Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preoperative Hyponatremia And Hypocalcemia Predict Poor Prognosis In Elderly Gastric Cancer Patients

Background Hyponatremia and hypocalcemia are common in patients with cancer, but their prognostic impact in patients who underwent gastric cancer (GC) surgery has not been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the postoperative prognostic impact of hyponatremia and hypocalcemia in patients undergoing curative gastrectomy by age group. Materials and methods GC patients preoperatively diagnosed with hyponatremia or hypocalcemia who underwent elective radical gastrectomy were retrospectively evaluated. The patients were divided into the elderly group (≥60 years) and the young group (<60 years), and then further based on their sodium and calcium levels. The effect of preoperative hyponatremia or hypocalcemia on postoperative complications (PCs) by age was determined using univariate and multivariate analyses. Overall survival (OS) was compared between the two groups using log rank test and Cox proportional hazards regression. Results Of the 842 patients evaluated, 36 (4.3%) were categorized into the younger hyponatremia group; 64 (7.6%), the elderly hyponatremia group; 48 (5.7%), the young hypocalcemia group; and 128 (15.2%), the elderly hypocalcemia group. Hyponatremia (P=0.001) and hypocalcemia (P=0.038) were independent risk factors for PCs in the elderly group. Further, hypocalcemia (hazard ratio (HR), 0.676; P=0.037) was independently associated with shorter OS. Conclusion Preoperative hyponatremia and hypocalcemia predict poor outcomes in the elderly, but not in young GC patients. Further, hyponatremia and hypocalcemia in elderly GC patients should be corrected in the earliest time possible to obtain better clinical outcomes.
The effects of meltwater percolation on the seasonal isotopic signals in an Arctic snowpack

We investigate the evolution of snow temperature, water content, density and stable water isotopes of δ 18 O at four Arctic snow-pit sites during early-season melt, in order to understand the effects of melt on snowpack stratigraphies and seasonal isotopic signals. We relate isotopic changes observed at these sites to temperature reconstructions derived from a 33 year firn-core record drilled on the same icefield. Decreases in seasonal isotopic amplitudes observed at all but one snow-pit site coincide with the percolation of more enriched meltwater into the snowpack, suggesting that meltwater percolation is the dominant process causing isotopic redistribution in Arctic snowpacks during the melt season. The decrease in isotopic range was accompanied by increases in mean δ 18 O values at all snow-pit sites. Positive degree-day (PDD) calculations are used to relate the amount of melt observed at the low-elevation snow-pit sites to the firn-core site. Results based on PDD values suggest an average overestimation of 1.1°C in average annual temperature reconstructions from the firn-core site from 1967 to 2006, with the possibility of errors in excess of 3°C during high-melt years.
NLM Informationist Grant – Web Assisted Tobacco Intervention for Community College Students

In 2012 the National Library of Medicine awarded several academic medical libraries informationist grants to become embedded with a research team for the purposes of data management. The University of Rochester Medical Center was among those recipients. This article will give background on the research project and team that won the grant, discuss the process of applying for the grant, identify the data management role that the informationist librarians have agreed to work on, how they embedded into the research team, and relay lessons learned thus far in the project.
Quasi-Stationary Waves in the Southern Hemisphere: An Examination of Their Simulation by the NCAR Climate System Model, with and without an Interactive Ocean*

Abstract The three primary quasi-stationary waves in the geopotential height field of the Southern Hemisphere, as simulated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Climate System Model (CSM1) and the Community Climate Model, version 3 (CCM3), are examined and compared with the NCAR–National Centers for Environmental Prediction reanalyses. Fourier analysis is used to decompose the geopotential heights into its zonal harmonic components. Both models are able to simulate the mean and zonal asymmetry of the geopotential heights; however, the CSM1 simulates the interannual variability considerably better than the CCM3. The amplitude and phase of wave 1 are well simulated by the models, particularly in the subantarctic region. The models are also able to reproduce the interannual variation in phase and amplitude of wave 1. The success of the simulation is attributed to the models’ ability to simulate well the important features of the geopotential height and temperature distributions. The models .
The Macquarie Ridge earthquake of 1989

SUMMARY A study of the seismicity on the central portion of the Macquarie Ridge before and after the 1989 May 23 Macquarie Ridge earthquake (Mw = 8.2) and the solution of the inverse problem to obtain the moment release time history during the earthquake are presented. The aftershock study shows that there were remarkably few and small aftershocks on the main fault. The aftershocks were distributed along a 220 km portion of the India/Australia-Pacific plate boundary and indicate that the motion was bilateral on a vertical fault. In addition, the earthquake reactivated a 175 km section of a fault to its west which had been dormant since at least 1964 and 44 per cent of the aftershocks occurred on this feature. Moreover, the largest aftershocks in the five month period following the event occurred not on the main fault plane but on the reactivated one. Based on available bathymetry, gravity and magnetic anomaly data from the region, this reactivated feature is interpreted as being an old oceanic fracture zone and hence a pre-existing zone of weakness. The aftershock distribution and their focal mechanisms are interpreted in terms of the tectonics of the region and suggest that a triangular piece of crust to the west of the Macquarie Ridge is being ‘squeezed’ to the north and west. The centroid-moment tensor solution was obtained using both GDSN and GEOSCOPE data simultaneously. It shows that the motion was primarily strike-slip on a vertical fault with a moment of Mo= 1.5 x lo2’ N m and a centroid depth of 19.5 km. The moment release distribution and time history were obtained by inversion of broad-band body waves recorded digitally by the GDSN and GEOSCOPE networks. The rupture is found to be bilateral with the propagation first starting towards the north-east and a few seconds later towards the south-west. The moment release was low in the hypocentral area with the higher areas of moment located towards the north-east and south-west of this. The average rupture speed was approximately the shear wave speed. No simple relation between the moment release pattern and the distribution of aftershocks on the fault plane was found. Instead, the aftershock distribution is seen to be dominated by the intersection of the reactivated fault and the main fault plane with most aftershocks occurring to the north of this intersection.
U-Pb zircon age, geochemical, and Sr-Nd isotopic constraints on the age and origin of granodiorite porphyries in the Guilong area, southern Yunnan Province, South China

Copyright © 2013 by The Geochemical Society of Japan. deposits in southern Yunnan Province, southern China. While a number of studies concerning the origin of these deposits have been carried out (e.g., Southwest Geological Exploration Corporation, 1984; Chen et al., 1992, 1998; Zhuang et al., 1996; Jiang et al., 1997; Li et al., 2005; Mo, 2006; Zhu et al., 2006, 2008; Xie et al., 2009; Cheng and Mao, 2010; Ye et al., 2011) recent advances in analytical techniques and systematic geochemical studies (e.g., radiometric age-dating, wholerock geochemical and isotopic data) on granite and granodiorite porphyries local to the deposits are scant. In this study we have, therefore, carried out systematic whole-rock geochemical, Sr–Nd isotopic and LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb investigation of a representative suite of granodiorite porphyry samples to help constrain the age and origin of these intrusive rock units, and in doing so provide important information to help model the development of the giant polymetallic ore bodies in this part of China. U–Pb zircon age, geochemical, and Sr–Nd isotopic constraints on the age and origin of granodiorite porphyries in the Guilong area, southern Yunnan Province, South China
A study of atrazine transport through a soil profile on the Gnangara Mound, Western Australia, using LEACHP and Monte Carlo techniques

A preliminary risk assessment of atrazine leaching at a strawberry farm on the Gnangara Mound, Western Australia, was performed using LEACHP in conjunction with Monte Carlo techniques. Monte Carlo techniques were also used to implement a sensitivity analysis of LEACHP to determine influential parameters. As an extension to the sensitivity analysis, a model comparison was performed with similar models, in order to quantify differences arising from the use of different models. The Monte Carlo risk assessment involved simultaneous variation of LEACHP's soil parameters and selected chemical parameters to assess the risk of atrazine leaching past the root-zone at the experimental site. This Monte Carlo risk assessment predicted that of the 100 mgsm2 of atrazine applied at the experimental site, the mean cumulative mass per unit area of atrazine to leach below the root-zone after 263 days was 49 mgsm2, with a standard deviation of 4.1 and a range from 37 to 62 mgsm2. The Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis of LEACHP tested selected soil and chemical parameters, one at a time, to determine the influence of each parameter on the models predictions of cumulative mass per unit area of atrazine to leach below the root-zone. The chemical parameters organic carbon partition coefficient (Koc) and degradation rate constants were found to be more influential than the soil parameters, with Koc being the most influential parameter. The most influential of the soil parameters was organic carbon content, followed by bulk density. The model comparison involved 4 separate simulations: LEACHP using Richards' equation (LEACHP (Richards)), LEACHP using Addiscott's model of water and solute movement (LEACHP (Addiscott), MACRODB, and GLEAMS. The results from this exercise showed that LEACHP (Richards) and MACRODB made similar predictions for the cumulative mass per unit area of atrazine to leach below the root-zone (49 and 50 mgsm2, respectively), while GLEAMS and LEACHP (Addiscott) made significantly lower predictions (35 and 38 mgsm2, respectively). The results from this study indicate there is a significant risk of atrazine leaching at the experimental site; however, more detailed field measurements and further modelling would enable more accurate predictions.
Compression of seismic stack sections using singular value decomposition

Singular value decomposition (SVD) is an adaptive transform with excellent energy compaction properties for separable data. Hence, applying SVD on seismic stack sections seems to be a good choice. In order to achieve a good SVD compression system, bit-efficient representations must be found for both the transform (singular vectors) and the transform coefficients (singular values). In this paper we present an SVD coding system which exploits the orthonormality of the singular vectors to find a minimum number of parameter representation for the singular vectors. These parameters and the singular values are quantized using pdf optimized quantizers. The SVD coder is designed to give full control of the mse within each image block. The proposed method has the ability to compress seismic stack sections at a ratio of 30:1 with no loss of visual information. Regarding the novelty of this scheme this must be considered to be a good result, although it is outperformed by a standard JPEG image coder in terms of signal to noise ratio.
Transcriptomic Analysis Provides Insights into Microplastic and Heavy Metal Challenges in the Line Seahorse (Hippocampus erectus)

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous pollutants that have potentially harmful and toxic effects. MPs are frequently ingested by aquatic animals, as microplastics share a similar size and color to their food. Heavy metals are harmful and difficult to degrade, have a wide range of sources and an extended residual time from exposure to recovery. Although the effects of MPs and heavy metals on the performance of aquatic species have been extensively studied, the molecular mechanisms of MP and heavy metal (Pb, Cd and Cu) exposure on aquatic organisms remain unclear. Here, the effects of MPs and heavy metal accumulation on the line seahorse, Hippocampus erectus, were investigated at the molecular level using transcriptome analysis. Using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses, we found that immune, metabolic, and apoptotic pathways were affected in the heavy metal group, whereas the DNA damage repair and metabolism pathways were mainly involved in the MP group. Both types of stress caused significant changes in the genes related to the antioxidant pathway in H. erectus larvae. Transcriptome differences between the treatment groups were analyzed, and sensitive candidate genes (Hsp70, Hsp90, Sod, etc.) were screened. The response characteristics of seahorses to MP environmental stress were also investigated. Using seahorse as a biological model and candidate sensitive genes as a basis, our results provide a theoretical basis for detecting MPs and heavy metals pollution in coastal areas.
Estimating motion parameters using parametric modeling based on time-frequency representations

In this work we propose a method for estimating the instantaneous phase shift induced by the relative radar-target motion based on two main steps: 1) time-frequency representation of the received echoes; 2) estimation based on parametric modeling. The estimates can then be used to initialize a compensation procedure for obtaining the ISAR image or to extract features to be used for target classification directly from the received signal, without necessarily passing through the target image. In the paper we show some application examples of the proposed procedure in the presence of noise.
Dynamics of terrestrial water storage change from satellite and surface observations and modeling.

Abstract Terrestrial water storage (TWS) is a fundamental component of the water cycle. On a regional scale, measurements of terrestrial water storage change (TWSC) are extremely scarce at any time scale. This study investigates the feasibility of estimating monthly-to-seasonal variations of regional TWSC from modeling and a combination of satellite and in situ surface observations based on water balance computations that use ground-based precipitation observations in both cases. The study area is the Klamath and Sacramento River drainage basins in the western United States (total area of about 110 000 km2). The TWSC from the satellite/surface observation–based estimates is compared with model results and land water storage from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data. The results show that long-term evapotranspiration estimates and runoff measurements generally balance with observed precipitation, suggesting that the evapotranspiration estimates have relatively small bias for long averag.
Statistics and Probability Letters

The sampling of networks is an important problem at the frontier of statistical network analysis, and the identification of population members of a network is an important step in the sampling process. In this work, we study the random time τ to identify the nodes in an Erdős-Rényi random graph through egocentric sampling We derive the exact distribution of τ and give an exact formula for computing the mean time E τ as a function of the size of the network. We explore how E τ varies with the size of the network, the probability of edges, and network sparsity. We establish the scaling of τ with network size in both sparse and dense random graphs, highlighting special cases that demonstrate sub-linear scaling of τ with the size of the network. All theoretical results are non-asymptotic. Lastly, we discuss possible extensions to classes of random graphs beyond Erdős-Rényi random graphs
Farmer management of cocoa agroforests in Cameroon: Impacts of decision scenarios on structure and biodiversity of indigenous tree species

Abstract Cocoa agroforests are dominant agricultural systems on the forest margins of Cameroon. Their management remains complex involving close interplay and trade-offs in social, ecological, economic and policy questions. To protect the cocoa crop and increase the net livelihood worth of cocoa agroforests, farmers maintain and or integrate diverse indigenous tree species in them. In a broadening context of environmental management these small holder, resource-poor farmers thus face important challenges in balancing livelihoods and conservation goals. This paper focuses on the characterization of cocoa agroforests on the forest margins of Cameroon in central Africa. It seeks to improve understanding of the complex relationships between livelihoods and cocoa agroforest land-use. It focuses on how farmer management decision scenarios can influence the architecture and indigenous trees biodiversity in cocoa agroforests. Methods used involved a rapid socio-economic survey, structural characterization and rapid biodiversity assessment of indigenous tree species in at least eight hectares of non contiguous cocoa agroforests. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze socio-economic and structural variables. Non parametric tests were used to evaluate changes in structural characteristics following management decision scenarios by farmers. Interpretation of results shows food security to be a major land use preoccupation of farmers. Due to revenue potential and high density of useful fruit and food trees cocoa systems can help slow down need for deforestation, maintain carbon and stabilize forest margins. Strata containing useful trees for food and fruits are most carefully managed and conserved in comparison with strata containing mainly medicinal and fuel wood trees. Despite species elimination scenario the basic proportionality and balance between bottom and upper stratums is maintained. Although overall species abundance reduces following eliminations, true diversity shows a slight positive change due probably to increased relative diversity of indigenous tree species. Summarily therefore, farmer management of cocoa systems appears undisruptive of both structure and biodiversity of indigenous trees.
Vortex‐like plasma flow structures observed by Cluster at the boundary of the outer radiation belt and ring current: A link between the inner and outer magnetosphere

[1] Two vortex-like plasma flow structures have been observed at the outer radiation belt and/or the ring current region on 11 April 2002, from 0415 to 0635 UT, when the Cluster fleet entered (in the Southern Hemisphere) and exited (in the Northern Hemisphere) the boundary layer of the inner magnetosphere near 2130 MLT. On 11 April 2002 during the period of interest, the solar wind speed was high, and the geomagnetic activity was moderate. These two vortices have opposite rotation directions and are characterized by bipolar signatures in the flow Vx components with peak-to-peak amplitudes of about 40 km/s. The inflection points of the plasma flow coincide precisely with the local maxima of the duskward core flow Vy (30 km/s) which exceed the surrounding flow by 3–4 times in magnitude for both vortices. A pair of bidirectional current sheets and bipolar electric fields (Ey) are found to be closely associated with these vortices. Whereas magnetic field disturbances are observed only in Bx and By components, the magnetic magnitude stays almost unchanged. Vortices observed both inbound and outbound at the boundary of the radiation belt at nearly the same location (L shell and latitude), suggesting they may last for more than 140 min. The scale sizes of the two vortices are about 810 km and 1138 km, respectively. Interestingly, it is found that Earth's ionospheric singly charged oxygen are precipitating in the vortex dynamic process, having energies less than 1 keV and having a strong field-aligned pitch angle distribution. These plasma flow vortices are suggested to be formed at the interface between the enhanced ionospheric outflow stream from the polar ionosphere and a sudden braking and/or azimuthal deflection of bursty bulk flows generated by the tail reconnection. These observed flow vortices provide a link among the inner magnetosphere, the tail plasma sheet, and the Earth's ionosphere by coupling magnetic shear stresses and plasma flow momentum.
Effects of atmospheric particle concentration on cloud microphysics over Arecibo

[1] A new cloud microphysics module incorporated to a regional atmospheric model and atmospheric particle (AP) observations performed at the Arecibo Observatory were used to simulate two short precipitation events observed in the area of the observatory and to investigate the possible effects of AP on cloud formation and rain development. First, model runs were performed with and without the new cloud module, initialized with the new AP data set and the previous cloud spectrum available. The combination of the new cloud module and the Arecibo observations produced the most satisfactory results and significant improvements in total precipitation modeled: 70 versus 80 mm observed. The improvement results in 15% more precipitation predicted when compared with the old cloud information and more than 50% with respect to simulations without cloud condensation nuclei activation. Then, a set of idealized runs showed that cloud droplet production is significantly larger in polluted air than in clear skies and that rainwater in polluted air is less than that in unpolluted air. This may be because existing droplets will compete more vigorously for the available water vapor and will not reach the necessary radius to fall, and therefore growth by collision and coalescence is subdued.
Hyperspectral imagery for mineral exploration: comparison of data from two airborne sensors

Hyperspectral image data sets acquired near Cuprite, Nevada in 1995 with the SWIR full spectrum imager (SFSI) and in 1996 with the Airborne Visible/IR Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) are analyzed with a spectral unmixing procedure and the result compared. The SFSI image has pixels on 1 m by 1.5 m centers, the AVIRIS on 17 m centers; the region imaged by SFSI is a small portion of the full AVIRIS scene. Both have nominal spectral band center spacings of about 10 nm. The image data, converted to radiance units, are atmospherically corrected and converted to surface reflectance. Spectral end members are extracted automatically from the two data sets; those representing mineral species common to both are compared to each other and to reference spectra obtained with a portable IR mineral analyzer. The full sets of end members are used in a constrained linear unmixing of the respective hyperspectral image cubes. The resulting unmixing fraction images derived from the AVIRIS and the SFSI data sets for the minerals alunite, buddingtonite, and kaolinite exhibit strong similarities.