Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Direct Measurement of Basal Water Pressures: Progress and Problemss

Abstract In 1975 and 1977, 24 bore holes were drilled to the bed of South Cascade Glacier, Washington, U.S.A. , using both electrothermal and hot-water drills. Only two holes connected directly with the basal water system, a significant decrease from the four to five such connections in 13 holes drilled in 1973 and 1974 (Hodge, 1976). Most of the bed, possibly as much as 90%, appears to be hydraulically inactive and isolated from a few active subglacial conduits. Bore holes which penetrate these inactive areas initially should connect eventually with the active basal water system due to bed pressurization by the water standing in the bore hole, provided there is a sufficient supply of water available to form and maintain the connection passageway. These sealed-off areas probably consist of the sub-sole drift and permeability barriers found recently at the bed of Blue Glacier by Engelhardt and others (1978); an increase in the area of bed covered by these features probably caused the decrease in chance of bore-hole connection. This apparently was not due to any external cause but rather was the result of a real internal change in the subglacial hydraulic system which occurred between 1974 and 1975. If most of the area of a glacier bed is hydraulically isolated sub-sole drift, or something similar, such features may well control large-scale glacier sliding changes, since changes in the amount of water having access to the glacier bed will take considerable time to affect the interstitial water pressure in the more widespread sub-sole drift. Water pressures in the active part of the basal water system of South Cascade Glacier are generally in the range of 50–75% of the ice overburden pressure. Water levels in a connected bore hole are probably representative over an area of the bed 100 m or more in extent. A correlation of bore-hole water levels with changes in surface motion supports the idea that the sliding of a temperate glacier is controlled largely by the basal water pressure.
So Far So Good: Age, Happiness, and Relative Income

In a simple 2-period model of relative income under uncertainty, higher comparison income for the younger cohort can signal higher or lower expected lifetime relative income, and hence either increase or decrease well-being. With data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the British Household Panel Survey, we first confirm the standard negative effects of comparison income on life satisfaction with all age groups, and many controls. However when we split the West German sample by age we find a positive significant effect of comparison income in the under 45s, and the usual negative effect only in the over 45 group. With the same split in UK and East German data, comparison income loses significance, which is consistent with the model prediction for the younger group. Our results provide first evidence that the standard aggregation with only a quadratic control for age can obscure major differences in the effects of relative income.
Cytokines in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus—Focus on TNF-α and IL-17

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder known for its complex pathogenesis, in which cytokines play an essential role. It seems that the modulation of these cytokines may impact disease progression, being considered potential biomarkers. Thus, TNF (tumor necrosis factor)-α and IL (interleukin)-17 are molecules of great interest in SLE. TNF-α plays a dual role in SLE, with both immunosuppressive and proinflammatory functions. The role of IL-17 is clearly described in the pathogenesis of SLE, having a close association with IL-23 in stimulating the inflammatory response and consecutive tissue destruction. It appears that patients with elevated levels of these cytokines are associated with high disease activity expressed by the SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) score, although some studies do not confirm this association. However, TNF-α and IL-17 are found in increased titers in lupus patients compared to the general population. Whether inhibition of these cytokines would lead to effective treatment is under discussion. In the case of anti-TNF-α therapies in SLE, the possibility of ATIL (anti-TNF-induced lupus) is a serious concern that limits their use. The use of anti-IL-17 therapies in SLE is a promising option, but not yet approved. Future studies of these cytokines in large cohorts will provide valuable information for the management of SLE.
Polysaccharides: potential bioactive macromolecules for Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the leading causes of death and disability. AD is a devastating disease that has caused an overwhelming burden. However, no disease-modified treatment was discovered. The approval of sodium oligomannate (GV-971) in mild-moderate AD patients has attracted great attention to investigate the role of saccharides in AD. Therefore, summarizing and explaining the role of saccharides in AD is urgent and promising. Recent studies showed that polysaccharides (PSs) potentially benefit AD in vitro and in vivo. PSs could alleviate the pathological damage and improve cognitive symptoms via (1) antagonizing the toxicity of abnormal amyloid-beta and tau proteins; (2) attenuating oxidative stress and proinflammation; (3) rebuilding neuroplasticity. PSs exhibit one-multiple pathological hits of AD. However, a thorough chemical investigation is needed for further study.
Predicting orthophosphate in feces and manure from dairy cattle

Graphical Abstract Summary: Orthophosphate (Ortho-P) is an essential nutrient for plant growth and development when applied in appropriate amounts; however, it can be detrimental to the environment by causing eutrophication of waterbodies when present in excess. Empirical mathematical equations can be used to manage and monitor its use and discharge to eliminate negative impact on the environment. To address this issue, predictive models of Ortho-P (g/kg dry matter) release using total phosphorus (TP; g/kg) content of dairy cattle feces (Ortho-Pf) and manure (Ortho-Pm) were constructed. Both proposed models showed minimal systematic bias. Therefore, these easily applicable models can be used without the need for costly, laborious laboratory analysis.
Large Marine Ecosystems: Stress, Mitigation and Sustainability

The future is uncertain for the world's large marine ecosystems. These relatively narrow ocean zones, which produce nearly 95% of useable marine biomass, are becoming increasingly stressed both by natural and anthropogenic changes. The potential for consequent negative effects on global ecologies and economies has aroused major international concern. This new volume is a state-of-the-art update on large marine ecosystems, representing a multidisciplinary effort to develop a more holistic approach to the research, monitoring and mangaement of marine resources.
Decreased Functional Connectivity of the Core Pain Matrix in Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia Patients

The purpose of this study was to explore the resting-state functional connectivity (FC) changes among the pain matrix and other brain regions in herpes zoster (HZ) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) patients. Fifty-four PHN patients, 52 HZ patients, and 54 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans. We used a seed-based FC approach to investigate whether HZ and PHN patients exhibited abnormal FC between the pain matrix and other brain regions compared to HCs. A random forest (RF) model was constructed to explore the feasibility of potential neuroimaging indicators to distinguish the two groups of patients. We found that PHN patients exhibited decreased FCs between the pain matrix and the putamen, superior temporal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, middle cingulate gyrus, amygdala, precuneus, and supplementary motor area compared with HCs. Similar results were observed in HZ patients. The disease durations of PHN patients were negatively correlated with those aforementioned impaired FCs. The results of machine learning experiments showed that the RF model combined with FC features achieved a classification accuracy of 75%. Disrupted FC among the pain matrix and other regions in HZ and PHN patients may affect multiple dimensions of pain processing.
Comparison of the Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Propolis from Urban Apiaries

Bee products from urban apiaries are increasingly used. They are mainly used to promote local apiaries and cities in which they are located. The aim of the study was to compare the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of propolis from 6 Polish apiaries located in cities (Legionowo, Torun, Cracow, Warsaw, Katowice, Lodz). The chemical composition was analyzed using liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD) and the analysis of antioxidant activity by scavenging free radicals (ABTS and DPPH) and FRAP. The obtained results showed the presence of 24 phenolic compounds in propolis extracts. The tested samples showed differentiation in terms of the content of individual chemical components, however, cinnamic acid and its derivatives were dominant. High antioxidant activity of the tested extracts was demonstrated (ABTS was in the range of 16.80–51.53 mg Te/mL, DPPH was in the range of 7.54–22.13 mg Te/mL, while FRAP reduction was in the range of 10.93–29.55 mg Te/mL). The obtained results compared with literature data on propolis from agricultural areas allow to conclude that propolis samples from both Poland types of areas are similar and can be classified as poplar propolis.
Antiviral Approach to Cytomegalovirus Infection: An Overview of Conventional and Novel Strategies

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a herpesvirus capable of establishing a lifelong persistence in the host through a chronic state of infection and remains an essential global concern due to its distinct life cycle, mutations, and latency. It represents a life-threatening pathogen for immunocompromised patients, such as solid organ transplanted patients, HIV-positive individuals, and hematopoietic stem cell recipients. Multiple antiviral approaches are currently available and administered in order to prevent or manage viral infections in the early stages. However, limitations due to side effects and the onset of antidrug resistance are a hurdle to their efficacy, especially for long-term therapies. Novel antiviral molecules, together with innovative approaches (e.g., genetic editing and RNA interference) are currently in study, with promising results performed in vitro and in vivo. Since HCMV is a virus able to establish latent infection, with a consequential risk of reactivation, infection management could benefit from preventive treatment for critical patients, such as immunocompromised individuals and seronegative pregnant women. This review will provide an overview of conventional antiviral clinical approaches and their mechanisms of action. Additionally, an overview of proposed and developing new molecules is provided, including nucleic-acid-based therapies and immune-mediated approaches.
A nomogram predicts early neurological deterioration after mechanical thrombectomy in patients with ischemic stroke

Introduction Early neurological deterioration (END) is common in acute ischemic stroke and is directly associated with poor outcome after stroke. Our aim is to develop and validate a nomogram to predict the risk of END after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in acute ischemic stroke patients with anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion. Methods We conducted a real-world, multi-center study in patients with stroke treated with mechanical thrombectomy. END was defined as a worsening by 2 or more NIHSS points within 72-hour after stroke onset compared to admission. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the independent predictors of END, and the discrimination of the scale was assessed using the C-index. Calibration curves were constructed to evaluate the calibration of the nomogram, and decision curves were used to describe the benefits of using the nomogram. Results A total of 1007 patients were included in our study. Multivariate logistic regression analysis found age, admission systolic blood pressure, initial NIHSS scores, history of hyperlipemia, and location of occlusion were independent predictors of END. We developed a nomogram that included these 6 factors, and it revealed a prognostic accuracy with a C-index of 0.678 in the derivation group and 0.650 in the validation group. The calibration curves showed that the nomogram provided a good fit to the data, and the decision curves demonstrated a large net benefit. Discussion Our study established and validated a nomogram to stratify the risk of END before mechanical embolectomy and identify high-risk patients, who should be more cautious when making clinical decisions.
Urban sprawl in the state of Missouri : current trends, driving forces, and predicted growth on Missouri's natural landscape

Human population growth and associated sprawl has rapidly converted open lands to developed use and affected their distinctive ecological characteristics. Missouri reflects a full range of sprawl characteristics that include large metropolitan centers, which led growth in 1980s, and smaller metropolitan and rural areas, which led growth in 1990s. In order to study the historical patterns of sprawl, there is a need to quantitatively and geographically depict the extent and density of impervious surface for three time periods of 1980, 1990, and 2000 for the entire state of Missouri. This research goes beyond the usual hot spots of metropolitan areas to include rural landscapes where negative impact was exerted to the ecosystem due to the low density development and larger affected areas. Mapped impervious surface is the best candidate of ancillary data for dasymetric mapping of population in several comparison studies. The current research examines the performances of dasymetric mapping of population with imperviousness as ancillary data and regression analysis of population using imperviousness as a predictor. In the context of this comparison, this research also examines the performance of imperviousness with xii road network removed versus imperviousness with road network and certain ranges of values removed. The assessment of approach and ancillary data performance is done by comparing estimated population for each block to the original Census block population. Results from this work can be aggregated to any geographical unit (hydrologic boundaries, administrative boundaries, etc.). More importantly, the aggregated population information will be crucial in the modeling of future urban growth. A pilot future urban growth study for the two decades of 1980s and 1990s was done in Missouri. The historical urban growth of the two decades were analyzed then coupled with various predictor variables to investigate the influence of each predictor variables towards the process of urban growth. The knowledge learned from the process is then used to build an urban growth simulation model that is GIS-based with open framework for ease of management and improvement. The complexity of urban systems is making the holistic modeling approach obsolete. Because it is impossible for one omnipotent model to solve urban growth problems of different locations, in this research, we decided to group those problems by different physical and mathematical process to tackle them one by one. Correspondingly, we used multiple sub modules each responsible for different processes related to urban growth. The structure of this model ensures each individual module can be updated and improved, and more sub modules can be added. Pixel level urban growth was simulated for year 2010, 2020 and 2030. This model framework is developed with the ultimate goal of simulating urban growth for the entire
Speech Dereverberation With Frequency Domain Autoregressive Modeling

Speech applications in far-field real world settings often deal with signals that are corrupted by reverberation. The task of dereverberation constitutes an important step to improve the audible quality and to reduce the error rates in applications like automatic speech recognition (ASR). We propose a unified framework of speech dereverberation for improving the speech quality and the ASR performance using the approach of envelope-carrier decomposition provided by an autoregressive (AR) model. The AR model is applied in the frequency domain of the sub-band speech signals to separate the envelope and carrier parts. A novel neural architecture based on dual path long short term memory (DPLSTM) model is proposed, which jointly enhances the sub-band envelope and carrier components. The dereverberated envelope-carrier signals are modulated and the sub-band signals are synthesized to reconstruct the audio signal back. The DPLSTM model for dereverberation of envelope and carrier components also allows the joint learning of the network weights for the down stream ASR task. In the ASR tasks on the REVERB challenge dataset as well as on the VOiCES dataset, we illustrate that the joint learning of speech dereverberation network and the E2E ASR model yields significant performance improvements over the baseline ASR system trained on log-mel spectrogram as well as other benchmarks for dereverberation (average relative improvements of 10-24% over the baseline system). The speech quality improvements, evaluated using subjective listening tests, further highlight the improved quality of the reconstructed audio.
When the Flirting Guest’s Age Is Crucial: Young People in the Hospitality Industry Reflect on Sexual Harassment

The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyse how young people’s perceptions of sexual harassment and unwelcome flirting from customers in the hospitality industry are affected by the customer’s age. Sixty-nine young women and men training for occupations in the hospitality industry were interviewed. The young people were 18–20 years old. The results show that the customer’s age was crucial for how the participants perceived unwelcome sexual interest and advances. If the person who offends was a child, the behaviour could be described as harmless, innocent and thus not as sexual harassment. Unwelcome flirting by a young man towards a young woman of the same age could be perceived as sexual harassment, but at the same time it is in line with the heteronormative ideal and could be understood. When the customer was older, that is, a middle-aged man, the young people’s descriptions of the occurrence were particularly negative.
Antibacterial Activities and Synergistic Effect of the Bioactive Compounds of Selected Medicinal Plants Against Diarrhoea-Causing Pathogens

In this study, the antimicrobial properties and toxicological effects of Anogeissus leiocarpus and Khaya senegalensis, two traditional medicinal plants from West Africa, were investigated against diarrhea-causing pathogens. Cold maceration was used to prepare extracts from the plants. Anogeissus leiocarpus yielded 22.87g of extract, while Khaya senegalensis yielded 13.94g. Both plant crude extracts exhibited varying degrees of antibacterial activity against Vibrio cholerae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Salmonella enterica serovar at different concentrations. A. leiocarpus and K. senegalensis showed the highest antibacterial activity, with significantly higher zones of inhibition at all concentrations against all test organisms. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) for A. leiocarpus ranged from 0.10 to 0.96 mg/mL, while the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) ranged from 0.10 to 1.09 mg/mL. For K. senegalensis, MIC ranged from 0.96 to 1.80 mg/mL, and MBC ranged from 1.02 to 1.92 mg/mL. Fractionation of the most active crude extracts resulted in the highest yields in the n-Hexane fractions for both A. leiocarpus and K. senegalensis. Significant differences were observed in the antibacterial activity of these fractions. K. senegalensis fractions and A. leiocarpus n-Hexane fraction showed the highest activity against V. cholerae, while the ethyl acetate fraction of K. senegalensis exhibited significant activity against K. pneumoniae. The aqueous fraction of A. leiocarpus displayed the highest activity against Salmonella, whereas none of the K. senegalensis fractions were active against Salmonella. Antibacterial activity of K. senegalensis ethyl acetate and A. leiocarpus n-Hexane and aqueous column chromatography fractions against the test organisms was concentration-dependent, with the highest antimicrobial activity observed at 200 mg/mL concentration. Importantly, there were no significant differences in the body weights of experimental animals across all groups. In conclusion, A. leiocarpus and K. senegalensis extracts and their fractions demonstrated promising antimicrobial properties against diarrhea-causing pathogens. These findings support their traditional medicinal use in West Africa and suggest their potential as natural remedies for combating bacterial infections.
Management System for the Fattening Process of Bovines in Rotational Grazing using Diagnosis and Recommendation Systems

Cattle breeding has been one of the most important industrial sectors in the world since it is related to food security and the survival of the human race. Management of the cattle fattening process is a fundamental procedure for cattle breeders because it allows them to make strategic decisions, such as timely treatment in case of any abnormality (e.g., weight gain in herds, in their paddocks). This article aims to present a management system for the cattle fattening process under a rotational grazing scheme, considering the health status of the animal and the pasture, which should diagnose weight loss or gain in bovines and recommend actions when is required. The diagnostic process is based on a fuzzy system that defines rules that characterize the diagnostic process to determine the current situation given an input. Furthermore, the fuzzy classifier optimizes its rules by means of genetic algorithms by modifying its membership functions, providing a more accurate system for diagnosis. On the other hand, the recommendation system is based on a classification model of pasture crops, in which the best pasture is recommended given the soil variables. We tested our proposal with experimental cases, with promising results. For the fuzzy classifier, the accuracy metrics are very good, with values of accuracy close to 100% and of Area Under the Curve close to 1. For the classification model were used several machine learning techniques, resulting in the best classifier the random forest technique, with an accuracy of 98.61%.