of inhibitors of JAK/STAT and PI3K/mTOR as therapeutic vulnerabilities for both Snail+ and enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer.
Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid in Osteoarthritis and Tendinopathies: Molecular and Clinical Approaches

Musculoskeletal diseases continue to rise on a global scale, causing significant socioeconomic impact and decreased quality of life. The most common disorders affecting musculoskeletal structures are osteoarthritis and tendinopathies, complicated orthopedic conditions responsible for major pain and debilitation. Intra-articular hyaluronic acid (HA) has been a safe, effective, and minimally invasive therapeutic tool for treating these diseases. Several studies from bedside to clinical practice reveal the multiple benefits of HA such as lubrication, anti-inflammation, and stimulation of cellular activity associated with proliferation, differentiation, migration, and secretion of additional molecules. Collectively, these effects have demonstrated positive outcomes that assist in the regeneration of chondral and tendinous tissues which are otherwise destroyed by the predominant catabolic and inflammatory conditions seen in tissue injury. The literature describes the physicochemical, mechanical, and biological properties of HA, their commercial product types, and clinical applications individually, while their interfaces are seldom reported. Our review addresses the frontiers of basic sciences, products, and clinical approaches. It provides physicians with a better understanding of the boundaries between the processes that lead to diseases, the molecular mechanisms that contribute to tissue repair, and the benefits of the HA types for a conscientious choice. In addition, it points out the current needs for the treatments.
Modeling Tree Growth Taking into Account Carbon Source and Sink Limitations

Increasing CO2 concentrations are strongly controlled by the behavior of established forests, which are believed to be a major current sink of atmospheric CO2. There are many models which predict forest responses to environmental changes but they are almost exclusively carbon source (i.e., photosynthesis) driven. Here we present a model for an individual tree that takes into account the intrinsic limits of meristems and cellular growth rates, as well as control mechanisms within the tree that influence its diameter and height growth over time. This new framework is built on process-based understanding combined with differential equations solved by numerical method. Our aim is to construct a model framework of tree growth for replacing current formulations in Dynamic Global Vegetation Models, and so address the issue of the terrestrial carbon sink. Our approach was successfully tested for stands of beech trees in two different sites representing part of a long-term forest yield experiment in Germany. This model provides new insights into tree growth and limits to tree height, and addresses limitations of previous models with respect to sink-limited growth.
Probing the putative α7 nAChR/NMDAR complex in human and murine cortex and hippocampus: Different degrees of complex formation in healthy and Alzheimer brain tissue

α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are key mediators of central cholinergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission, respectively. In addition to numerous well-established functional interactions between α7 nAChRs and NMDARs, the two receptors have been proposed to form a multimeric complex, and in the present study we have investigated this putative α7 nAChR/NMDAR assembly in human and murine brain tissues. By α-bungarotoxin (BGT) affinity purification, α7 and NMDAR subunits were co-purified from human and murine cortical and hippocampal homogenates, substantiating the notion that the receptors are parts of a multimeric complex in the human and rodent brain. Interestingly, the ratios between GluN1 and α7 levels in BGT pull-downs from cortical homogenates from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains were significantly lower than those in pull-downs from non-AD controls, indicating a reduced degree of α7 nAChR/NMDAR complex formation in the diseased tissue. A similar difference in GluN1/α7 ratios was observed between pull-downs from cortical homogenates from adult 3xTg-AD and age-matched wild type (WT) mice, whereas the GluN1/α7 ratios determined in pull-downs from young 3xTg-AD and age-matched WT mice did not differ significantly. The observation that pretreatment with oligomeric amyloid-β1–42 reduced GluN1/α7 ratios in BGT pull-downs from human cortical homogenate in a concentration-dependent manner provided a plausible molecular mechanism for this observed reduction. In conclusion, while it will be important to further challenge the existence of the putative α7 nAChR/NMDAR complex in future studies applying other methodologies than biochemical assays and to investigate the functional implications of this complex for cholinergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission, this work supports the formation of the complex and presents new insights into its regulation in healthy and diseased brain tissue.
Modeling the impact of climate change on global hydrology and water availability

The objective of this technical report is to provide the background to the methodology used to model the impact of climate change on runoff for the global track of the Economic of Adaptation to Climate Change (EACC) project. This report will present findings from computer modeling of the impacts of potential climate change on hydrology and water availability (that is, changes in runoff, basin yield, and flooding). Chapter two provides the framework of analysis. Chapter three provides the hydrological drivers and data. Chapter four describes selected climate scenarios. Chapter five provides the runoff. Chapter six describes the basin yield. Chapter seven summarizes the work and discusses future work. The appendixes describe the Climate and Runoff (CLIRUN) model.
Review Lecture: Local weather forecasting

Good progress has been made in forecasting the broad pattern of the weather for periods up to a few days ahead as a result of developments in mathematical weather prediction models. However, our ability to forecast, just a few hours ahead, the detailed weather pattern for specific locations, still leaves a lot to be desired. In this lecture it is suggested that local forecasting, after a quarter century of stagnation, is poised for a decade of slow but steady improvement. Changes will come as a result of new programs which exploit and integrate advances in several areas. These areas include better weather observations, especially from satellites and radar, improved methods of data processing and analysis, and the development of more detailed numerical prediction models. New methods of communications, such as viewdata, will enable the improved local forecasts to be disseminated promptly and in a wide range of specially tailored formats. This will contribute to the development of a more user-oriented meteorological service.
Jasmonates induce Arabidopsis bioactivities selectively inhibiting the growth of breast cancer cells through CDC6 and mTOR

Summary Phytochemicals are used often in vitro and in vivo in cancer research. The plant hormones jasmonates (JAs) control the synthesis of specialized metabolites through complex regulatory networks. JAs possess selective cytotoxicity in mixed populations of cancer and normal cells. Here, direct incubation of leaf explants from the non‐medicinal plant Arabidopsis thaliana with human breast cancer cells, selectively suppresses cancer cell growth. High‐throughput LC‐MS identified Arabidopsis metabolites. Protein and transcript levels of cell cycle regulators were examined in breast cancer cells. A synergistic effect by methyljasmonate (MeJA) and by compounds upregulated in the metabolome of MeJA‐treated Arabidopsis leaves, on the breast cancer cell cycle, is associated with Cell Division Cycle 6 (CDC6), Cyclin‐dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), Cyclins D1 and D3, indicating that key cell cycle components mediate cell viability reduction. Bioactives such as indoles, quinolines and cis‐(+)‐12‐oxophytodienoic acid, in synergy, could act as anticancer compounds. Our work suggests a universal role for MeJA‐treatment of Arabidopsis in altering the DNA replication regulator CDC6, supporting conservation, across kingdoms, of cell cycle regulation, through the crosstalk between the mechanistic target of rapamycin, mTOR and JAs. This study has important implications for the identification of metabolites with anti‐cancer bioactivities in plants with no known medicinal pedigree and it will have applications in developing disease treatments
Influence of matrix diffusion and exchange reactions on radiocarbon ages in fissured carbonate aquifers

The parallel fissure model coupled with the equation of diffusion into the matrix and with exchange reaction equations has been used to derive a simple formula for estimating the influence of matrix porosity and reaction parameters on the determination of radiocarbon ages in fissured carbonate rocks. Examples of evidently too great radiocarbon ages in carbonate formations, which are not explainable by models for the initial {sup 14}C corrections, can easily be explained by this formula. Parameters obtained for a chalk formation from a known multitracer experiment combined with a pumping test suggest a possibility of {sup 14}C ages more than three orders of magnitude greater than the ages which would be observed if the radiocarbon transport took place only in the mobile water in the fissures. It is shown that contrary to the solute movement on a small scale and with a variable input, the large-scale movement, characteristic for the {sup 14}C dating, does not necessarily require the knowledge of kinetic parameters, because they may be replaced by the distribution coefficient. Discordant tritium and {sup 14}C concentrations are commonly interpreted as a proof of mixing either in the aquifer or at the discharge site. For fissured carbonate formations, however, anmore » alternative explanation is given by the derived model showing a considerable delay of {sup 14}C with respect to nonsorbable tracers. « less
Journal of Neuroinflammation a Refined in Vitro Model to Study Inflammatory Responses in Organotypic Membrane Culture of Postnatal Rat Hippocampal Slices

Background: Propagated tissue degeneration, especially during aging, has been shown to be enhanced through potentiation of innate immune responses. Neurodegenerative diseases and a wide variety of inflammatory conditions are linked together and several anti-inflammatory compounds considered as having therapeutic potential for example in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In vitro brain slice techniques have been widely used to unravel the complexity of neuroinflammation, but rarely, has the power of the model itself been reported. Our aim was to gain a more detailed insight and understanding of the behaviour of hippocampus tissue slices in serum-free, interface culture per se and after exposure to different pro-and anti-inflammatory compounds.
Downwelling spectral radiance observations at the SHEBA ice station: Water vapor continuum measurements from 17 to 26μm

Earth loses energy to space in the form of longwave (or infrared) radiation. Much of this energy is radiated through the transparent portion of the water vapor rotational band from 17 to 33 μm (300 to 600 cm−1). Very few measurements have been made in this spectral region to characterize how water vapor absorbs and emits longwave radiation. An Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) with extended longwave spectral coverage has been deployed at the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) ice station 300 miles north of the Alaskan coast to measure downwelling radiances at wavelengths of 3 to 26 μm (380 to 3000 cm−1). The spectral and radiometric performance of the instrument, installation at the ice station, and initial observations are shown. Comparisons to line-by-line radiative transfer calculations for selected clear-sky cases are presented, and air-broadened water vapor continuum absorption coefficients are determined in the wing of the pure rotational band from 17 to 26 μm (380 to 600 cm−1). Comparisons of the coefficients with the widely used Clough Kneizys Davies (CKD) water vapor continuum model suggest empirical modifications to this model are necessary. Comparisons to laboratory measurements of Burch et al. [1974] made at room temperature suggests little or no temperature dependence of the continuum from 400 to 550 cm−1. Implications of these modifications on top-of-atmosphere and surface fluxes, as well as atmospheric cooling rates, are discussed.
Variants of factorial regression for analysing QTL by environment interaction

Factorial regression models for the analysis of phenotypic responses over environments, including GxE, describe phenotypic responses in terms of differential genotypic sensitivity to various forms of environmental characterisation. Regression models for QTL analysis have a structure that is fully compatible with the structure of these factorial regression models. Variants of factorial regression models are presented that cover a wide range of applications and needs for the analysis of both GxE and QTLxE. Within this framework, marked based regression, interval mapping and composite interval mapping are described. Special attention is given to the testing of QTL- and QTLxE effects, with a solution to the problem of multiple testing in the form of a permutation procedure.
A New Digital Accelerograph Network for El Salvador

INTRODUCTION There are few countries whose geography and history have been so affected by earthquake and volcanic activity as El Salvador, the smallest republic in Central America (Figure 1). The capital, San Salvador (Figure 2), has the unenviable claim of being the Latin American city most frequently damaged by earthquakes. Since 1700, San Salvador has been severely damaged by earthquakes on at least 14 occasions (Harlow et al., 1993). The last destructive earthquake to affect San Salvador occurred on 10 October 1986, causing about 1,500 deaths and extensive damage over much of the city, as well as an economic loss equivalent to 31% of El Salvador's GNP (Coburn and Spence, 1992). El Salvador has been the focus of several studies of seismicity and seismic hazard, and the San Salvador earthquake of October 1986 generated renewed interest in the area. Three major hazard studies have produced seismic zonifications of El Salvador.