Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insolation changes, ice volumes, and the O18 record in deep‐sea cores

A detailed curve of ice volume versus time is needed in order to test the validity of the hypothesis that changes in the earth's orbital parameters are the cause of oscillations in Pleistocene climate. Although absolute ages available for glacial moraines and raised coral reefs provide a number of key points, they by no means allow a continuous curve to be drawn. Those points that exist, however, are entirely consistent with the hypothesis that the O18/O16 curves from deep-sea cores provide good approximations to the ice volume record. If so, then the primary glacial cycle must be sawtoothed in character; gradual glacial buildups over periods averaging 90,000 years in length are terminated by deglaciations completed in less than one tenth this time. Modulating this primary cycle are secondary oscillations. Those recognized during glacial growth phases average 20,000 years in length and those during the retreats about one thousand years in length. When the ice volume curve obtained in this way is compared with the summer insolation curve for the northern hemisphere, it is seen that the rapid deglaciations occur during times of unusually great seasonal contrast and that the secondary cycles modulating the glacial buildups closely parallel the insolation variations. Although these findings provide convincing evidence for the influence of orbital changes on climate, the cause of the primary sawtoothed cycle is still an open question. In conjunction with this study, we have determined the O18/O16 record for Caribbean core V12-122 and find it to be compatible with those given by Emiliani for cores P6304-8 and P6304-9. Our dating of this core by Pa231-Th230 and by magnetic reversals, however, strongly suggests that the absolute time scale adopted by Emiliani for deep-sea cores must be increased by 25%.
Therapeutic Misadventures With Oxygen Delivery Systems: The Need for Continuous In‐Line Oxygen Monitors

HE use of piped gases delivered by relaT tively complex apparatus carries with it the risk of machine failure and resultant hypoxia. However, the ability to continuously and accurately monitor the concentration of oxygen (0,) delivered to anesthetized patients is now technically and economically feasible. Unfortunately, too few in-line O2 analyzers are in clinical service. This report notes the occurrence of one near fatality and two fatalities due to therapeutic misadventures involving 0, delivery systems. This type of accident should be totally preventable.
Development of agonistic encounters in dominance hierarchy formation in juvenile crayfish

SUMMARY We have characterized the behavioural patterns of crayfish during agonistic bouts between groups of crayfish of four different body lengths (9–19, 20–32, 41–48 and 69–75 mm) to characterize changes in the patterns of agonistic encounter during development. The behaviour of both dominant and subordinate animals was analysed by single frame measurement of video recordings. Behavioural acts that occurred during agonistic bouts were categorized as one of seven types: capture, fight, contact, approach, retreat, tailflip and neutral. Dominant–subordinate relationships were formed between juvenile crayfish as early as the third stage of development. Patterns of agonistic bouts to determine social hierarchy became more aggressive during development. The dominant–subordinate relationship was usually determined after contact in crayfish of less than 20 mm and 20–32 mm in length, while several bouts of fights were necessary for crayfish of 41–48 and 69–75 mm in length. Furthermore, social hierarchy was formed more rapidly in small crayfish. In larger animals, the number of approaches by dominant animals that promoted retreat in subordinate animals increased after the establishment of the winner–loser relationship. In smaller crayfish, in contrast, no measurable changes in these behaviour patterns were observed before and after the establishment of the winner–loser relationship. With increasing body size, the probability of tailflips decreased while that of retreats increased as the submissive behavioural act of subordinate animals.
Workload class importance policy in autonomic database management systems

A key advantage of autonomic computing systems will be their ability to manage according to business policies. A key challenge to realizing this ability is the problem of automatically translating high-level business policies into low-level system tuning policies, which is the result of the different semantics used at the two levels. Economic models, which are expressed using business level concepts, have been used successfully in computer resource allocation problems. In this paper, we utilize an economic model to map business policies to resource allocation decisions in a database management system (DBMS). We focus on business policies that describe the relative importance of competing workloads on a DBMS. We present experiments with a simulation of the model that investigate a number of meanings of importance and identify how this additional information can be used to effectively allocate main memory resources in a commercial DBMS
Shape Extraction of Near Target Using Opening Operator with Adaptive Structure Element in Infrared hnages

Near targets in the infrared (IR) images have the steady feature for inner region and the transient feature for the boundary region. Based on these features, this paper proposes a new method to extract the fine target shape of near targets in the IR images. First, we detect the boundary region of the candidate targets using the local variance weighted information entropy (WIE) of the original images. And then, a coarse target region can be estimated based on the labeling of the boundary region. For the coarse target region, we use the opening filter with an adaptive structure element to extract the fine target shape. The decision of the adaptive structure element size is optimized for the width information of target boundary by calculating the average WIE in the enlarged windows. The experimental results show that a proposed method has better extraction performance than the previous threshold algorithms.
Introduction to special issue of Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences: The Trans-Hudson Orogen Transect of Lithoprobe,

Dedication: Dr. John F. Lewry (19391999; see Saskatchewan Geological Survey 1999) dedicated his career to investigations of the SaskatchewanManitoba segment of the Trans-Hudson Orogen (THO), one of the principal Paleoproterozoic orogens associated with the assembly of Laurentia. Indeed, one can make a strong case that Lithoprobe's Trans-Hudson Orogen Transect (THOT) was designed to test the tectonic models proposed by John Lewry. He delineated the distinct tectonic provinces in the western part of the THO, predicted the presence of an Archean craton trapped within the THO, and recognized and interpreted the significance of the Pelican Thrust between the juvenile Paleoproterozoic volcanic arc complex of the western Flin Flon Domain and the Archean craton, now called the Sask craton. The research published in Lewry and Stauffer (1990), and many of his ideas, provided the framework for the design of the THOT geophysical and geological studies. John Lewry was co-leader of the THOT until he passed away in 19.
Transmission Clusters of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in Long-Term Care Facilities Based on Whole-Genome Sequencing

OBJECTIVE To define how often methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is spread from resident to resident in long-term care facilities using whole-genome sequencing DESIGN Prospective cohort study SETTING A long-term care facility PARTICIPANTS Elderly residents in a long-term care facility METHODS Cultures for MRSA were obtained weekly from multiple body sites from residents with known MRSA colonization over 12-week study periods. Simultaneously, cultures to detect MRSA acquisition were obtained weekly from 2 body sites in residents without known MRSA colonization. During the first 12-week cycle on a single unit, we sequenced 8 MRSA isolates per swab for 2 body sites from each of 6 residents. During the second 12-week cycle, we sequenced 30 MRSA isolates from 13 residents with known MRSA colonization and 3 residents who had acquired MRSA colonization. RESULTS MRSA isolates from the same swab showed little genetic variation between isolates with the exception of isolates from wounds. The genetic variation of isolates between body sites on an individual was greater than that within a single body site with the exception of 1 sample, which had 2 unrelated strains among the 8 isolates. In the second cycle, 10 of 16 residents colonized with MRSA (63%) shared 1 of 3 closely related strains. Of the 3 residents with newly acquired MRSA, 2 residents harbored isolates that were members of these clusters. CONCLUSIONS Point prevalence surveys with whole-genome sequencing of MRSA isolates may detect resident-to-resident transmission more accurately than routine surveillance cultures for MRSA in long-term care facilities. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;37:685–691
Constraints on large extra dimensions from neutrino oscillation experiments

The existence of bulk sterile neutrinos in theories with large extra dimensions can naturally explain small 4-dimensional Dirac masses for the active neutrinos. We study a model with 3 bulk neutrinos and derive various constraints on the size of the extra dimensions from neutrino oscillation experiments. Our analysis includes recent solar and atmospheric data from SNO and Super-Kamiokande, respectively, as well as various reactor and accelerator experiments. In addition, we comment on possible extensions of the model that could accommodate the LSND results, using natural parameters only. Our most conservative bound, obtained from the atmospheric data in the hierarchical mass scheme, constrains the largest extra dimension to have a radius R < 0. 82µm. Thus, in the context of the model studied here, future gravitational experiments are unlikely to observe the effects of extra dimensions.
Mineral transformation during the weathering of dolerite under cold arid conditions in Antarctica

Abstract Chemical weathering taking place in a soil formed on till derived solely from dolerite was investigated. Initially, rock breakdown into smaller particles is by physical weathering. During this process, the ferromagnesian minerals weather chemically, releasing iron and magnesium which recrystallise to form iron-rich montmonllomte In the fine-clay fraction. The silica-rich and chemlcally more resistant minerals accumulate in the silt fraction. Chemical weathering and clay mineral formation in basic igneous rocks in the cold desert environment of Antarctica is similar to that m warmer chmates. These processes can occur whenever temperatures are sufficiently warm to allow the presence of thin films of salt solution around mineral grains, permitting sufficient moisture to be present for chemical transformation to take place
Land subsidence caused by the East Mesa Geothermal Field, California, observed using SAR interferometry

Interferometric combination of pairs of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images acquired by the ERS‐1 satellite maps the deformation field associated with the activity of the East Mesa geothermal plant, located in southern California. SAR interferometry is applied to this flat area without the need of a digital terrain model. Several combinations are used to ascertain the nature of the phenomenon. Short term interferograms reveal surface phase changes on agricultural fields similar to what had been observed previously with SEASAT radar data. Long term (2 years) interferograms allow the study of land subsidence and improve prior knowledge of the displacement field, and agree with existing, sparse levelling data. This example illustrates the power of the interferometric technique for deriving accurate industrial intelligence as well as its potential for legal action, in cases involving environmental damages.
A Correlation Studies of Indoor Environmental Quality(IEQ) Towards Productive Workplace

Productivity is one of the major contributions to build the economic growth in every country. Human performance and working environment is related to each other and have a major impact on the work efficiency and production output. Nowadays, most of the offices are fully equipped with mechanical ventilation and fully air-conditioned. Office building occupants spend almost 12 hours daily indoor and that makes good indoor environment very important due to achieve workers satisfaction and more comfortable. The objective of this paper is to observe the correlation of IEQ and productivity in working place. It is believed that this study have been able to provide a better understanding. It is hoped that this useful findings would serve as a reference in the future to the building industry, academicians and also public in sustaining better indoor environmental quality.
Does school size affect interest for purchasing local foods in the midwest?

BACKGROUND Due to the recent surge in environmental consciousness and the need to address childhood obesity, Farm to School programs have gained momentum. Even though Farm to School programs have increased in popularity, many schools still fail to take advantage of the benefits from such programs. School food service employees' lack of familiarity with the benefits of Farm to School programs or the means to overcome obstacles to implement such programs, along with school size, may represent key variables that serve to explain why more schools do not purchase more local foods for their schools. METHODS This study used a convenience sampling methodology to gather information regarding food service employees' perceptions of the benefits and obstacles and their attitudes to purchasing and serving local foods in their schools. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from school food service employees in southern Illinois. Data (n=151) were collected from 60 schools, representing 16 counties during the month of December, 2009. RESULTS Purchasers from large- and medium-size schools perceived the "ability to know product sources" as a greater benefit to purchasing local food and perceived "cost of food," "adequate volume," "reliable supply of food quantity," "payment arrangement," and "packing material" as greater obstacles (p<0.05) compared to small schools. In addition, results indicated that food service employees were interested in receiving training to prepare and serve more local foods. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this study indicate a need for continued education, development, and training to better prepare school food service purchasers in southern Illinois for how to buy more local foods to meet the 2020 legislation requiring schools to purchase at least 10% locally.
The Failure of R 0

The basic reproductive ratio, R 0, is one of the fundamental concepts in mathematical biology. It is a threshold parameter, intended to quantify the spread of disease by estimating the average number of secondary infections in a wholly susceptible population, giving an indication of the invasion strength of an epidemic: if R 0 < 1, the disease dies out, whereas if R 0 > 1, the disease persists. R 0 has been widely used as a measure of disease strength to estimate the effectiveness of control measures and to form the backbone of disease-management policy. However, in almost every aspect that matters, R 0 is flawed. Diseases can persist with R 0 < 1, while diseases with R 0 > 1 can die out. We show that the same model of malaria gives many different values of R 0, depending on the method used, with the sole common property that they have a threshold at 1. We also survey estimated values of R 0 for a variety of diseases, and examine some of the alternatives that have been proposed. If R 0 is to be used, it must be accompanied by caveats about the method of calculation, underlying model assumptions and evidence that it is actually a threshold. Otherwise, the concept is meaningless.
Predictors of pain in nursing home residents with dementia: a cross-sectional study.

AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the association between care activities and pain and restraint and pain in residents with dementia. BACKGROUND If pain in people with dementia is not identified or alleviated in a timely manner, it could lead to an adverse effect on their physical, mental, social health and quality of life. Care activities and restraint might cause pain, but little is known as to whether they are true risk-factors of pain in people with dementia. DESIGN A cross-sectional research design was employed. METHODS One hundred and twelve people with dementia were chosen from two nursing homes located in northern Taiwan. The demographic and clinical data collected included diagnoses, analgesics, restraints, recent falls, etc. The severity of dementia was assessed using the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale. The researchers observed every participant immediately following instances of routine care and then recorded the level of pain using the Chinese version of the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia scale. RESULTS About 36·6% of the participants had a Chinese version of the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia scale score above two points and an overall mean score of 1·50 (SD 1·81) with a range from 0-8. Only one resident with dementia received regular analgesic. Pain level in residents with dementia that needed assisted care was higher than in residents who were able to move about freely. It showed a positive correlation between level of pain and the severity of dementia among residents. The major predictors for pain in residents with dementia included restraint, assisted bathing and assisted transfer. CONCLUSION The findings confirm the association between care activities and pain and between restraint and pain in residents with dementia. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Formal caregivers need to minimise the triggering of pain when they assist residents' daily activities and avoid unnecessary restraints, while offering personalised, conventional nursing care to residents with late-stage dementia.
Development of a snake-like robot adapting to the ground

Biological snakes' diverse locomotion modes and physiology make them supremely adapted for the ground. This paper discusses the biological snakes' locomotion mode on the diverse ground, and describes the development of a snake-like robot with the adaptability for the ground. The method to realize some locomotion modes is given. The method for detecting the characteristic of ground is proposed and identified in test.
‘I have to live with the decisions I make’: laying a foundation for decision making for children with life-limiting conditions and life-threatening illnesses

The relationship between parents and clinician is critical to the care and treatment of children with life-limiting conditions (LLCs) and life-threatening illnesses (LTIs). This relationship is built and maintained largely in consultations. In this article we lay out factors that bear on the success of clinical consultations and the maintenance of the essential clinician–parent relationship at progression or deterioration of LLCs or LTIs. We suggest an approach to engaging parents in conversations about care and treatment that recognises and appreciates the dilemmas which clinicians and parents face and in so doing provides a way for everyone to live with the decisions that are made. A close analysis of a consultation at progression and excerpts of encounters among parents, clinician and researcher are used to illustrate our approach to research, analysis and development of recommendations for clinical practice.
Multiple transcripts of the human Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase gene.

We have identified five alternatively spliced transcripts of the gene for human Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1), a causative gene for autosomal dominant amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The splice variants of wild-type or mutant SOD1 were expressed in a tissue-specific manner; therefore, their expression may be regulated to modify SOD1 function. In addition, the expression in the brain implies that variants may play a role in the nervous system, the region involved in ALS. Immunoblot study of HeLa cells transfected with two variants encoding C-terminal truncated proteins did not show the proteins of expected size. However, this observation is consistent with the previous study of C-terminal truncated mutant proteins that cause ALS, suggesting that both variant and mutant proteins may share certain properties, such as instability or insolubility in the cytosol. These findings suggest that the splice variants may contribute to a physiological function of SOD1 or to a pathological mechanism in ALS.
Natural history of fetal rat cardiomyocytes transplanted into adult rat myocardial scar tissue.

BACKGROUND Fetal rat cardiomyocytes transplanted into left ventricular scar tissue of the adult rat heart limit scar expansion and improve heart function. This study determined morphologic changes of transplanted fetal rat cardiomyocytes in myocardial scar tissue. METHODS AND RESULTS The left ventricles of 500-g Sprague-Dawley rats were cryodamaged. At 4 weeks after myocardial injury, a transmural scar (54+/-11 mm2) (mean+/-1 SDak) formed at the apex (n=6). Cardiomyocytes freshly isolated from 18-day-gestation Sprague-Dawley rat hearts were transfected with plasmid containing the beta-galactosidase and then injected into the 4-week-old scar tissue. Cell culture medium was injected into the scar tissue of control animals. At 4 weeks posttransplantation, the cardiomyocytes had formed cardiac tissue (20.7+/-6.9 mm2, n=14), which stained positively for beta-galactosidase activity in the scar (90.4+/-25 mm2, n=14). The transplanted cardiomyocytes formed sarcomeres and were linked by junctions composed of desmosomes and fascia adherens. Lymphocyte infiltration occurred despite use of cyclosporin A. No myocardial tissue was found in the scar tissue of the control animals (n=14). More arterioles and venules were found (P<.01) in the cardiomyocyte grafts (1.2+/-0.6 vessel/0.8 mm2; n=14) than in the control scar tissue (0.1+/-0.1 vessels/0.8 mm2; n=14). At 20 weeks post-transplantation, the transplant tissue size (6+/-6 mm2; n=7) was smaller (P=.007) than 4-week old transplant, and the scar (162+/-46 mm2; n=7) was larger (P=.005) than 4-week-old scar. Lymphocyte infiltration was still present among the remaining transplanted cells. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that cardiac tissue formed by transplanted fetal cardiomyocytes in the myocardial scar tissue decreased in size with time probably secondary to rejection.