Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and safety of a novel synergistic drug candidate, CRx-102, in hand osteoarthritis

Objective: The novel synergistic drug candidate CRx-102 comprises dipyridamole and low dose prednisolone and is in clinical development for the treatment of immunoinflammatory diseases. The purpose of this clinical study was to examine the efficacy and safety of CRx-102 in patients with hand osteoarthritis (HOA). Methods: The study was conducted as a blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled trial at four centres in Norway. Eligibility criteria included being of age 30–70 years, at least one swollen and tender joint, a Kellgren–Lawrence (K–L) score of 2 or higher on radiographs, and a score of at least 30 mm pain on the Australian/Canadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN) visual analogue pain scale (VAS). The primary endpoint was a reduction in pain from baseline to day 42 on the AUSCAN pain subscale. Two-sided p values for the differences in least squares (LS) means adjusted for baseline are presented. Results: The mean age of the 83 patients with HOA was 60 years and 93% were females. CRx-102 was statistically superior to placebo at 42 days for changes in AUSCAN pain (LS mean −14.2 vs −4.0) and for clinically relevant secondary endpoints (joint pain VAS (−18.6 vs −6.3), patient global VAS (−15.9 vs −4.2)) in the intention to treat population. The most frequently reported adverse event during the study was headache (52% in CRx-102 vs 15% in the placebo group). Conclusions: The novel synergistic drug candidate CRx-102 demonstrated efficacy by statistically reducing pain compared to placebo in HOA and was generally well tolerated.
Influence of systematic error correction on the temporal behavior of an ocean model

[1] This paper derives an approach to systematic correction of errors in the mean dynamic topography (MDT) used for altimeter data assimilation in ocean circulation models. An a priori error covariance is used to help identify bias in the MDT. The method is then demonstrated in the operational Forecasting Ocean Assimilation Model (FOAM) from the U.K. Met Office. Two independent MDTs are compared: the original MDT currently used in the model and a new product of the European project Gravity and Ocean Circulation in the North Atlantic (GOCINA) which has an a priori error covariance field associated with it. A third MDT is then derived by estimating and correcting the systematic error in the GOCINA MDT using off-line bias calculations. The results are compared using diagrams that split the traditional root-mean-square error (RMSE) in the model sea level into two independent measures, a systematic error and a variable or dynamical error. The dynamical error is a measure of the capacity of the model to represent the temporal variations of the observations, in this case the time-varying altimetry. It is shown that the dynamic sea level error can be improved by the choice of MDT despite the fact that it is formally independent. In this way it is demonstrated that the bias correction method derived for the MDT also leads to improvement in the forecasting of altimetric sea level anomalies in the FOAM model.
Radiocarbon dating of musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus) remains from northeast Greenland

Northeast Greenland supports a large indigenous population of musk-oxen (Ovibosmoschatus). Radiocarbon dating of remains of this mammal collected on the terrain surface and from archaeological sites has yielded mid- and Late Holocene ages. The species probably arrived shortly before this part of Greenland became inhabited by the first hunter cultures. Only Late Holocene dates are available from the southern part of northeast Greenland, but the authors suggest that musk-ox spread south to this region at an early date, because there are no physical barriers. The lack of older dates may reflect the lack of palaeo-Eskimo sites with bones.
The role of lithospheric mantle in continental flood volcanism: Thermal and geochemical constraints

Continental flood basalts (CFB) are commonly said to form by direct melting of metasomatized lithospheric mantle, either during major lithospheric extension or when a mantle plume impinges on the base of the lithosphere. We tested these ideas in a thermomechanical model that combines lithospheric dynamics and mantle convection. Dry melting was assumed, and the proportions of melt from different source regions were monitored. In all cases, >96% of melt was found to come from asthenosphere or plume, with minimal amounts from continental lithosphere. During passive lithosphere extension the total amount of melt is small, and the proportion from the lithosphere is 100 km) and have high concentrations of both MgO (>20%) and incompatible trace elements (K2O ∼ 1%). The very low Nb and Ta concentrations in certain CFB cannot, however, be explained by this process. Ratios of Nb to elements such as La or U are lower in many flood basalts and picrites than in all likely source materials: they are almost as low as in most rocks from the continental crust, and they are far lower than in peridotites from the lithospheric or asthenospheric mantle. Another process must therefore fractionate Nb and Ta. We suggest that this takes place during the passage of magma through the lithospheric mantle, perhaps because of differences in the reaction rates of minerals in metasomatized peridotite. The probability that CFB are hybrid magmas containing material from aesthenospheric and lithospheric mantle and in many cases from continental crust, as well as the possibility that some elemental ratios change during magma-lithosphere interaction, casts serious doubt on the reliability of such rocks as probes of the lithospheric mantle.
Integrated Acceptance Model for On-demand Car Functions: exploring determinants of drivers' acceptance

This research paper investigates the factors influencing drivers' acceptance of on-demand car functions (ODCFs) and proposes an integrated acceptance model specific to the ODCFs context. While limited marketing research has explored consumer responses to ODCFs, understanding the determinants of consumers' intention to accept ODCFs is crucial. Existing acceptance models, although effective in explaining variances in consumer behavior, need to be adapted and extended to enhance explanatory power in individual contexts. To address this gap, a comprehensive literature review on ODCFs and related domains was conducted, identifying 74 acceptance factors. Drawing upon the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the Car Technology Acceptance Model (CTAM), and the identified factors, a multi-level acceptance model tailored to the ODCFs context was developed. At the meso-level, the baseline model incorporates factors such as exposure to ODCFs, domain-specific, symbolic-affective, and moral-normative factors. The micro-level pertains to distinct individual variance components, encompassing socio-demographic attributes, travel behavioral patterns, personality dispositions, and technological inclinations. These micro-level determinants exert a discernible influence on the factors situated at the meso-level of analysis. A partial model that considers cross-level influences and advocates for multi-level research to examine the contextual factors' impacts on acceptance empirically is proposed to operationalize the model. By adopting this approach, researchers can gain deeper insights into the acceptance of ODCFs and shed light on the mechanisms underlying consumer behavior in this specific context.
A Search for Sovereignty: Law and Geography in European Empires, 1400–1900

A Search for Sovereignty: Law and Geography in European Empires, 1400–1900 LauRen Benton Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2010 xvi + 340 pp., ISBN: 978-0-521-70743-5 (£16.99) In wha.
Chemical oil dispersion in trials at sea and in laboratory tests: the key role of dilution processes

To minimize the ecological impact of oil at sea, dispersants are used to spread the spill across a large amount of water and thus make hydrocarbon levels low enough to be sublethal. Such an objective demands two correlative conditions: that an oil-in-water emulsion can be obtained by adding the dispersant and that rapid dilution conditions are provided by a downward motion of oil droplets and windinduced velocity shear between surface and subsurface. In September 1981, two 6-m/sup 3/ slicks in the Mediterranean Sea were treated by two concentrated dispersants. More than 1500 samples were taken at different depths during several hours following treatment and were analyzed by a differential method to measure separately oil and dispersant. Direct measures were also recorded by a continuous flow of water through a nephelometer and a spectrofluorometer. Despite apparently complete emulsification of the slick, the most efficient dispersant did not preclude some of the oil from resurfacing 6 h after treatment. The short-term fate of dispersed oil was therefore under the control of the sea conditions, which limit dilution processes.
Ozone source apportionment (OSAT) to differentiate local regional and super‐regional source contributions in the Pearl River Delta region, China

[1] It is well-known that ground-level ozone is not just a local or regional air quality problem; emission sources from super-regional (sources outside the PRD region) scales are known to contribute significantly to local ozone concentrations. However, source apportionment studies differentiating the relative contributions of local, regional, and super-regional ozone precursors are still limited. In this paper, using the Pearl River Delta (PRD) as an example, we have conducted a detailed apportionment (by source categories and by source regions) study of surface ozone using photochemical model source apportionment tools. Our results show that, while the super-regional contribution is dominant under mean ozone conditions, elevated local and regional sources are the causative factor for the formation of high ozone episodes. In particular, the local and PRD regional contributions increase from about 30% during non-episode days to about 50% during high ozone episode days in the autumn (November 2006) and even up to about 70% during high ozone episodes in the summer (July 2006). These results suggest that local and regional controls of ozone precursors are still very important for ozone reduction, particularly for episodic events. Furthermore, our results show that mobile emission is by far the highest contributing source category to ozone levels in the PRD for episodic ozone events. Moreover, we find substantial seasonal variations in the way ozone precursors from neighboring areas affect ozone levels in any particular city, suggesting that regional collaborations are important for developing effective long-term strategies to reduce ozone over the PRD region.
Subgrid-scale variability in the surface energy balance

Surface fluxes of energy, water vapor, and CO2 over homogeneous areas of the major tundra vegetation types in arctic Alaska were measured using a mobile eddy covariance tower for 5-day periods in the middle of the 1994 growing season. In order to account for differences in weather and time of season, data were analyzed in comparison to a nearby, fixed tower that operated throughout the summer. Among the different vegetation types, evaporation ranged from 1.3 to 2.7 mm d−1. Net carbon uptake ranged from 0.5 to 2.4 g C m−2 d−1. Ground heat flux consumed 10–33% of midday net radiation. Typically, 38% of the net radiation was partitioned into latent heat flux, while the fraction of net radiation removed from the surface in sensible heat flux varied from 16 to 50% among vegetation types. The largest differences among vegetation types in surface energy partitioning were related to variations in soil moisture, with midday Bowen ratios ranging from 0.37 over wet sedge tundra to 2.25 over dry heath. Direct effects of vegetation on the driving gradients for energy and water vapor exchange were important in shrub tundra: shading of the moss layer by the canopy reduced ground heat flux and increased sensible heat flux, while latent heat flux was similar to other mesic vegetation types because the moss layer accounted for a larger portion of total evaporation than did evapotranspiration by shrubs. Scaling up from the vegetation types to the Alaskan arctic using an area-weighted average of the observed energy partitioning gave results similar to regional energy budgets measured over larger, more heterogeneous areas of tundra. An extrapolation based on the hypothesis that climate variability could cause a large fraction of the current tussock tundra vegetation to be converted to shrub tundra resulted in modest changes in the regional energy balance. However, nonlinear variations of surface evaporation with leaf area and uncertainties regarding changes in moss cover suggest that additional field experiments as well as modeling efforts will be required to predict the potential for changes in arctic tundra vegetation to feed back on regional climate.
Direct observation of lunar pick‐up ions near the Moon

Measurements made with the Suprathermal Ion Spectrometer (STICS) on the WIND spacecraft during 17 lunar fly‐bys which took place between 1995 and 1997 allow the direct observations of lunar pick‐up ions (PUI's) on the earthwards side of the Moon as close as 17 lunar radii. The composition measurements reveal an O+, an Al+, Si+ and possibly a P+ component.
Amazônia: como aproveitar os benefícios da destruição?

A SOLUCAO dos problemas na Amazonia deve estar conectada com outras partes do Pais e do mundo. A reducao dos desmatamentos e queimadas nessa regiao depende do desenvolvimento de atividades agricolas adequadas nas areas ja desmatadas e que tenham mercado, em vez do uso "sustentavel" da floresta e de direitos difusos. Nesse sentido, uma politica agricola teria efeitos mais positivos do que uma politica ambiental que nao pode ser efetuada de maneira isolada das demais regioes do Pais, sob risco de transferir contingentes populacionais de outras localidades. Ha necessidade de elevar a produtividade das atividades agricolas na Amazonia, reduzir a pressao sobre os recursos naturais com risco de esgotamento, incentivar plantios racionais de recursos extrativos potenciais, substituir as importacoes de produtos tropicais (seringueira, dende, cacau etc.), melhorar as relacoes de troca dos produtos amazonicos versus produtos importados da Zona Franca de Manaus, efetuar a recuperacao das areas que nao deveriam ter sido desmatadas e plena utilizacao potencial das areas ja desmatadas, entre outras.
Kaolinite peaks in early Toarcian profiles from the Polish Basin-an inferred record of global warming

In lower Toarcian clay deposits (Ciechocinek Fm., VIII depositional sequence of the Lower Jurassic) from three boreholes from the Polish Basin, illite-dominated sedimentation representing the lower part of studied interval was interrupted by enhanced kaolinite input.Levels of high kaolinite/illite ratio at the VIIIb/VIIIc parasequence boundary suggest strong continental weathering in a humid-subtropical to tropical climate related to the phase of the early Toarcian global warming recorded at the top of the tenuicostatum Zone and correlated with isotope curves from a number of European sections. Kaolinite enrichment may be locally enhanced by reworking ofpre-Jurassic kaolinitic rocks and differential settling. Diagenetic processes were not sufficient enough to transform the initial kaolinite,but may have altered smectite and mixed-layers into illite and/or chlorite.
Carbon dynamics in sea ice: A winter flux time series

[1] A winter time series of the inorganic carbon system above, within, and beneath the landfast sea ice of the southern Beaufort Sea confirmed that sea ice is an active participant in the carbon cycle of polar waters. Eddy covariance measurements above the ice identified significant vertical CO2 fluxes, mostly upward away from the ice but with short periods of downward fluxes as well. A novel, in situ method revealed extremely high pCO2 values within the ice that are not inconsistent with theory. The total carbon content of the ice increased slightly through the winter season, and increasing variability in the vertical profiles as spring began indicated that the inorganic carbon became mobile as the ice began to melt. During early winter, as the ice formed, inorganic carbon concentrations in the surface waters increased dramatically, along with salinity, partly because of rejection from the ice and partly from advective mixing. Brine drainage was apparently not sufficient to initiate convection, and the excess carbon remained in the surface waters into the summer.
Gem-corundum megacrysts from east Australian basalt fields: trace elements, oxygen isotopes and origins*

Gem corundum, a minor but persistent megacryst in east Australian basalt fields, is mined from some placer concentrations. Laser ablation, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analyses and O isotope determinations on a colour range of corundum from different fields, show that chromophore (Fe, Cr, Ti, V) and genetic indicator (Ga, Mg, δ18O) values can distinguish corundum sources (magmatic, metamorphic and metasomatic) before basalt incorporation. They also characterise corundum groups from different fields. This identified two metamorphic groups, one carrying ruby at Barrington Tops, and a magmatic group distinct from those from other gem fields (lower Fe, northeast Tasmania; higher Fe, Yarrowitch). Ruby-bearing groups show clear provincial characteristics and include lower temperature spinel-facies groups (Barrington, Yarrowitch) and higher temperature garnet-facies groups (Cudgegong–Macquarie River). High Mg/Fe and Ni values in the latter approach those for corundum in diamond, and are a possible diamond indicator. The corundum derived from diverse fold-belt and felsic sources in underlying lithosphere forms a dataset for comparing corundum from other basalt fields.
Bio-inspired Control of a Rehabilitation Robot Actuated by Pneumatic Artificial Muscles

Wearable rehabilitation robots can bring great help to the elderly and sport injury patients. However, most of the current traditional rehabilitation robots adopt rigid actuators, which limits their compliance and human-robot interaction performance. In this paper, a novel upper limb rehabilitation robot actuated by pneumatic artificial muscles is developed and its dynamic model is constructed for control issue. In order to achieve more accurate and adaptive rehabilitation robot control, this paper proposes a bio-inspired control architecture and cerebellum-like controller network. To demonstrate the control effect of the proposed theoretical method, a series of simulations are conducted on the robot, and the results show that the proposed controller has good tracking performance and adaptation.
StartXFit—Nine Months of CrossFit® Intervention Enhance Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Well-Being in CrossFit Beginners

Insufficient physical activity (PA) is associated with low cardiorespiratory fitness, which favors cardiovascular and other noncommunicable diseases. Additionally, it evidentially affects mental health. Considering the WHO PA guidelines, CrossFit® represents a versatile exercise program that combines aerobic and resistance training with mobility and could help reduce disease incidences among sedentary people. Yet, long-term CrossFit research is sparse. We conducted a nine-month intervention (≥2 CrossFit workouts/week) in 16 beginners (14 males, 35 ± 6.8 years, 180 ± 8.6 cm, 85. 5 ± 19.1 kg). As a primary endpoint, VO2max was assessed at baseline, four, and nine months. A repeated-measures ANOVA and Pearson correlation were conducted. Well-being was investigated by the WHO-5 Index pre- and post-intervention. For exploratory purposes, body composition and heart rate recovery (HRR) were tracked. In a second step, all males were categorized into two groups based on body fat percentage and analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA again. The main outcome was an 11.5% VO2max improvement with a large effect (p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.27). Strong negative correlations between baseline VO2max and its progression after nine months (p = 0.006, r = −0.654) were found. Well-being increased by 8.7% (p = 0.024, d = 0.51). HRR improved both at 1 min (p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.34) and at 5 min (p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.27) post-exercise. Resting metabolic rate increased by 2.2% (p = 0.042). Analysis by group revealed improved HRR at 1 min (p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.62) only for the “high body fat” group. This study reveals the potential of CrossFit to enhance physiological and psychological health in beginners. For more robust results, larger sample sizes with a higher proportion of women are needed.
Virulence Mechanisms of Staphylococcal Animal Pathogens

Staphylococci are major causes of infections in mammals. Mammals are colonized by diverse staphylococcal species, often with moderate to strong host specificity, and colonization is a common source of infection. Staphylococcal infections of animals not only are of major importance for animal well-being but have considerable economic consequences, such as in the case of staphylococcal mastitis, which costs billions of dollars annually. Furthermore, pet animals can be temporary carriers of strains infectious to humans. Moreover, antimicrobial resistance is a great concern in livestock infections, as there is considerable antibiotic overuse, and resistant strains can be transferred to humans. With the number of working antibiotics continuously becoming smaller due to the concomitant spread of resistant strains, alternative approaches, such as anti-virulence, are increasingly being investigated to treat staphylococcal infections. For this, understanding the virulence mechanisms of animal staphylococcal pathogens is crucial. While many virulence factors have similar functions in humans as animals, there are increasingly frequent reports of host-specific virulence factors and mechanisms. Furthermore, we are only beginning to understand virulence mechanisms in animal-specific staphylococcal pathogens. This review gives an overview of animal infections caused by staphylococci and our knowledge about the virulence mechanisms involved.
Improving seismic data quality in the Gippsland Basin (Australia)

Deep seismic exploration in the Gippsland Basin is hindered by strong noise below the Latrobe Group coal sequence. The reflectivity method provides a means for constructing detailed and accurate synthetic seismograms, often from little more than a partial sonic log. The noise contributions to the synthetics can then be interpreted using additional synthetics computed from variations upon the depth model and by exercising control over the wave types modeled. This approach revealed three types of persistent noise in progressively deeper parts of the subcoal image: (1) mode‐converted interbed multiples (generated within the coal sequence), (2) S-wave reflections and long‐period multiples (generated between the coal sequence and the Miocene carbonates), and (3) surface‐related multiples. The noise interpretation can also be performed upon semblance analyses of the elastic synthetics to guide a velocity analysis away from a well. This procedure helped to avoid picking the interformation long‐period multiples, .