Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Palaeomagnetism of the (Late Mesoproterozoic) Stoer Group, northwest Scotland: implications for diagenesis, age and relationship to the Grenville Orogeny

The Stoer is the lowest of three groups comprising the Torridonian Supergroup, a clastic succession deposited late in Mesoproterozoic times on the (Lewisian) metamorphic foreland to the Caledonian Orogen in northwest Scotland. This study reports a palaeomagnetic, rock magnetic and magnetic fabric investigation through the full stratigraphic thickness of the succession. A primary magnetic fabric of sedimentary origin defines current flow from a westerly veering to northwesterly source. Rock magnetic studies identify the presence of both magnetite and hematite in these sediments. Magnetite is apparently of primary detrital origin whilst the hematite probably results mostly from early diagenesis in an environment of restricted chemical weathering. Palaeomagnetic study of sedimentary slumps shows that magnetic remanence post-dates deposition but was probably fixed by early dewatering and lithification because slumped blocks of Stoer in basal Torridon Group sediments preserve a primary remanence. Tilt adjustment, although inconclusive, also implies that magnetic remanence is older than pre-Torridian Group tectonic deformation. The lower part of the Stoer succession shows a progressive increase of magnetic inclination with shallower components resident in magnetite and steeper components in hematite. The succession above the Stac Fada Member has the steepest magnetic inclination and shows no significant difference between magnetite and hematite component directions. The inferred time sequence of palaeopoles coincides with the Gardar palaeomagnetic track (∼ 1250–1130 Ma) at 1180 Ma, conforming to a Pb–Pb determination of 1199±70 Ma. The Stoer Group was fully lithified and deformed before deposition of the Torridon Group at ∼ 1030 Ma because it contains no vestige of the range of Caledonian and later overprints found extensively in the latter. Sedimentation and lithification of the Stoer Group are therefore linked with a phase of extensional tectonism at 1200–1150 Ma and deformation is attributed to a culminating phase of deformation in the nearby Grenville Belt at ∼ 1100 Ma.
Randomness and Dependencies Extraction via Polarization, With Applications to Slepian–Wolf Coding and Secrecy

The polarization phenomenon for a single source is extended to a framework with multiple correlated sources. It is shown in addition to extracting the randomness of the source, the polar transforms take the original arbitrary dependencies to extremal dependencies. Polar coding schemes for the Slepian-Wolf (SW) coding problem and for secret key generations are then proposed based on this phenomenon. In particular, secret keys achieving the secrecy capacity and compression schemes achieving the SW capacity region are obtained with a complexity of O(n log (n)) .
On the feasibility and effectiveness of urban densification in Norway

Urban densification has been widely adopted as a strategy to achieve the sustainable city. There is a wide consensus on the benefits of the compact city in regards to environmental performance. Yet, there are some unanswered questions mainly in connection with implementation challenges and the real gains in attaining sustainable development. This is a particularly relevant discussion in a high-income and sparsely populated country such as Norway. In such a context the strategy appears difficult to implement. The implications of urban densification with regard to the sustainable city are analysed in this paper using the concepts of feasibility and effectiveness. The study was conducted by a combination of exploration of theoretical concepts related to the sustainable city and evaluation of empirical data in four Norwegian cities: Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Stavanger. These cases were analysed in relation to densification, dwelling types, and transportation modes. Although densification is proven feasible in most of the studied cities according to the results, this may be happening not solely because of successful planning efforts, but also because of demographic trends. The effectiveness of this strategy with regard to sustainable patterns, particularly in urban mobility, offers, so far, less evident and direct benefits. Densification is only one of the many qualities that the sustainable city requires; however, it is a precondition for the existence of other essential features for urban sustainability.
Microfluidic high viability separation of neural cells

A novel microfluidic platform is presented for sorting by size dissociated neurons, glia and stem cells from biopsies of the central nerve system. A highly biocompatible aqueous polymer solution was used in hydrodynamic spreading controlled cell separation. Before cell separation, particles were used for demonstration. To verify the results the fractions were studied using flow cytometry. Further, they were cultured and differentiated. The study indicated that the technique is ready for biological study and that it has a high potential for applications in neural cell regeneration therapy.
Microinteractions for supporting grasp tasks through usage of spare attentional and motor resources

This paper concludes the nine months progress of my Ph.D. project. It specifies its research focus on investigating microinteractions -- a sub-topic of HCI and gesture research -- and on developing a frame work for applications, which use microgestures for supporting everyday tasks through invisible and context-aware appearing interface layers underneath object-grasping hands. In an expert study, I explore the motor limitations and opportunities of microgestures while grasping objects and valued manual dual-task scenarios by walking through three tasks, with usage of grasping probs. The study's outcome is a generic microgesture set for different grasp types and a collection of parameters that have a relevant effect on the choice of the grasping tasks. A further user study in progress is investigating the effect of grasped object, such as handheld devices, on the feasibility of microgestures. In this study users are asked to perform finger-tip and drags on the front and/or back side of a held device. For this user study I have used a two-sided touch-sensitive device by stacking 2 pads together to a sandwich-like prototype. This allows tracking users' finger gestures through camera as well as through front and touch screens. The outcome of the two mentioned studies will describe a design space for out-of-a-grasp microgestures. At the ECCE doctoral consortium I aim to present this design space and discuss how this can serve as a base for developing a framework for out-of-grasp microinteractions that are subtasks of grasping tasks. The microinteractions will be developed to support the grasp tasks regarding their perceived ergonomic and hedonic qualities.
Quantifying the benefits of accounting for yield potential in spatially and seasonally responsive nutrient management in a Mediterranean climate

Crop yield potential is a chief determinant of nutrient requirements, but there is little objective information available on the gains in profitability that can be made by accounting for the influences of soil type and season on yield potential when making fertiliser decisions. We conducted such an assessment using crop growth simulation coupled to nutrient response curves for wheat-growing at 4 locations in the low-medium rainfall zone of Western Australia. At each location, the yield potential was simulated on 10 soil types with plant-available water capacity (PAWC) ranging from 34 to 134 mm, which represent the major soils types in Western Australia. Soil survey maps were available to quantify soil type variability and the historical climate record (1974–2005) for seasonal variability. The benefits possible for fertiliser (NPK) management that takes account of variation in crop yield potential due to season and soil type by having ‘perfect knowledge’ ranged from $2 to 40/ha. Seasonal variation was more important than soil type for the better soils (high PAWC), providing two-thirds of the benefit of perfect knowledge. On low PAWC soils, knowledge of soils and seasonal influences on yield potential were similar contributors to profit gains. An assessment of one yield forecasting system showed that about 50% of the maximum gains could be captured if seasons could be categorised as below, at, or above average at the time the fertiliser decision is made. In each catchment, 30–40% of fields showed scope for benefits in accounting for within-field variation in soil type due to large variation in PAWC, and therefore yield. Maximum profit gains and reductions in nutrient excess were greater in the low rainfall locations and also on the low PAWC soil types.
Quorum-Sensing Genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms: Their Role and Expression Patterns

ABSTRACT Acylated homoserine lactone molecules are used by a number of gram-negative bacteria to regulate cell density-dependent gene expression by a mechanism known as quorum sensing (QS). InPseudomonas aeruginosa, QS or cell-to-cell signaling controls expression of a number of virulence factors, as well as biofilm differentiation. In this study, we investigated the role played by the las and rhl QS systems during the early stages of static biofilm formation when cells are adhering to a surface and forming microcolonies. These studies revealed a marked difference in biofilm formation between the PAO1 parent and the QS mutants when glucose, but not citrate, was used as the sole carbon source. To further elucidate the contribution of lasI andrhlI to biofilm maturation, we utilized fusions to unstable green fluorescent protein in concert with confocal microscopy to perform real-time temporal and spatial studies of these genes in a flowing environment. During the course of 8-day biofilm development,lasI expression was found to progressively decrease over time. Conversely, rhlI expression remained steady throughout biofilm development but occurred in a lower percentage of cells. Spatial analysis revealed that lasI andrhlI were maximally expressed in cells located at the substratum and that expression decreased with increasing biofilm height. Because QS was shown previously to be involved in biofilm differentiation, these findings have important implications for the design of biofilm prevention and eradication strategies.
Dendroclimatic Reconstruction of Summer Temperatures in Northwestern Canada since A.D. 1638 Based on Age-Dependent Modeling

Abstract Ring widths from five Picea glauca stands at the alpine treeline in northwestern Canada are used to investigate climate-growth responses and to develop a long reconstruction of summer temperatures. Response function and linear regression analyses indicate that the radial growth response of these trees to climate varies with age and site. At most sites, the period of significant positive response to growing season temperatures declines with tree age. Age-dependent and standard (age independent) models are then used to develop two reconstructions of June-July temperatures for northwestern Canada extending back to A.D. 1638. Calibration statistics were similar for both models, but the standard model performed poorly during verification. The reconstruction produced using age-dependent modeling suggests June-July temperatures were cooler than present throughout most of the past 350 years, with the exception of the late 18th century. Particularly cool periods occurred at ∼1700 and in the mid-19th century. In constast, the standard model suggests that temperatures were similar to or warmer than present during the last 350 years. The age-dependent reconstruction compares favorably with other proxy climate records from northern North America. Age-dependent dendroclimatic modeling can provide a sensitive record of recent climatic change that allows the inclusion of previously rejected sites into dendroclimatic analyses.
COBA-Cohort: a prospective cohort of HIV-negative men who have sex with men, attending community-based HIV testing services in five European countries (a study protocol)

Introduction Community-based voluntary counselling and testing (CBVCT) services for men who have sex with men (MSM) can reach those most-at-risk and provide an environment for gay men that is likely to be non-stigmatising. Longitudinal data on the behaviour of HIV-negative MSM are scarce in Europe. The aim of this protocol, developed during the Euro HIV Early Diagnosis And Treatment (EDAT) project, is to implement a multicentre community-based cohort of HIV-negative MSM attending 15 CBVCT services in 5 European countries. Research objectives (1) To describe the patterns of CBVCT use, (2) to estimate HIV incidence, and to identify determinants of (3) HIV seroconversion and (4) HIV and/or sexually transmitted infection (STI) test-seeking behaviour. Methods and analysis All MSM aged 18 years or over and who had a negative HIV test result are invited to participate in the COmmunity-BAsed Cohort (COBA-Cohort). Study enrolment started in February 2015, and is due to continue for at least 12 months at each study site. Follow-up frequency depends on the testing recommendations in each country (at least 1 test per year). Sociodemographic data are collected at baseline; baseline and follow-up questionnaires both gather data on attitudes and perceptions, discrimination, HIV/STI testing history, sexual behaviour, condom use, and pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis. Descriptive, exploratory and multivariate analyses will be performed to address the main research objectives of this study, using appropriate statistical tests and models. These analyses will be performed on the whole cohort data and stratified by study site or country. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the Public Health authorities of each country where the study is being implemented. Findings from the COBA-Cohort study will be summarised in a report to the European Commission, and in leaflets to be distributed to study participants. Articles and conference abstracts will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals and conferences.
Peanut Skin Color: A Biomarker for Total Polyphenolic Content and Antioxidative Capacities of Peanut Cultivars

Attempts to establish a relationship between peanut skin color (PSC) and total flavonoid (TF) content have produced inconclusive results. This study investigated the potential of PSC as a biomarker for polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity. Peanut cultivars were objectively evaluated for their skin color, total phenolic (TP), flavonoid (TF), proanthocyanidin (TPC) contents and antioxidant capacities (AC). Their relationship was determined by Pearson’s correlation analyses. TP had stronger correlations with CIE a*, hue angle and AC (r2 = 0.77, 0.82 and 0.80, respectively) compared to TF. Therefore, hue angle of peanut skin may be used as a biomarker for TP content rather than TF.
Noninvasive Doppler Determination of Cardiac Output in Man: Clinical Validation

A noninvasive technique for assessing cardiac output (CO) was evaluated by comparing it with thermodilution determinations in patients in the intensive care unit. The new method uses pulsed ultrasound to measure aortic diameter and continuous-wave Doppler ultrasound to obtain aortic blood velocity. An initial study evaluating just the velocity measurement showed that changes of the Doppler index of output (DI) correlated well with those of thermodilution cardiac output (TDCO). Linear regresson analysis yielded ADI = 0.87 ATDCO + 0.14 (r = 0.83, n = 95). Using a university research instrument these measurements were possible in 54 of 60 patients (90%). A second study using a prototype commercial device incorporated the diameter measurement. Ultrasonic cardiac output (UCO), calculated as the time integral of velocity multiplied by the aortic area, was compared to TDCO. The data, obtained from 45 of 53 patients (85%), are described by the linear regression UCO = 0.95TDCO + 0.38 (r = 0.94, n = 110) over a range of 2–11 I/min. Patients with aortic stenosis, aortic insufficiency or a prosthetic valve have been excluded from the second study due to conditions likely to violate the assumptions upon which the calculation of absolute cardiac output is based. These results indicate that accurate CO can be measured by noninvasive ultrasound in most patients. The technique may be useful for extended CO monitoring in acute care patients and for CO assessment in many other types of patients undergoing diagnostic studies and the rapeutic interventions.
Cell-Mediated Immunity

Cell-mediated immunity is an integral part of our body’s immune system. This type of immunity is mediated by T-lymphocytes, also called T-cells. The functions of cell-mediated immunity are important and include defense against intracellular bacterial and viral infections. This is achieved by activating macrophages to destroy phagocytosed microbes via helper T-lymphocytes, or by directly killing infected cells via cytotoxic T-lymphocytes.
Evaluation of the Causal Effect of Control Plans in Nonrecursive Structural Equation Models

When observational data is available from practical studies and a directed cyclic graph for how various variables affect each other is known based on substantive understanding of the process, we consider a problem in which a control plan of a treatment variable is conducted in order to bring a response variable close to a target value with variation reduction. We formulate an optimal control plan concerning a certain treatment variable through path coefficients in the framework of linear nonrecursive structural equation models. Based on the formulation, we clarify the properties of causal effects when conducting a control plan. The results enable us to evaluate the effect of a control plan on the variance from observational data.
Socio-economic factors influencing the use of botanicals in cocoa pest management.

A combination of botanicals and natural components to manage pests and diseases of crops offers considerable promise for increasing income and sustainability of farmers in developing countries. It nonetheless remains unclear whether these techniques lend themselves easily to adoption by smallholder farmers. Using cross sectional data applied to probit model, this study finds that preparation constraints limit many farmers’ adoption of alternative pest management techniques. The size of the farm owned by a farmer, educational qualification, household size, farming experience and social group participation all had a significant positive effect on the likelihood of adoption. This study helps to close the “feedback loop” from farmers back to researchers and others attempting to disseminate the technology, and by doing so, should contribute to faster and more widespread uptake of this technology.
Non-aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus to prevent aflatoxin contamination in crops: advantages and limitations

Aspergillus flavus is a diverse assemblage of strains that include aflatoxin-producing and non-toxigenic strains with cosmopolitan distribution. The most promising strategy currently being used to reduce preharvest contamination of crops with aflatoxin is to introduce non-aflatoxin (biocontrol) A. flavus into the crop environment. Whether or not introduction of biocontrol strains into agricultural fields is enough to reduce aflatoxin contamination to levels required for acceptance of the contaminated food as fit for consumption is still unknown. There is no question that biocontrol strains are able to reduce the size of the populations of aflatoxin-producing strains but the available data suggests that at most only a four- to five-fold reduction in aflatoxin contamination is achieved. There are many challenges facing this strategy that are both short term and long term. First, the population biology of A. flavus is not well understood due in part to A. flavus’s diversity, its ability to form heterokaryotic reproductive forms, and its unknown ability to survive for prolonged periods after application. Second, biocontrol strains must be selected that are suitable for the environment, the type of crop, and the soil into which they will be introduced. Third, there is a need to guard against inadvertent introduction of A. flavus strains that could impose an additional burden on food safety and food quality, and fourth, with global warming and resultant changes in the soil nutrients and concomitant microbiome populations, the biocontrol strategy must be sufficiently flexible to adapt to such changes. Understanding genetic variation within strains of A. flavus is important for developing a robust biocontrol strategy and it is unlikely that a “one size fits all” strategy will work for preharvest aflatoxin reduction.
Behavior of Business Investment in the USA Under Variable and Proportional Rates of Replacement

Using data from the U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis for the period 1947-2015, we test two investment models of neoclassical decent. Model A is based on the conceptualization that business firms have an active replacement investment policy, which renders the replacement rate a determinant of business investment behavior, whereas Model B is based on the traditional hypothesis that replacement investment is an engineering proportion of the capital stock, thus turning into a constant. The evidence that emerges from the estimations is heavily in favor of Model A on at least three grounds. Namely, first it establishes that the replacement rate is a decisive determinant of investment at all levels of aggregation; Second, it leads to estimates of investment equations with succinct short run and long run dynamics, thus facilitating policy applications; and thirdly, it gives rise to remarkably robust estimates of the elasticities of substitution of capital for labor, output and the replacement rate. When Model B is estimated for the period 1947-1960, it performs as expected, most likely because in short periods remains fairly constant due to long swings in replacement investment.
Differential intensity‐dependent effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields on RANKL‐induced osteoclast formation, apoptosis, and bone resorbing ability in RAW264.7 cells

Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) have been proven to be effective for promoting bone mass and regulating bone turnover both experimentally and clinically. However, the exact mechanisms for the regulation of PEMF on osteoclastogenesis as well as optical exposure parameters of PEMF on inhibiting osteoclastic activities and functions remain unclear, representing significant limitations for extensive scientific application of PEMF in clinics. In this study, RAW264.7 cells incubated with RANKL were exposed to 15 Hz PEMF (2 h/day) at various intensities (0.5, 1, 2, and 3 mT) for 7 days. We demonstrate that bone resorbing capacity was significantly decreased by 0.5 mT PEMF mainly by inhibiting osteoclast formation and maturation, but enhanced at 3 mT by promoting osteoclast apoptosis. Moreover, gene expression of RANK, NFATc1, TRAP, CTSK, BAX, and BAX/BCL‐2 was significantly decreased by 0.5 mT PEMF, but increased by 3 mT. Our findings reveal a significant intensity window for low‐intensity PEMF in regulating bone resorption with diverse nature for modulating osteoclastogenesis and apoptosis. This study not only enriches our basic knowledge for the regulation of PEMF in osteoclastogenesis, but also may lead to more efficient and scientific clinical application of PEMF in regulating bone turnover and inhibiting osteopenia/osteoporosis. Bioelectromagnetics. 38:602–612, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
GPS Waypoint Navigation via Head Mounted Vibrotactor

The purpose of this project was to create a mode of pedestrian navigation via a single head mounted vibrotactor. Our intention was to achieve accurate waypoint navigation with fewer tactors than in previous works, thereby introducing a simpler system and increasing cost effectiveness. Test results concluded that average walking speeds through our course were similar when given verbal direction and when utilizing the head mounted system.