Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ridge forces, absolute plate motions, and the intraplate stress field

Torque poles are calculated for a variety of possible forces acting on the plates, including ridge push, slab pull, and collisional resistance. These torque poles are then compared to the directions of absolute plate motions. There is a strong correlation between ridge torque poles and the azimuth of absolute plate motions for the North American, South American, Pacific, Cocos, and Eurasian plates. Simple slab pull torques correlate well with absolute motion azimuths for the Pacific, Nazca, and Cocos plates and moderately well with the absolute motion azimuth of the IndoAustralian plate. Collisional resistance torque poles correlate with the absolute motion azimuth of the Eurasian plate only. The correlations are presented as further evidence that the absolute reference frame for plate motion is determined by the surface plates themselves. Torque poles for various forces are also compared with several long-wavelength features of the global intraplate stress field that also tend to be aligned with absolute motion directions. In general, ridge torque directions agree well with the orientations of maximum horizontal stresses for stable North America, western Europe, and South America and provide an alternative explanation for the alignment in terms of ridge push forces rather than basal drag. Collisional resistance forces can also explain the alignment of stresses in western Europe. For the IndoAustralian plate, the torque pole for collisional resistance forces is consistent with the general pattern of stresses in at least the western half of the plate but is not a good predictor of the entire data set for the plate. Other processes, in addition to collisional resistance, must be important for the Indo-Australian plate. Ridge push forces may account for a significant portion of the long-wavelength features of the intraplate stress field, especially away from continental collisions. Such a conclusion is consistent with negative buoyancy of the slab being an important component of the driving mechanism. As previously suggested, slab forces may be largely balanced within the subducted slab itself and thus have limited effect on deformation of the surface plates.
Is manual therapy based on neurodynamic techniques effective in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome? A randomized controlled trial

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of manual therapy based on neurodynamic techniques in conservative treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Several medical outpatient clinics in the south of Poland. Participants: The study included 103 patients with mild and moderate carpal tunnel syndrome (mean age = 53.95, SD = 9.5) years, who were randomly assigned to a neurodynamic techniques group (experimental group, n = 58) or a group without treatment (control group, n = 45). Intervention: Neurodynamic techniques were used in the experimental group. Treatment was conducted twice weekly (20 sessions). Control group did not receive treatment. Main measures: Nerve conduction study, pain, symptom severity and functional status of Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire, and strength of cylindrical and pincer grips were assessed at baseline and immediately after treatment (nerve conduction study one month after treatment). Results: Baseline assessment revealed no group differences in any assessed parameters (P > 0.05). There were significant differences between groups after treatment, including nerve conduction (e.g. sensory conduction velocity: experimental group: 38.3 m/s, SD = 11.1 vs control group: 25.9 m/s, SD = 7.72, P < 0.01). Significant changes also occurred in pain (experimental group: 1.38, SD = 1.01 vs control group: 5.46, SD = 1.05, P < 0.01), symptom severity (experimental group: 1.08, SD = 0.46 vs control group: 2.87, SD = 0.68, P < 0.01), and functional status (experimental group: 1.96, SD = 0.64 vs control group: 2.87, SD = 1.12, P < 0.01). There were no group differences in strength (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The use of neurodynamic techniques in conservative treatment for mild to moderate forms of carpal tunnel syndrome has significant therapeutic benefits.
The role of satellite remote sensing in the Prediction of Ungauged Basins

Land surface hydrology is an accounting of the water received (precipitation) and water lost (evaporation, runoff from land, streams to oceans) and the gain in water storage (rise in level of inland water bodies, increase in soil moisture, snow, and rise in water table). This accounting is based on a simple water balance principle, i.e. a conservation of mass. However, as evapotranspiration (loss of water due to evaporation from the land surface and loss of water from the plant stomata due to transpiration) involves energy, the hydrological budget involves a coupled water and energy balance. However, quantification of the hydrological budget is extremely difficult over large spatial domains and over large time periods through direct observations, as in situ observations are labour intensive and expensive. This is specifically the case in ungauged basins, wherein stream flow data are absent or insufficient and little or no observations of spatially variable hydrological quantities are carried out. This makes it extremely difficult to carry out hydrological modelling for predictions of water resources. Satellite remote sensing provides a methodology to overcome these issues with a broad spatial coverage and a repeat temporal coverage. Of the hydrological variables derived using satellite data, precipitation (both by radar and satellites) is perhaps the one most extensively studied. Precipitation patterns are highly variable in space and time. Exclusive dependence on remotely sensed precipitation would not result in an adequate characterization of the state of the watershed in order to estimate stream flow, as land areas exhibit heterogeneities in soils, topography, roughness and vegetation. Therefore, a simple translation of rainfall into runoff is not possible, and so there is a need to utilize the readily available satellite images of other hydrological variables (such as soil moisture, surface temperature, vegetation, air temperature) along with those of precipitation. In this paper, the various satellite data sets that can be used to generate land surface hydrological variables are described, followed by the future challenges and limitations in the use of satellite remote sensing in the context of Prediction of Ungauged Basins (PUB).
Faulting processes along the northern Dead Sea transform and the Levant margin

The northern Dead Sea transform is markedly different from the southern segments of the transform. The strike of the transform changes in this area that forms a restraining bend, and the displacement on it is much less than that on the southern and central Dead Sea transform. The structure and evolution of the northern Dead Sea transform was simulated using a rheological model of a visco-elastic material that takes into consideration the crustal structure variations in this area and the proximity to the collisional belts along the Cyprean arc and the Taurus Mountains. The simulation can explain the formation of the restraining bend, known in this area as the Yammuneh fault, and the faulting along the northern Levant continental margin, providing that a simultaneous propagation of the Dead Sea transform from the north and south took place. This suggests that restraining bends in general, which are common features along continental transform faults, are formed when two segments of a transform propagate toward each other.
P.R.E.S.S. — An R-package for exploring residual-level protein structural statistics

P.R. E.S. S. is an R package developed to allow researchers to get access to and manipulate on a large set of statistical data on protein residue-level structural properties such as residue-level virtual bond lengths, virtual bond angles, and virtual torsion angles. A large set of high-resolution protein structures are downloaded and surveyed. Their residue-level structural properties are calculated and documented. The statistical distributions and correlations of these properties can be queried and displayed. Tools are also provided for modeling and analyzing a given structure in terms of its residue-level structural properties. In particular, new tools for computing residue-level statistical potentials and displaying residue-level Ramachandran-like plots are developed for structural analysis and refinement. P.R. E.S. S. will be released in R as an open source software package, with a user-friendly GUI, accessible and executable by a public user in any R environment.
Proteomics Analysis of Differential Expression of Lung Proteins In Response To Highly Pathogenic Avian In�uenza Virus Infection In Chicken

Elucidation of molecular pathogenesis underlying virus-host interaction is important for the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies against highly pathogenic avian in�uenza (HPAI) infection in chicken. However, chicken HPAI viral pathogenesis is not completely understood. To elucidate the intracellular signaling pathways and critical host proteins associated with in�uenza pathogenesis, we characterized the lung proteome of chicken infected with HPAI H5N1 virus (A/duck/India/02CA10/2011/Agartala). The chicken mass spectra data sets comprised1, 47, 451 MS scans and 19, 917 MS/MS scans. At local FDR 5% level, we identi�ed total 3313 chicken proteins with presence of at least one unique peptide. At 12 hrs, 247 proteins are downregulated while 1754 proteins are downregulated at 48 hrs indicating that the host has succumbed to infection. There is expression of proteins of the predominant signaling pathways, such as TLR, RLR, NLR and JAK-STAT signaling. Activation of these pathways is associated with cytokine storm effect and thus may be the cause of severity of HPAI H5N1 infection in chicken. Further we identi�ed proteins like MyD88, IKBKB, IRAK4, RELA, and MAVS involved in the critical signaling pathways and some other novel proteins (HNF4A, ELAVL1, FN1, COPS5, CUL1, BRCA1 and FYN) as main hub proteins that might play important roles in in�uenza pathogenesis in chicken. Taken together, we characterized the signaling pathways and the proteomic determinants responsible for disease pathogenesis in chicken infected with HPAI H5N1 virus.
Agricultural terrace abandonment in the alpujarra, andalucia, spain

The environmental impact of recent changes in land use is assessed in a part of Andalucia, southern Spain, where the deintensification and abandonment of low productivity upland areas is taking place. In the uplands of the Alpujarra, the traditional landscape most at risk is that of the irrigated cultivation terraces. These have often been established centuries ago and rely on water abstracted from streams draining the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The causes of this deintensification include labour shortages, with many Alpujarra municipios reporting population decreases of up to 50 per cent since 1950. Landsat Thematic Mapper digital data from May and August 1992 have been used to identify the various land cover components of the Alpujarra. Ground verification undertaken in September 1992 and April 1993 has confirmed that deintensification of terraced areas around the villages of Trevelez (at 1500m, the highest village in Spain) and Portugos (1300 m) can be identified as either grassland or matorral. It is recognized that many classes of land cover are mosaics with several elements at a subpixel scale (e.g. terrace risers with fruit trees). However, the output from image processing has allowed areal estimates of the main land covers representing deintensification within the terraced zone. The pattern of deintensification of terraced land is fairly complex. It can be assumed that all terraces were irrigated and cropped at some stage. Land which is no longer cropped is usually grazed and the invasion of matorral species is common, particularly when irrigation ceases. Unirrigated tree crops and vines are sometimes planted on terraces no longer used for cropping. A model of deintensification of farming on terraced land in the Alpujarra is presented.
A sunspot maximum prediction using a neural network

Solar activity near the maximum of each 11-year cycle causes a number of adverse effects on space systems. Satellites experience increased electrical charging of their surface and internal dielectric components, resulting in disruptive electrostatic discharges, and micro-electronic devices experience upsets more often. Satellite communications links in the VHF/UHF range suffer signal fades more often and with greater severity. The increased atmospheric density increases the drag on satellites at low altitudes, causing difficulties in tracking and in predicting their orbit decay and time of reentry.
Ground penetrating radar imaging of the freshwater/saltwater interface on a carbonate island, Key Largo, Florida

Finite-difference time-domain models of radar wave propagation at freshwater/saltwater transition zones indicate that a reflected event from the electrical conductivity gradient at the top of the transition zone may be detected. Ground penetrating radar surveys were used together with a suite of geophysical techniques in a reconnaissance survey to delineate the freshwater lens on the island of Key Largo, Florida, USA. In the interior of north Key Largo, the water table lies at approximately 3 m depth. There a 1 - 1.5-m thick freshwater lens overlies a 2 to 3-m transition zone to saline water. 50 MHz GPR surveys show a strong water table event followed by a weaker event that correlates with the top of the freshwater/seawater transition. Nearby cores show no lithologic discontinuities in this depth range. In lower-lying areas with minimal freshwater, an enigmatic high-amplitude high-frequency event follows the water table event closely in time. The field data indicate that reflections from the freshwater/saltwater interface may be resolved in environments with fresh water above the transition zone and with a relatively sharp conductivity gradient at the top of the freshwater/saltwater interface.
Image registration in interferometric SAR

Image registration in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) applications is necessary to improve the interferogram quality and in turn the resulting DEM accuracy. This paper deals with a new image registration procedure implemented at raw data processing stage: the two complex SAR images are generated with respect to a common reference output system. All the registration task is achieved via scaling and shifting compensation that can be efficiently and easily included in a standard SAR processing code. An algorithm to estimate the correct processing parameters, whenever the orbital information is inaccurate, is also presented and is based on the relation between spectral shift and linear stretch of the two images. Examples on real and simulated data validate the presented procedure.
Integration of remotely sensed C factor into SWAT for modelling sediment yield

The C factor, representing the impact of plant and ground cover on soil loss, is one of the important factors of the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE) in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to model sediment yield. The daily update of C factors in SWAT was originally determined by land use types and plant growth cycles. This does not reflect the spatial variation of C values that exists within a large land use area. We present a new approach to integrate remotely sensed C factors into SWAT for highlighting the effect of detailed vegetative cover data on soil erosion and sediment yield. First, the C factor was estimated using the abundance of ground components extracted from remote sensing images. Then, the gridding data of the C factor were aggregated to hydrological response units (HRUs), instead of to land use units of SWAT. In the end, the C factor values in HRUs were integrated into SWAT to predict sediment yield by modifying the ysed subroutine. This substitution work not only increases the spatial variation of the C factor in SWAT, but also makes it possible to utilize other sources of C databases rather than those from the United States. The demonstration in the Dage basin shows that the modified SWAT produces reasonable results in water flow simulation and sediment yield prediction using remotely sensed C values. The Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (ENS) and R2 for surface runoff range from 0·69 to 0·77 and 0·73 to 0·87, respectively. The coefficients ENS and R2 for sediment yield were generally above 0·70 and 0·60, respectively. The soil erosion risk map based on sediment yield prediction at the HRU level illustrates instructive details on spatial distribution of soil loss. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Performance analysis of mobile packet radio networks in real channels with inhibit-sense multiple access

Coherent cumulation of interference signals is modelled in an environment of Rayleigh fading and log-normal shadowing under the influence of near-far effect. The interference model is used to investigate the performance of mobile packet radio networks using the inhibit-sense multiple access protocol. Numerical results are presented, indicating the effect of individual and combined propagation impairments on channel capacity. It is shown that the combined effect of propagation impairments of the real channel enhances the channel capacity.
Title: Dual spindle formation in zygotes keeps parental genomes apart in early mammalian embryos

: At the beginning of mammalian life the genetic material from each parent meets when the fertilized egg divides. It was previously thought that a single microtubule spindle is responsible to spatially combine the two genomes and then segregate them to create the two-cell embryo. Utilizing light-sheet microscopy, we showed that two bipolar spindles form in the zygote, that independently congress the maternal and paternal genomes. These two spindles aligned their poles prior to anaphase but kept the parental genomes apart during the first cleavage. This spindle assembly mechanism provides a rationale for erroneous divisions into more than two blastomeric nuclei observed in mammalian zygotes and reveals the mechanism behind the observation that parental genomes occupy separate nuclear compartments in the two-cell embryo. thymidine into the replicating DNA of mitotically dividing somatic and pre-meiotic cells. The cycle time to produce mature spermatozoa from EdU-labelled pre-meiotic cells in mice is ∼ 35 days. After continuous EdU feeding for at least 6 weeks, EdU-treated males were mated with superovulated B6C3F1 females. Embryos were isolated 20 hours after HCG injection and cultured in G1 medium (Vitrolife) up to the 8-cell stage. MTOCs, 1:100 human anti-Crest (Europe Bioproducts CS1058) to stain centromeres. Embryos were washed 3 x 5 minutes with 0.3% BSA in PBST then incubated with anti-mouse Alexa 488, anti-rabbit Alexa 546, anti-human Alexa 647 all 1:500 in 5% normal goat serum, 3% BSA in PBST (all (Thermo Fisher Scientific A11029, A11035, A21445 respectively) and 5ug/ml Hoechst33342 (Sigma) for hour at room temperature. Embryos washed 0.3% BSA for 1:200 anti-H3K9me3 8898) normal 3%
Green Tea Extract Protects Endothelial Progenitor Cells from Oxidative Damage Through Reduction of Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species Activity

A number studies have examined that tea consumption decreases cardiovascular risk, but the mechanisms remain undefined. Endothelial dysfunction has been correlated with coronary artery disease and circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) is contributed of this repair process. Endothelial dysfunction is associated with increased oxidative stress and may be reverse by antioxidant. Green tea is known as free radical scavenger which has a powerful antioxidant action. The aim of this study is to investigate whether green tea extract (GTE) can protect EPCs from oxidative stress through antioxidant protective mechanism. Total mononuclear cells (MNCs) were isolated from peripheral blood by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation. The cells were then plated on fibronectin-coated culture dishes. After being cultured for 7 d, EPCs were characterized as adherent cells double positive for DiLDL-uptake and lectin binding. Further characterizations were done by demonstrating the expression of CD34/45, CD133, and KDR. EPCs were then induced for oxidative stress using various concentrations of H2O2 (50, 100, 200 µM), and incubated with or without GTE (25 mg/L) and result showed that GTE ameliorated the cell viability of H202-induced EPC at concentration 50, 100, 200 µM for about 28.72 ± 10.5%, 34.55 ± 7.64%, and 27.04 ± 3.42%, respectively, higher than that control. The level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was quantified by fluorescence with 2’,7’- dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) using flow cytometry and showed that GTE decreased intracellular ROS level of H202- induced EPC at concentration 50, 100, 200 µM for about 84.24 ± 8.59 %, 92.27 ± 1.08 %, and 93.72 ± 0.36%, respectively, compare to that control. The result showed that GTE may ameliorate cell viability by decreasing accumulation of intracellular ROS in H202-induced EPCs.
Arrogant or self-confident? The use of contextual knowledge to differentiate hubristic and authentic pride from a single nonverbal expression

Two studies tested whether observers could differentiate between two facets of pride—authentic and hubristic—on the basis of a single prototypical pride nonverbal expression combined with relevant contextual information. In Study 1, participants viewed targets displaying posed pride expressions in response to success, while causal attributions for the success (target's effort vs. ability) and the source of this information (target vs. omniscient narrator conveying objective fact) were varied. Study 2 used a similar method, but attribution information came from both the target and an omniscient narrator; the congruence of these attributions was varied. Across studies, participants tended to label expressions as authentic pride, but were relatively more likely to label them as hubristic pride when (a) contextual information indicated that targets were arrogant and (b) no mitigating information about the target's potential value as a hard-working group member (i.e., that success was actually due to effort) was presented.
The transformation of rural Mexico : reforming the ejido sector

Mexico's rural reforms of the early 1990s were designed to bring corn growers and other largely subsistence farmers into the cultivation of crops with appeal in global markets. This was to be accomplished through the reduction and eventual elimination of subsidies and guarantee prices to basic crops and a relaxation of tenure constraints on ejido land. Contributors to this anthology give us a close look at how the reforms have operated in fact, and how the approximately 25 million Mexicans still living in the countryside (about one-quarter of the nation's population) are responding to the ending of Mexico's 50-year experiment with communal land.