Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seismic Imaging Beneath Cascadia Shows Shallow Mantle Flow Patterns Guide Lower Mantle Upwellings

The mantle transition zone (MTZ) plays an important role in modulating material transport between the upper mantle and the lower mantle. Constraining this transport is essential for understanding geochemical reservoirs, hydration cycles, and the evolution of the Earth. Slabs and hotspots are assumed to be the dominant locations of transport. However, the degree of material transport in other areas is debated. We apply P‐to‐S receiver functions to an amphibious data set from Cascadia to image the MTZ discontinuities beneath mid‐ocean ridges, a hotspot, and a subduction zone. We find a MTZ thinned by 10 ± 6 km beneath the ridges and by 8 ± 4 km beneath the base of the slab, closely resembling the 660 discontinuity topography. Depressions on the 410 discontinuity are smaller, 5 ± 2 km on average, focused in the north and the south and accompanied by supra‐410 discontinuity melt phases. The depressions occur away from locations of uplifted 660 discontinuity, but near slow seismic velocity anomalies imaged in the upper mantle. This suggests lower mantle upwellings occur beneath ridges and beneath the base of slabs but stall in the transition zone, with upper mantle convection determining upward material transport from the transition zone. Therefore, upper mantle dynamics play a larger role in determining transfer than typically assumed.
Effects of executive functions on consecutive interpreting for Chinese-Japanese unbalanced bilinguals

Introduction Previous research on performance in interpreting has focused primarily on the influence of interpreting experience on executive functions, such as shifting, updating, and inhibition. However, limited research has explored the effects of executive functions on performance. Understanding how different executive functions affect interpreting performance can provide valuable insights for teaching methods. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the effects of executive functions on comprehension and output performance during bidirectional consecutive interpreting between Chinese and Japanese. Methods This study involved 48 Chinese advanced Japanese language learners. Self-assessment results indicated that all participants were unbalanced bilingual individuals. All participants took part in consecutive interpreting, completed comprehension tests, and underwent executive function tests. Executive functions were assessed using the color–shape switching task, 1–back task, and Stroop task. Results Analysis using Bayesian linear regression revealed the following. (1) Updating exhibited a significant impact on both Japanese-to-Chinese and Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting, indicating that higher updating ability was associated with better interpreting performance. (2) Inhibition showed a significant effect on Japanese-to-Chinese interpreting performance, whereas the effect was not significant in Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting. (3) No significant effects of shifting were observed in either Japanese-to-Chinese or Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting. Discussion The results indicate that executive functions have different effects on the interpreting performance of unbalanced bilinguals, while these effects are also influenced by the direction of the source language. Based on these findings, it is recommended that executive function training should be included in interpreter teaching and training programs, with a specific focus on the updating and inhibition functions.
Ryanodine Receptor Staining Identifies Viable Cardiomyocytes in Human and Rabbit Cardiac Tissue Slices

In terms of preserving multicellularity and myocardial function in vitro, the cultivation of beating myocardial slices is an emerging technique in basic and translational cardiac research. It can be used, for example, for drug screening or to study pathomechanisms. Here, we describe staining for viable cardiomyocytes based on the immunofluorescence of ryanodine receptors (RyRs) in human and rabbit myocardial slices. Biomimetic chambers were used for culture and measurements of contractile force. Fixable fluorophore-conjugated dextran, entering cells with a permeable membrane, was used for death staining. RyRs, nuclei and the extracellular matrix, including the t-system, were additionally stained and analyzed by confocal microscopy and image processing. We found the mutual exclusion of the RyR and dextran signals in cultivated slices. T-System density and nucleus size were reduced in RyR-negative/dextran-positive myocytes. The fraction of RyR-positive myocytes and pixels correlated with the contractile force. In RyR-positive/dextran-positive myocytes, we found irregular RyR clusters and SERCA distribution patterns, confirmed by an altered power spectrum. We conclude that RyR immunofluorescence indicates viable cardiomyocytes in vibratome-cut myocardial slices, facilitating the detection and differential structural analysis of living vs. dead or dying myocytes. We suggest the loss of sarcoplasmic reticulum integrity as an early event during cardiomyocyte death.
In host evolution of beta lactam resistance during active treatment for Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been declared a serious threat by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here, we used whole genome sequencing (WGS) to investigate recurrent P. aeruginosa bloodstream infections in a severely immunocompromised patient. The infections demonstrated unusual, progressive increases in resistance to beta lactam antibiotics in the setting of active treatment with appropriate, guideline-directed agents. WGS followed by comparative genomic analysis of isolates collected over 44 days demonstrated in host evolution of a single P. aeruginosa isolate characterized by stepwise acquisition of two de-novo genetic resistance mechanisms over the course of treatment. We found a novel deletion affecting the ampC repressor ampD and neighboring gene ampE, which associated with initial cefepime treatment failure. This was followed by acquisition of a porin nonsense mutation, OprD, associated with resistance to carbapenems. This study highlights the potential for in-host evolution of P. aeruginosa during bloodstream infections in severely immunocompromised patients despite appropriate antimicrobial therapy. In addition, it demonstrates the utility of WGS for understanding unusual resistance patterns in the clinical context.
EH From V2X Communications: The Price of Uncertainty and the Impact of Platooning

In this article, we explore how radio frequency energy from vehicular communications can be exploited by an energy harvesting device (EHD) placed alongside the road to deliver data packets through wireless connection to a remote Access Point. Based on updated local topology knowledge, we propose a cycle-based strategy to balance harvest and transmit phases at the EHD, in order to maximize the average throughput. A theoretical derivation is carried out to determine the optimal strategy parameters setting, and used to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed approach over different scenarios, taking into account the road traffic intensity, the EHD battery capacity, the transmit power and the data rate. Results show that regular traffic patterns, as those created by vehicles platooning, can increase the obtained throughput by more than 30% with respect to irregular ones with the same average intensity. Black out probability is also derived for the former scenario. The resulting tradeoff between higher average throughput and lower black out probability shows that the proposed approach can be adopted for different applications by properly tuning the strategy parameters.
A Novel Feature Representation Method Based on Similarity Between Statistical Distributions of Acoustic Emission Waveforms

Acoustic emission (AE) has been increasingly favored for nondestructive testing and process monitoring due to its exceptional sensitivity to malfunctions. Nonetheless, excessive background noise can often mask crucial information, making it challenging to detect defects. Hence, it is crucial to resolve the problem of identification of the weak emission source and to obtain an accurate representation of the initial waveform. The present work proposes a novel feature representation method using similarity between statistical distributions of original AE waveforms. In contrast to existing AE signal processing methods, in this work, the waveform is considered and treated innovatively as a connection of many harmonics from a microview. Therefore, only the amplitude and half-period of the harmonic are extracted as a feature for representing the harmonic. This means that it is possible to significantly reduce the data size. On this basis, the statistical distribution of the harmonic or the joint distribution of the amplitude and half-period is calculated to characterize the statistical properties of the signals. Finally, to evaluate the similarity of the statistical distribution, one uses the Bhattacharyya distance. A standardized procedure for calculating the similarity between statistical distributions has been developed. The test for polymer flow state monitoring in fused filament fabrication (FFF) validates the availability and efficacy of the proposed method. The impact of the key parameters of window length and cell size is examined. As an alternative AE feature representation method, the proposed method is believed to be suitable for practical process monitoring, fault diagnosis, and other scenarios.
Caractérisation numérique d’antennes VLF-LF en environnement réel

Les tres basses frequences (VLF) sont aujourd’hui principalement utilisees pour les communications sous-marines. Ces frequences ont en effet l’avantage de penetrer dans l’eau de mer jusqu’a quelques dizaines de metre de profondeur, ainsi que de permettre des communications a tres longue distance, au-dela de l’horizon. Les antennes necessaires a l’etablissement de ces communications sont necessairement de tres petite taille par rapport aux longueurs d’onde mises en jeu. Ces antennes sont des structures composees de centaines de metre de câbles metalliques, situees a un emplacement etudie pour les qualites dielectriques du sol ou les avantages structurels du relief. Pour etudier de telles antennes, nous proposons l’utilisation d’un code base sur une methode temporelle, la TLM. Cette methode peut se reveler etre tres efficace pour des etudes sur de larges bandes de frequence et en presence d’un environnement dielectrique complexe. Pour cela, nous avons ameliore le modele du Fil Mince permettant de modeliser une structure metallique en une dimension et avons cherche a valider son fonctionnement en presence d’un environnement realiste. Dans ce document, nous presentons ainsi les differentes etapes ayant abouties aux ameliorations apportees au modele de Fil Mince. Notre code a ete valide en comparant nos resultats a ceux de FEKO, un logiciel commercial base sur la MoM considere comme la methode la plus adaptee a ce type de probleme. Nous avons propose, en particulier, une solution permettant de garantir une bonne precision du modele quel que soit l’orientation du fil dans le maillage cartesien 3D. Nous avons ensuite precise le domaine de validite des fils coudes ainsi que des jonctions de plusieurs fils. Nous avons etudie egalement l’interaction entre le fil et des milieux inhomogenes. Il s’agit la d’une problematique ambitieuse pour laquelle nous avons apporte quelques elements de reponse mais qui reste a ce jour un verrou technologique a lever. Enfin, nous avons etudie des structures antennaires realistes. Les simulations d’un systeme compose d’antennes en T deploye dans une vallee ont permis d’apprehender le fonctionnement d’une telle structure et ont montre l’interet de notre methode. En effet, les temps de calcul necessaires a la resolution du probleme sont significativement plus faibles avec le code TLM qu’avec le logiciel FEKO sur ce type de sol complexe. Les simulations d’une antenne Trideco avec un plan de masse radial aerien ou enterre ont quant a elles montre les limites actuelles du code TLM qui reste handicape par une modelisation imprecise des nœuds de connexion entre plusieurs fils et de leur interaction avec les milieux inhomogenes.
The effect of vitamin C in adults with sepsis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background The effect of intravenous (IV) vitamin C in the treatment of sepsis remains controversial. We aimed to explore the clinical efficacy of vitamin C in the treatment of sepsis. Methods Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) were searched from inception through November 15th, 2022, for randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of IV vitamin C treatment in patients with sepsis. The primary outcome was short-term mortality, secondary outcomes included duration of vasopressor use, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score after vitamin C treatment. Subgroup analyses were performed based on the dose and duration of IV vitamin C and region to determine whether vitamin C benefited patients with sepsis. Results A total of 10 studies including 1,426 patients fulfilled the predefined criteria and were analyzed. Overall, there were no significant differences between the vitamin C group and the control group regarding short-term mortality [odds ratio (OR), 0.61; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37–1.01; p = 0.05], ICU length of stay [mean difference (MD), −1.24; 95% CI -3.54 to 1.05, p = 0.29] and SOFA score (MD, −0.85, 95% CI -2.38 to 0.67, p = 0.27). However, vitamin C significantly reduced the duration of vasopressor use (MD, −14.36, 95% CI −26.11 to −2.61, p = 0.02). Furthermore, subgroup analysis found that in developing countries, vitamin C was associated with a significant reduction in short-term mortality (OR, 0.33; 95% CI 0.12–0.90; p = 0.03), duration of vasopressor use (MD, −24.37, 95% CI -33.72 to −15.02, p < 0.001) and SOFA score (MD, −2.55, 95% CI -4.81 to −0.28, p = 0.03). Conclusion In our study, vitamin C administration for sepsis patients was not associated with a significant reduction in short-term mortality, length of ICU stay or SOFA score. However, we observed that vitamin C could reduce the duration of vasopressor use. Furthermore, sepsis patients in developing countries may benefit more from vitamin C administration than those in developed countries. Systematic review registration: Identifier CRD42022380958, https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/PROSPERO/display_record. php? RecordID=380958.
Energy, cost and emission saving potential of demand response and peak power limiting in the German district heating system

ABSTRACT The demand response and peak power limiting could potentially reduce the peak power and energy demand. This study examines the effect of rule-based demand response and peak power limiting on the peak power and energy demand of heating. Study was conducted as a co-simulation where buildings and district heating production were simulated separately but both inclusively. Results indicate that demand response provides 2.8–4.7% energy saving and 2.3–3.4% total district heating cost saving potential. Moreover, according to the simulations, demand response provides 32% emission reduction in district heating production in contrast to the reference case. Peak power limiting provides significant reduction in the peak power and district heating base cost. However, its ability to provide additional reduction in the energy demand and emissions is confined compared to the demand response due to the effective time of the limit. Chosen acceptable temperature range can be maintained decently.
Social media insights on public perception and sentiment during and after disasters: The European floods in 2021 as a case study

Detecting and collecting public opinion via social media can provide near real‐time information to decision‐makers, which plays a vital role in urban disaster management and sustainable development. However, there has been little work focusing on identifying the perception and the sentiment polarity expressed by users during and after disasters, particularly regional flood events. In this article, we comprehensively analyze tweets data related to the “European floods in 2021” over time, topic, and sentiment, forming a complete workflow from data processing, topic modeling, sentiment analysis, and topic and sentiment prediction. The aim is to address the following research questions: (1) What are the public perception and main concerns during and after floods? (2) How does the public sentiment change during and after floods? Results indicate that there is a significant correlation between a flood's trend and the heat of corresponding tweets. The three topics that receive the most public concern are: (1) climate change and global warming; (2) praying for the victims: and (3) disaster situations and information. Negative sentiments are predominant during the floods and will continue for some time. We tested five different classifiers, of which TextCNN‐attention turned out to deliver the best predictions in topic and sentiment prediction, and performed well for sparse flood tweets, it can be used to predict the topic and sentiment polarity of a single tweet in real‐time during the flood events. Our findings can help disaster agencies to better understand the dynamics of social networks and develop stronger situational awareness towards a disaster, which can contribute to scientifically justified decision‐making in urban risk management and also meet the challenges associated with the global sustainable development goal 11 (SDGs) on Sustainable Cities and Communities.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in a Latin American Center: A Single Center Observational Study

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a complex disorder that includes various phenotypes, leading to different manifestations. It also shares different disadvantages typical of rare diseases, including limited recognition, lack of prospective studies assessing treatment, and little or delayed access to advanced treatment options. Reliable data about the prevalence and natural history of cardiomyopathies in South America are lacking. This study summarizes the features and management of patients with HCM in a university hospital in Colombia. Methods: This was an observational retrospective cohort study of patients with HCM between January 2010 and December 2021. Patient data were analyzed from an institutional cardiomyopathy registry. Demographic, paraclinical, and outcome data were collected. Results: A total of 82 patients during the study period were enrolled. Of these, 67.1% were male, and the mean age at diagnosis was 49 years. Approximately 83% were in NYHA functional class I and II, and the most reported symptoms were dyspnea (38%), angina (20%), syncope (15%), and palpitations (11%). In addition, 89% had preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with an asymmetric septal pattern in 65%. Five patients (6%) had alcohol septal ablation and four (5%) had septal myectomy. One patient required heart transplantation during follow-up. Sudden cardiovascular death was observed in 2.6%. The overall mortality during follow-up was 7.3%. Conclusions: HCM is a complex and heterogeneous disorder that presents with significant morbidity and mortality. Our registry provides comprehensive data on disease courses and management in a developing country.
Political culture and the paradox of poverty in Nigeria

While Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it continues to exhibit economic underperformance and high unemployment rates. Available reports suggest that since the 1970s, the country has earned over US$500 billion in oil revenue alone, yet remains mired in poverty. This study examines the relationship, if any, between political culture and high incidence of poverty in Nigeria. The study employed a stratified sampling procedure along with questionnaires for data collection. Data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings suggest that political culture plays a critical role in the social and economic development of Nigeria. Additionally, religious and ethnic biases, as well as the political entrepreneurship of godfathers have contributed to poor electoral choices that in turn exacerbate the deteriorating standards of living, limited employment opportunities, endemic poverty, and insecurity in Nigeria. The study recommends among others that politics based on ideology should be encouraged rather than an identity-based politics on the grounds of religion or ethnicity.
Acute post-exercise cardiovascularresponses in healthy participants

The overall aim of this project was to investigate the acute cardiovascular post-exercise response in healthy individuals. The aim of the first study was to establish the within day and between day reproducibility of supine and tilt baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) utilising time (sequence) and spectral indices in 46 healthy adult males employing three repeat measures; baseline, + 60 min and + 24 h. Reproducibility was assessed by the 95% limits of agreement (LOA) to assess the extent of agreement and an alternative approach of estimating the technical error of the measurement (TEM) to assess reproducibility was also undertaken. The LOA indicated same day reproducibility was marginally better than between day reproducibility for spectral parameters while between day reproducibility was marginally better than same day reproducibility for sequence parameters with reproducibility markedly improved across all BRS outcome measures during tilt. Precision expressed by TEM for all spectral outcomes was good in both supine and tilt BRS (< 6 %) although precision was lower, but acceptable, for sequence BRS outcomes in both positions (< 11%). Thus, all BRS outcome measures and the tilt procedure were incorporated into the exercise study. The aim of the second study was to compare the response of supine and tilt BRS following a single bout of moderate intensity exercise and high intensity exercise. Further details are given in the full abstract above.
Substantial fitness costs in terms of parasitization rates, offspring production and sex ratio of Wolbachia infection in Nasonia vitripennis without modified host preference

Wolbachia is a genus of endosymbiotic bacteria that is widespread among arthropods. It is responsible for manipulating various host phenotypes and often affects their host's fitness. We used the generalist parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis and its endosymbiont Wolbachia to test whether and how Wolbachia affects the fitness of N. vitripennis by comparing the host preference and parasitization rate of cured and uncured N. vitripennis lines. We reared four genotypes of wasps, each with Wolbachia infection or cured of infection, using two different host species, namely Calliphora vomitoria and Lucilia sericata, for 3–4 generations before measuring their host preference because rearing history has previously been shown to influence host preference in N. vitripennis. We found that all experimental groups significantly preferred C. vomitoria pupae. Neither rearing history nor Wolbachia infection altered N. vitripennis female's innate host preference. Furthermore, we investigated whether Wolbachia infection may affect Nasonia's parasitization rate, offspring production and sex ratio using parasitization assays of two wasp genotypes with and without Wolbachia infection. Our results show that uncured wasps have fitness costs of harbouring Wolbachia in terms of reduced parasitization rate and offspring production in one of the host genotypes and reduced proportion of female offspring in the second host genotype tested, highlighting the context‐dependency of host–endosymbiont relationships.