Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
33. ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS OF A CRETACEOUS BLACK SHALE AND ITS ADJACENT GREEN CLAYSTONE FROM THE SOUTHERN ANGOLA BASIN, DEEP SEA DRILLING PROJECT LEG 75

The aliphatic hydrocarbons of a Cretaceous black shale horizon (Sample 53OA-96-5, 77-82 cm) and its adjacent green claystone (Sample 530A-96-5, 72-77 cm) have been examined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In this preliminary investigation the two lithologies were not completely separated, and a unimodal series of n-alkane contaminants was recognized in the hydrocarbon distributions of the green claystone. The major differences between the two samples appear to be the absolute levels of aliphatic hydrocarbons and the relative abundance of Λ-alkanes. In terms of environments of deposition, it appears that the background levels of organic matter principally derived from terrestrial sources, as reflected by the green claystone, are periodically swamped by massive amounts of marine organic matter during episodes of black shale deposition.
Carotid Sinus Tumor-Induced Positional Bradycardia and Hypotension After Extubation: A Case Report

Regional progression of head and neck malignancies can lead to carotid sinus tumors, causing hemodynamic instability and carotid sinus syndrome (CSS). A 60-year-old male with tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma developed profound positional bradycardia and hypotension immediately after extubation following dental extraction. The patient developed recurrent episodes of positional bradycardia and hypotension, leading to eventual pacemaker placement. Further workup revealed a large mass in the left neck and necrotic cervical lymphadenopathy, indicating CSS from malignancy compression. This case highlights the need for consideration of CSS in patients with known head and neck malignancy, particularly when postural hypotension and bradycardia are present.
The Optimal Fishing Pattern

Conventional fisheries management encourages highly selective fishing patterns for various purposes, such as increase relative yield, reduce unwanted bycatch, protect various species or sizes and rebuild ecosystems. Recent empirical and theoretical studies, however, show increasing evidence that selective removals of targeted components have unintended adverse effects on stocks, fish communities and the ecosystem. Based on case studies from artisanal African freshwater fisheries, and results from dynamic size-based models, this chapter supports the renewed suggestion that an application of a more balanced fishing pattern will mitigate adverse effects and enhance food security better than increased selectivity. Contrary to common belief, small-scale unregulated artisanal fisheries, with a high diversity of seasonally adapted fishing methods, are probably the closest empirical examples we have of an optimal exploitation pattern with the least disruptive effects on the structure of the ecosystem. As such they are among the best examples of an ecosystem approach to fisheries that we have.
International dynamic marketing capabilities: developments and a research agenda

PurposeIn this paper, the authors aim to introduce international dynamic marketing capabilities (IDMCs) theoretically derived from marketing capabilities (MCs), dynamic marketing capabilities (DMCs) and international marketing capabilities (IMCs) and provide a novel conceptualization of the concept by applying a holistic view of the international enterprise.Design/methodology/approachThis is a literature review that maps the current research on MCs, DMCs and IMCs and serves as a basis for the theoretical conceptualization of a novel IDMCs concept as well as for the identification of research gaps and the development of future research directions on this phenomenon.FindingsExisting typologies of MCs, DMCs and IMCs are classified into four categories: strategic, operational, analytical and value creation capabilities. A new typology of IDMCs is proposed, consisting of digital MC and dynamic internationalization capability as strategic capabilities, agile IMC, IM excellence and absorptive capability in IM as operational capabilities, IM resilience capability, IM knowledge management capability, AI-enabled IDMC and Industry 4.0-enabled IDMC as analytical capabilities, and ambidextrous IM innovation capability as value creation capability. Finally, the authors identify research gaps and develop research questions that open future research avenues for the coming years.Originality/valueThis paper offers a novel view of MCs, DMCs and IMCs and argues that, in contrast to the majority of previous research, a comprehensive understanding of these is only possible if all levels are considered simultaneously: the strategic, the operational, the analytical and the value creation level. A new conceptualization and typology of IDMCs follows this logic.
Numerical Study of Taylor Bubble Breakup by Placing Obstacle at the T-Junction Bifurcation

A two-dimensional numerical study of Taylor bubble breakup is carried out, where Taylor bubble flows in a horizontal T- section microchannel with T-junction bifurcation. The numerical simulation is carried out by using the Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) multiphase model in ANSYS Fluent®. The Taylor bubble is formed at the upstream T-junction where air and water enter through two inlets perpendicular to each other. At the end of the channel, the Taylor bubble breaks up into two equal sizes at the bifurcated T junction. For controlled breakup of the Taylor bubble into two unequal lengths, an obstacle is positioned at the T-junction bifurcation to which the Taylor bubble strikes. The bubble breakup will be symmetrical, asymmetrical or no breakup depending on the position and height of the obstacle. In this work the obstacle position varied from X = 0 to 0.1 mm, where X is the distance from the center of T-junction bifurcation to the obstacle and height, is varied from Y = 0.05 to 0.2 mm. When X = 0 (i.e. the obstacle is positioned at the center), the symmetrical bubble breakup occurs and when X > 0 asymmetrical bubble breakup occurs. When the bubble breaks into unequal lengths, the length of the bifurcated bubble is higher along the outlet path opposite to that of the obstacle positioned. In this work, some parameters are calculated such as bubble length ratio, breakup length, breakup time and pressure drop. The result reveals that the bubble length ratio decreases as the obstacle height increases for a particular position of the obstacle. Similarly the breakup length and the breakup time decreases as the obstacle height increases for a particular obstacle position. From the results, it also observed that the pressure drop increases as the obstacle height increases for a particular position of the obstacle.
The activity of avocado (Persea americana Mill.) seed extract containing catechin as a skin lightening agent

Context: Indonesia is a tropical country with high UV rays. UV rays can increase melanin synthesis in the skin and cause the skin to become darker and hyperpigmented. One way to overcome this problem is the use of skin lightening agents through the mechanism of tyrosinase inhibition. Flavonoids have antioxidant activity and inhibit the process of melanogenesis. Also, avocado seeds contain secondary metabolites of flavonoids in the form of catechin. Aims: To determine the potential and activity of catechin as skin lightening agent against the target protein, tyrosinase, by in silico test using molecular docking method and in vitro test compared to kojic acid. Methods: In silico assay was carry out using a computational method with autodock 4.2 program to demonstrate the affinity of active compound (catechin) with tyrosinase as the target protein by evaluating the binding energy value. Inhibition of tyrosinase is one way to inhibit the formation of melanin, so the skin becomes brighter. Spectrophotometry method was conducted to measure the absorbance of dopachrome and calculate the percentage of tyrosinase inhibition to be altered as IC50. Results: The energy values ​​of catechin and kojic acid in tyrosinase enzymes were -7.64 kcal/mol and -5.03 kcal/mol, respectively. The energy value of the catechin bond was smaller than kojic acid in the tyrosinase. The bond energy value showed that catechin had greater potential than kojic acid as a skin lightening agent by inhibiting tyrosinase in silico using the molecular docking method. The IC50 value from ethyl acetate extract of avocado seeds disrupt the tyrosinase using the in vitro test was 93.02 ± 1.98 mg/mL, while IC50 kojic acid was 48.67 ± 0.1 mg/mL. Conclusions: Avocado seeds extract containing catechin has a potential activity as a lightening agent by inhibiting the tyrosinase. Further research must be done to fractionation the extract to get a significant effect.
Relationship between knee extensor moment arm and long‐sprint performance in male 400‐m sprinters

The magnitude of the knee extensor moment arm (MA) may be a key morphological factor in achieving superior 100‐m sprint performance, potentially by enhancing maximal sprint velocity in sprinters. To further understand the advantage of a greater knee extensor MA in athletic events, we examined the relationship between knee extensor MA and long‐sprint performance in well‐trained 400‐m specialized sprinters. Twenty‐eight male 400‐m sprinters and 28 physical size‐matched male non‐sprinters participated in this study. Quadriceps femoris size, evaluated by anatomic cross‐sectional area (ACSA) and muscle volume (MV), and knee extensor MA were measured in participants using magnetic resonance imaging. The quadriceps femoris ACSA and MV, and knee extensor MA did not differ significantly between sprinters and non‐sprinters. In sprinters, quadriceps femoris MV, but not ACSA, and knee extensor MA were significantly correlated with their 400‐m personal best times. After adjusting for body height and/or body weight, it was found that significance remained only for knee extensor MA. These present findings suggest that in addition to 100‐m sprinting, the magnitude of knee extensor MA may be a key morphological factor in achieving superior long‐sprint performance in well‐trained 400‐m specialized sprinters.
Development of relationships between swelling and suction properties of expansive soils

In this paper, an attempt is made to correlate swelling properties of expansive soils with their suction properties. To achieve this, both swelling, using a conventional oedometer apparatus, and suction, by dew point potentiameter, WP4, properties were measured on different soils used in the study. With the help of data obtained from experimental investigations, plots were drawn against individual swelling parameters (viz., swelling potential, S, swelling pressure, Sp, & free swell index, FSI) vs. suction property like (a) air-entry value, AEV, (b) initial suction, ψi, (defined as suction measured at natural water content that is determined at the time of collection of a soil from the field) and (c) suction measured at optimum water content, ψOMC, in order to develop generalised empirical relationships between swelling and suction properties. It has been observed that AEV and ψOMC exhibits a linear relationship with S and Sp, whereas ψi exhibits a tri-linear relationship with S and a linear relationship with Sp, respectively. The study finds that AEV and ψi, the former parameter is to estimate Sp & FSI, and the latter one is to estimate S of a soil, are the best useful suction parameters to relate them with the swelling properties. Additionally, efforts were also devoted to predicting the swelling properties (viz., swelling potential and swelling pressure) from suction properties by adopting to an artificial neural network (ANN) modelling tool. Overall, the results demonstrate that resorting to suction properties is a quite promising option for predicting the swelling properties of expansive soils.
From multiplicity of infection to force of infection for sparsely sampled Plasmodium falciparum populations at high transmission

High multiplicity of infection or MOI, the number of genetically distinct parasite strains co-infecting a single human host, characterizes infectious diseases including falciparum malaria at high transmission. It accompanies high asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum prevalence despite high exposure, creating a large transmission reservoir challenging intervention. High MOI and asymptomatic prevalence are enabled by immune evasion of the parasite achieved via vast antigenic diversity. Force of infection or FOI, the number of new infections acquired by an individual host over a given time interval, is the dynamic sister quantity of MOI, and a key epidemiological parameter for monitoring the impact of antimalarial interventions and assessing vaccine or drug efficacy in clinical trials. FOI remains difficult, expensive, and labor-intensive to accurately measure, especially in high-transmission regions, whether directly via cohort studies or indirectly via the fitting of epidemiological models to repeated cross-sectional surveys. We propose here the application of queuing theory to obtain FOI on the basis of MOI, in the form of either a two-moment approximation method or Little's law. We illustrate these methods with MOI estimates obtained under sparse sampling schemes with the recently proposed "varcoding" method, based on sequences of the var multigene family encoding for the major variant surface antigen of the blood stage of malaria infection. The methods are evaluated with simulation output from a stochastic agent-based model, and are applied to an interrupted time-series study from Bongo District in northern Ghana before, during, and after a three-round transient indoor residual spraying (IRS) intervention. We demonstrate that both proposed methods give accurate and consistent FOI estimates across various simulated scenarios. Their application to the field surveys shows a pronounced reduction in annual FOI during intervention, of more than 80%. We find however that transmission intensity rebounds almost completely only 32 months after IRS was discontinued, to about 90% of pre-intervention levels. The proposed approach should be applicable to the many geographical locations where cohort or cross-sectional studies with regular and frequent sampling are lacking but single-time-point surveys under sparse sampling schemes are available, and for MOI estimates obtained in different ways. They should also be relevant to other pathogens of humans, wildlife and livestock whose immune evasion strategies are based on large antigenic variation resulting in high multiplicity of infection.
Mímisbrunnur: A Mixed-Initiative Authoring Tool for Interactive Storytelling

Authoring in the context of Interactive Storytelling is inherently difficult, and there is a need for authoring tools that both enable and assist authors in the creation of new content. In this thesis, I discuss my approach for creating an AI-assisted authoring tool via the concept of mixed-initiative systems. I introduce my tool, Mímisbrunnur, which uses this concept to assist authors in the creation of story content. I explain how the tool functions and introduce its fundamental components, including Natural Language Processing, a Suggestion Generator, and three authoring modules. I then show how I evaluated the tool and give the results of the evaluation. Mímisbrunnur: Blönduð Frumkvæðis Höfundartól fyrir Gagnvirka Sögusmíð Ingibergur Sindri Stefnisson
Recurrent and Concurrent Prediction of Longitudinal Progression of Stargardt Atrophy and Geographic Atrophy

Stargardt disease and age-related macular degeneration are the leading causes of blindness in the juvenile and geriatric populations, respectively. The formation of atrophic regions of the macula is a hallmark of the end-stages of both diseases. The progression of these diseases is tracked using various imaging modalities, two of the most common being fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). This study seeks to investigate the use of longitudinal FAF and SD-OCT imaging (month 0, month 6, month 12, and month 18) data for the predictive modelling of future atrophy in Stargardt and geographic atrophy. To achieve such an objective, we develop a set of novel deep convolutional neural networks enhanced with recurrent network units for longitudinal prediction and concurrent learning of ensemble network units (termed ReConNet) which take advantage of improved retinal layer features beyond the mean intensity features. Using FAF images, the neural network presented in this paper achieved mean (standard deviation, SD) and median Dice coefficients of 0.895 (0.086) and 0.922 for Stargardt atrophy, and 0.864 (0.113) and 0.893 for geographic atrophy. Using SD-OCT images for Stargardt atrophy, the neural network achieved mean and median Dice coefficients of 0.882 (0.101) and 0.906, respectively. When predicting only the interval growth of the atrophic lesions with FAF images, mean (SD) and median Dice coefficients of 0.557 (0.094) and 0.559 were achieved for Stargardt atrophy, and 0.612 (0.089) and 0.601 for geographic atrophy. The prediction performance in OCT images is comparably good to that using FAF which opens a new, more efficient, and practical door in the assessment of atrophy progression for clinical trials and retina clinics, beyond widely used FAF. These results are highly encouraging for a high-performance interval growth prediction when more frequent or longer-term longitudinal data are available in our clinics. This is a pressing task for our next step in ongoing research.
Myopia and hyperopia are associated with opposite chronotypes in a sample of 71,016 individuals

Myopia, projected to affect half of the global population by 2050, is a growing healthcare concern. Chronotype, an output of the human biological clock, and sleep parameters have been associated with several diseases, including myopia. We explored the connection between refractive errors and sleep and circadian rhythm parameters by employing a sample of 71,016 adults who completed the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire in the Estonian Biobank. After accounting for possible confounders, such as age, sex, education level, and duration of daylight exposure, we observed that individuals with late chronotype, characterised by a delayed sleep-wake pattern on free days, had higher odds for myopia. In contrast, early chronotype was associated with hyperopia. Furthermore, increased social jet lag and reduced sleep duration were associated with both myopia and hyperopia. These results emphasise the complex interplay between circadian rhythms and sleep in refractive development, with potential implications for public health and clinical practice.
EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY FOR TIMELY DEMENTIA DIAGNOSIS (EQUATED): A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF HOW PEOPLE FROM MINORITIZED ETHNIC GROUPS EXPERIENCE THE EARLY SYMPTOMS OF DEMENTIA AND SEEK HELP.

Introduction People from minoritized ethnic groups are diagnosed with dementia later in the disease. We explored pathways that may determine the timing of diagnoses in an ethnically diverse, urban area. Methods We conducted 61 semi-structured interviews, 10 community-dwelling older people from minoritized ethnic backgrounds with diagnosed and undiagnosed dementia (mean age = 72 years, males = 5/10), 30 family members (51, 10/30), 16 health or social care professionals (42, 3/15) three paid carers and two interpreters for people with dementia. We used reflexive thematic analysis, and the Model of Pathways to Treatment to consider diagnostic delay. Findings We identified three themes (1) Cultural identity and practices shape responses, gendered expectations that families relieve elders of household roles reduce awareness or concern when functioning declines, expectations that religious practices are maintained mean problems doing so triggers help-seeking. Second generation family members often held insider and outsider identities, balancing traditional and Western perspectives. (2) Becoming like a tourist, daily experiences became unfamiliar for people developing dementia in an adopted country, sometimes engendering a need to reconnect with a home country. For professionals and interpreters, translating meanings faithfully, and balancing relatives and clients voices, were challenging. (3) Naming and conceptualising dementia, the term dementia was stigmatised, with cultural nuances in how it was understood; initial presentations often included physical symptoms with cognitive concerns. Conclusion Greater understanding of dilemmas faced by minoritized ethnic communities, closer collaboration with interpreters and workforce diversity could reduce time from symptom appraisal to diagnosis, and support culturally competent diagnostic assessments. Keywords: dementia, diagnosis, inequalities, ethnicity
Spatial pattern of all cause excess mortality in Swiss districts during the pandemic years 1890, 1918 and 2020

Background: Every pandemic is embedded in specific spatial and temporal context. However, spatial patterns have almost always only been considered in the context of one individual pandemic. Until now, there has been limited consideration of spatial similarities or differences between pandemics. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine spatial pattern of excess mortality in Swiss districts during the pandemic years 1890, 1918 and 2020. In addition, determinants that could explain the difference between districts were analyzed. Methods: Excess mortality rate was estimated using a Bayesian spatial model for disease mapping. A robust linear regression was used to assess the association between ecological determinants and excess mortality. Results: The highest excess mortality rate in all districts occurred during the 1918 pandemic, the lowest excess mortality rate was seen for the 1890 pandemic. Moreover, this analysis revealed heterogeneous spatial patterns of excess mortality in each pandemic year. Different socio-demographic determinants, in each pandemic, might have favored excess mortality. While the age composition, cultural and area-based socio-economic position differences and the proximity to France and Italy were the main determinants of excess mortality during the Covid-19 pandemic, the mobility, preexisting health issues (i.e. TB) or the remoteness location in the mountains played crucial roles during the historical pandemics. Contribution: The analysis of spatial patterns in pandemics is important for public health interventions in future pandemics or outbreaks since it helps to identifying patterns of transmission. Identifying and understanding geographic hotspots informs precise interventions, aids in public health implementation, and contributes to tailored health policies for the region.