Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combining cross-hole georadar velocity and attenuation tomography for site characterization: a case study in an unconsolidated aquifer

Information extracted from crosshole georadar data has been used to characterize a gravel- and sand-dominated aquifer. Inversions of direct arrival traveltimes and amplitudes have provided electromagnetic velocity and attenuation tomograms that have allowed critical hydrological structures and parameters to be determined. An integrated interpretation of the velocity and attenuation tomograms was performed via a k-means cluster analysis. As a result of this multivariate statistical analysis, major trends in the relationship between velocity and attenuation were identified, thus enabling us to outline the major hydrostratigraphicu nits ofthe surveyedd eposit.
Instabilities in an Internal Solitary-like Wave on the Oregon Shelf

Abstract Observations of internal solitary-like waves (ISWs) on the Oregon Shelf suggest the presence of Kelvin–Helmholtz billows in the pycnocline and larger-scale overturns at the back of the wave above the pycnocline. Numerical simulations designed to explore the mechanisms responsible for these features in one particular wave reveal that shear instabilities occur when (i) the minimum Richardson number Ri in the pycnocline is less than about 0.1; (ii) Lx/λ > 0.8, where Lx is the length of the unstable region with Ri ≈ 4, where ai and af are the amplitudes of perturbations entering and leaving the unstable region. The maximum energy loss rate in our simulations is 50 W m−1, occurring at a frequency 8% below that with the maximum spatial growth rate. The observations revealed the presence of anomalously light fluid in the center of the wave above the pycnocline. Simulations of a wave enco.
Multivariate Logistic Regression Models in the Progression of Vision Threatening Disease

Diabetic Mellitus is a disease of inadequate control of level of glucose in blood. It is also happened by disorder of carbohydrate metabolism by impaired ability to produce insulin in blood. In this article, I have to discuss about how to find risk factors and how much its influence in the progression of Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), to identify the presence of DR and its progression by formulating some mathematical equations with suitable variables and to find several stages of DR and its progression. The continuous variables were expressed as mean and standard deviation and categorial variables as frequency and proportions. In this, we have discussed about various kind of statistical prediction models. Found the influencing factors in the progression of DR by using multiple logistic regression analysis, predicted the probability of a DM patient in the progression of DR and found the probability of DR among diabetes up to a given period of time and using by Markov Chain Analysis found the TPM and the absorbing state in a DM patient and to identify as having complete vision loss. I have concluded that the statistical models were explained and found the influenced factors and risk ratio to develop DR among DM patients has been computed, and transition of DR which predict the chance to develop DR in a DM patient and found the probability to develop DR over a period of time has also explained via procedure. Keywords: diabetic mellitus, diabetic retinopathy, statistical models, risk ratio
Distribution of Opportunistic Pathogens in People Living with HIV at a University Hospital in Istanbul over a One-Year Treatment Period and Its Association with CD4 T Cell Counts

Among sexually transmitted diseases, HIV causes very serious clinical manifestations that can lead to death. As a result, millions of people have to live with this problem that threatens their health. The virus attacks the immune system of the host, especially CD4+ T lymphocytes, causing the suppression of the immune system. CD4, CD8 counts, and HIV RNA viral loads are monitored in HIV-infected patients with antiretroviral treatment, and CD4 counts play an important role in determining the effectiveness of the treatment. Despite the advances in treatment in the present day, opportunistic infections are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients, and the evaluation of immunological parameters is valuable for the prognosis of the disease in this process. In the present study, the purpose was to investigate the opportunistic infections faced by naive HIV-positive patients who applied to our laboratory and were diagnosed between 2019 and 2022 during their one-year treatment period, and the correlation of the immunological parameters was also evaluated retrospectively using the hospital automation system and laboratory data. A total of 107 opportunistic causative microorganisms were identified in 87 of the 230 HIV-positive patients over one year. T. pallidum was detected in 43 (18.6%) of these patients, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) in 32 (13.9%), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) in 9 (3.9%), Hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 10 (4.3%), C. albicans in 7 (3%), M. tuberculosis in 3 (1.3%), Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 2 (0.8%), and C. glabrata in 1 (0.4%) patient. Although mono-agent co-infections were determined in 69 of 87 people living with HIV, two-agent co-infections were detected in 16 HIV patients, and three-agent co-infections were identified in two HIV patients. Considering the correlation between the CD4/CD8 ratio and infection positivity, a moderate negative correlation was determined with HIV RNA viral load and CMV infection. The CD4/CD8 ratio had a low negative correlation with EBV and C. albicans infections. It was also found that the follow-up of HIV RNA load in the diagnosis of T. pallidum, CMV, EBV, and C. albicans may be meaningful. Opportunistic infections mainly affect immunosuppressed patients and can be prevented with effective treatment. Although it is already known that HIV patients may face different infections during their treatment, it was concluded that more attention should be paid to T. pallidum, CMV, EBV, and C. albicans agents. These infections should be routinely monitored with HIV viral load and the CD4/CD8 ratio.
Analysis of Hydraulic Gradient Effects for Laboratory Hydraulic Conductivity Testing

A theoretical model is presented that characterizes the effect of hydraulic gradient on measured hydraulic conductivity in the laboratory. A closed-form equation is derived for the distribution of total head within a hydraulic conductivity test specimen as a function of specimen height, boundary stress conditions, compression index, and change of hydraulic conductivity index. From this expression, corresponding equations for the distributions of local pore pressure, effective stress, void ratio, hydraulic gradient, and hydraulic conductivity are presented. Two laboratory experiments were performed using a clay slurry to assess the validity of the theory: (1) an end-of-primary incremental loading consolidation test with direct hydraulic conductivity measurements, and (2) a rigid-wall hydraulic conductivity test with local pore pressure measurements. Using material properties obtained from the consolidation test, the theory predicted correctly the behavior of the hydraulic conductivity test specimen for two values of equivalent hydraulic gradient. It is concluded from this research that excessive hydraulic gradients applied during hydraulic conductivity testing can cause reductions in measured hydraulic conductivity. The magnitude of the effect is expected to be more important for normally consolidated soils with high compressibility, such as soft clays and soil-bentonite slurries.
PREDICTING THE

(CC) did have ineffective swallows (<40% swallows), and the removal of these patients, resulted in the redefined cohort having no abnormal proximal reflux. Across all patients reflux bolus exposure time correlated with gastroesophageal pressure gradient (GEPG) (r=0.479;p=0.009), which became stronger when only patients with normal motility were examined (CC: r=0.664;p=0.018; redefined: r=0.881;p=0.004). There was no association in hypo-contractility, likely due to the presence of ineffective motility, which correlated with reflux bolus exposure time (r=0.422;p=0.133). Patients with hypo-contractility had a lower Forced Vital Capacity percent predicted (49%(40–68)%) than patients with normal motility (67%(61– 72)%;p=0.04). Conclusions Ineffective oesophageal motility was associated with increased reflux exposure, with many events reaching the proximal oesophagus, irrespective of whether patients had hypoor normal motility; likely driven in part by increased GEPG. Furthermore, such motility abnormalities appear to associate with pulmonary dysfunction.
A framework for determining recommended environmental flows for balancing agricultural and ecosystem water demands

Abstract We developed a water-use conflict analysis framework to determine environmental flows that optimally balance water requirements for ecosystems and human activities. This framework considers trade-offs between water use for ecosystem health and agricultural processes and considers temporal variations in hydrological processes. It comprises three separate models that (a) analyse water balance between agriculture and initial environmental flows, (b) identify outcomes of varying balances in water use, and (c) determine recommended environmental flows for sustainable water use. We applied the framework to a region downstream of the Yellow River in China. Based on our results, we recommend a water management plan that allocates more water to ecosystem services than is currently allocated and that does not increase predicted economic losses. In addition, we found that recommended flows change depending on the ecological objectives considered and whether technologies or methodologies that improve water-use efficiency are employed. Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor M. Acreman Citation Pang, A. , Sun, T. , and Yang, Z. , 2014. A framework for determining recommended environmental flows for balancing agricultural and ecosystem water demands. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (3–4), 890–903.
Household Cooking Fuel Choice and Adoption of Improved Cookstoves in Developing Countries: A Review

Improving access to affordable and reliable energy services for cooking is essential for developing countries in reducing adverse human health and environmental impacts hitherto caused by burning of traditional biomass. This paper reviews empirical studies that analyze choices of fuel and adoption of improved stoves for cooking in countries where biomass is still the predominant cooking fuel. The review highlights the wide range of factors that influence households cooking fuel choices and adoption of improved stoves, including socioeconomic (access and availability, collection costs and fuel prices, household income, education and awareness), behavioral (food tastes, lifestyle), and cultural and external factors (indoor air pollution, government policies). The paper also summarizes the evidence on the significant adverse health impacts from exposure to indoor smoke, especially among women and young children. In low-income households, perceived health benefits of adopting improved stoves and financial benefits from fuel savings tend to be outweighed by the costs of improved stoves, even after accounting for the opportunity cost of time spent collecting biomass fuel. The paper identifies knowledge and evidence gaps on the success of policies and programs designed to scale up the adoption of improved cookstoves.
Approaches of Road Boundary and Obstacle Detection Using LIDAR

Abstract This paper introduces an overview of the studies of two problems; (1) road boundary detection and (2) obstacle detection, in order to allow the movement of autonomous vehicles. Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is the most used technology for solving these two problems. It is thoroughly described with its operating mechanism and its use in other areas. We explore comprehensively the methods used in the literature to solve the detection of road boundaries and the obstacles as well as the recent trends in the relevant area. Furthermore, the solutions based on the previous works and suggested future works will be described.
Retrieval Failures and Consumption Smoothing: A Field Experiment on Seasonal Poverty∗

Individuals may fail to recall and use information they already know when making decisions. We empirically investigate whether such “retrieval failures” distort consumption smoothing behavior among Zambian farmers, who derive their income from one annual harvest and then spend it down over the course of the year. We document that individuals underestimate upcoming spending by 50%, creating scope for under-saving. In order to improve recall, we randomize an intervention that prompts individuals to think through their future expenses associatively in categories—without providing any external information or guidance. Treated individuals increase “remembered” expenses by 42%; as predicted by the memory literature, effects are concentrated among small, irregular, and stochastic items. Immediate spending drops and, two months after the intervention, treated households hold 15% higher savings. They subsequently enter the “hungry season”—the final months of the year when consumption typically declines sharply—with one additional month of savings, leading to a flatter spending profile over the year. Households use the increased savings to self-finance additional farm investment, resulting in a 9% increase in the next year’s crop revenue. We replicate the intervention’s impact on beliefs among low-income Americans, suggesting that retrieval failures generalize across settings and populations. ∗We thank Abhijit Banerjee, John Conlon, Xavier Gabaix, Muriel Niederle, Matthew Rabin, Andrei Shleifer, Joshua Schwartzstein, Dmitry Taubinsky, and numerous conference and seminar audiences for helpful comments and feedback. We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Science Foundation (Kaur CAREER SES 1848452), the Weiss Family Program for Research in Development Economics, Development Innovation Ventures at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Feed the Future through USAID, and the International Growth Center. Akanksha Arora, Anderson Benson, Mathieu Chabaud, Harrison Chang, Anne Fogarty, David Lyu and Jingkai Ong provided excellent research assistance. This research was approved by Berkeley IRB (2018-07-11284), and by the UNZABREC (012-09-18). This study was registered on the AEA RCT registry, RCT ID AEARCTR-0004409. †Augenblick: UC Berkeley (augenblick@berkeley.edu); Jack: UC Santa Barbara and NBER (kelseyjack@ucsb.edu); Kaur: UC Berkeley and NBER (supreet@berkeley.edu); Masiye: University of Zambia (dean-hss@unza.zm); Swanson: UC Berkeley (nicholas.swanson@berkeley.edu).
Climate change reduces the capacity of northern peatlands to absorb the atmospheric carbon dioxide: The different responses of bogs and fens

The carbon (C) storage of northern peatlands is equivalent to ~34–46% of the ~795 T g C currently held in the atmosphere as CO2. Most studies report that northern peatlands are a sink of between 20 and 60 g CO2–C m−2 yr−1. Since peatland hydrology and biogeochemistry are very closely related to climate, there is concern whether northern peatlands will continue to function as C sinks with climate change. We used a coupled land surface scheme and peatland C model, called CLASS3W‐MWM, to examine the sensitivity of peatland C to climate change. Based on the data available to constrain our model, we simulated the C dynamics of the Mer Bleue (MB) bog in eastern Canada and the Degerö Stormyr (DS) poor fen in northern Sweden for four Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate change scenarios, i.e., A1B, A2, B1, and Commit, over four time periods, i.e., present day, 2030, 2060, and 2100. When the simulated future C fluxes were compared to the baseline fluxes under the present climate conditions, we found that fens were much more sensitive to climate change than bogs. Gross primary production (GPP) at MB significantly increased by 4–44% up to 2100 for all scenarios except Commit. GPP at DS significantly decreased by 34–39% for A1B and A2, and slightly increased by 6–10% for B1 and Commit. Total ecosystem respiration (TER) significantly increased by 7–57% for MB and 4–34% for DS up to 2100 for all scenarios except Commit. Net ecosystem production (NEP), therefore, significantly decreased. The bog, however, was still a C sink up to 2100, though much reduced, but the fen switched to a C source for A1B and A2 scenarios. Additional experiments where we climatically transplanted the study peatlands or forced vegetation changes when the fen became too dry showed similar but less dramatic results as the standard runs. Our results indicate that northern peatlands should be included in the C‐coupled climate model to fully understand the response of C cycling in terrestrial ecosystems to climate change and to reduce the uncertainties for projecting the future climate.
The potential impact of microRNA-related functional polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are important post-transcriptional gene regulators. Various populations have experienced a marked rise in the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) due to multiple miRNA variations. The current case-control study (150 cases and 150 healthy controls) was designed to determine the potential role of five miRNA functional variants (rs2292832, rs3746444, rs11614913, rs1044165, and rs767649) as risk factors for CHD in the Pakistani population using TaqMan Real-time PCR Assay. It was observed that the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3746444 was significantly associated with the risk of CHD using the co-dominant model [{chi}2 =79.51; P = 0.0001], dominant model (GG vs AA+AG) [OR = 9.333 (5.180-16.82); P = 0.0001], heterozygous model (AG vs AA+GG) [OR = 0.1241 (0.065-0.234); P = 0.0001] and additive model [A vs G; OR = 0.3440 (0.2468-0.4795); P = 0.0001] respectively. Furthermore, rs11614913 was also linked with CHD when analyzed using a co-dominant model [{chi}2 =16.24; P = 0.0003], dominant model (CC vs CT+TT) [OR = 1.918 (1.210-3.042); P = 0.0075], recessive model (TT vs CT+CC) [OR = 0.2754 (0.1369-0.5540); P = 0.0002], and additive model [OR = 2.033 (1.445-2.861); P = 0.0001]. It was also found that rs767649 is connected to CHD using a co-dominant model [{chi}2 =114.9; P = 0.0001], dominant model (AA vs AT+TT) [OR = 7.851 (3.554-17.34); P = 0.0001], recessive model (TT vs AT+AA) [OR = 0.04956 (0.026-0.092); P = 0.0001], heterozygous model (AT vs AA+TT) [OR = 4.495 (2.737-7.382); P = 0.0001], and inheritance additive model [A vs T; OR=7.154 (4.902-10.44); P = 0.0001] respectively. The SNP rs1044165 revealed a strong correlation with CHD using the heterozygous inheritance model (AG vs GG+AA) [OR = 0.3442 (0.1308-0.9055); P = 0.0276]. No statistically significant association (P 0.05) of rs2292832 SNP with CHD was found using all five inheritance models.
Validation of the Openwater wearable optical system: cerebral hemodynamic monitoring during a breath hold maneuver

Bedside cerebral blood flow (CBF) monitoring has the potential to inform and improve care for acute neurologic diseases, but technical challenges limit the use of existing techniques in clinical practice. Here we validate the Openwater optical system, a novel wearable headset that uses laser speckle contrast to monitor microvascular hemodynamics. We monitored 25 healthy adults with the Openwater system and concurrent transcranial Doppler (TCD) while performing a breath-hold maneuver to increase CBF. Relative blood flow (rBF) was derived from the changes in speckle contrast, and relative blood volume (rBV) was derived from the changes in speckle average intensity. A strong correlation was observed between beat-to-beat optical rBF and TCD-measured cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv), R=0.79; the slope of the linear fit indicates good agreement, 0.87 (95% CI:0.83-0.92). Beat-to-beat rBV and CBFv were strongly correlated, R=0.72, but as expected the two variables were not proportional; changes in rBV were smaller than CBFv changes, with linear fit slope of 0.18 (95% CI:0.17-0.19). Further, strong agreement was found between rBF and CBFv waveform morphology and related metrics. This first in vivo validation of the Openwater optical system highlights its potential as a cerebral hemodynamic monitor, but additional validation is needed in disease states.
Generalisability of AI-based scoring systems in the ICU: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Machine learning (ML) is increasingly used to predict clinical deterioration in intensive care unit (ICU) patients through scoring systems. Although promising, such algorithms often overfit their training cohort and perform worse at new hospitals. Thus, external validation is a critical but frequently overlooked step to establish the reliability of predicted risk scores to translate them into clinical practice. We systematically reviewed how regularly external validation of ML-based risk scores is performed and how their performance changed in external data. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Web of Science, and arXiv for studies using ML to predict deterioration of ICU patients from routine data. We included primary research published in English before April 2022. We summarised how many studies were externally validated, assessing differences over time, by outcome, and by data source. For validated studies, we evaluated the change in area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) attributable to external validation using linear mixed-effects models. Results: We included 355 studies, of which 39 (11.0%) were externally validated, increasing to 17.9% by 2022. Validated studies made disproportionate use of open-source data, with two well-known US datasets (MIMIC and eICU) accounting for 79.5% of studies. On average, AUROC was reduced by -0.037 (95% CI -0.064 to -0.017) in external data, with >0.05 reduction in 38.6% of studies. Discussion: External validation, although increasing, remains uncommon. Performance was generally lower in external data, questioning the reliability of some recently proposed ML-based scores. Interpretation of the results was challenged by an overreliance on the same few datasets, implicit differences in case mix, and exclusive use of AUROC.