Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hydrological and sedimentological modelling of the Okavango Delta Wetlands, Botswana

The Okavango Delta Wetlands of northeastern Botswana are a unique water resource in the arid Kalahari and host a tremendous biodiversity which is of value not only to local communities but also, at a global scale, to humankind as an important site for global biodiversity preservation. The wetlands spread on a massive alluvial fan and vary in size depending upon parameters such as local precipitation and inflow from the upstream catchment area in Angola but also upon hydrological conditions of previous years. This memory effect originates from the strong interaction between surface water processes taking place on short time scales and groundwater processes taking place over much longer time scales. The resulting complexity makes the environment of the Okavango Delta Wetlands especially challenging for hydrological sciences. Within the context of climate change, fast development and increased water needs in Angola and Namibia, the pristine nature of the wetlands is threatened. The present work aims at numerically simulating the impact of climate change and water management scenarios. Results are meant to provide a scientific basis to the discussion of trade-off solutions between the international stakeholders of the system. A distributed hydrological model has been developed which simulates the annual flooding in response to meteorology and inflow. Fast channel flow, slower overland flow, and slow groundwater flow together with precipitation and evapotranspiration from open water and through vegetation are processes reproduced by the model. Given the size of the area, an important part of the work was to keep the model as simple as possible in order to minimize computational time but still to include details necessary to generate accurate flooding maps. Accounting for the small scale topographic distribution would require a too high model resolution but parametric functions can be used to describe the responses of hydraulic parameters to fluctuating water levels. The model is applied to simulate anthropogenic impacts on the wetland system at different spatial scales. At the global scale, the impact of climate change is simulated, regionally, agricultural developments in upstream Angola are of importance, and, at the local scale, the impact of water abstractions from the Okavango River for industrial and household water supply can be studied. Bedload transport is included in the model to evaluate the impact of potential upstream dams. The construction of dams cannot be excluded and dams would influence the geomorphologic equilibrium of the wetlands to an unknown degree.
Executive Dysfunction Assessed with a Task-Switching Task following Concussion

Concussion frequently results in executive function deficits that can be specifically probed using task-switching tasks. The current study examined in detail the influence of concussion on task switching performance using both spatial and numerical stimuli. Individuals with concussion (n = 16) were tested within 48 hours of injury and 7, 14, and 28 days later. Healthy sex-, age-, height-, weight- and activity-matched controls (n = 16) were also tested at the same intervals. Switch costs were significantly greater in the participants with concussion than in the controls for both types of stimuli. By contrast, the global costs on non-switching trials were unaffected by concussion. We conclude that concussion has pronounced negative effects on the ability to switch task sets that generalize across task combinations (spatial or numerical) and that persist across at least a month after injury.
Fate and Transport of Contaminants in Indoor Air

Significant media and regulatory attention has been given to hazardous waste sites and to the remediation of such sites to protect nearby building occupants. Soil vapor intrusion (SVI) can be a major factor contributing to increased occupant expo sure to chemicals. However, there are many possible sources of indoor air pollution, thus complicating routine assessments. The intent of this paper is to provide an overview of the state of understanding related to chemical fate in the indoor environment. A generalized model is presented in the form of an ordinary differential equation that includes several terms that are not commonly accounted for in models involving the effects of SVI in indoor air. In addition to soil vapor intrusion several other sources of indoor contamination are described. Typical air exchange rates for residential dwellings are presented. Finally, recent findings related to the sorptive interactions between indoor air pollutants and indoor materials, as well as homogeneous and heterogeneous chemical reactions that can affect indoor air pollutants are described.
A multiple suppression method via CRS attributes

Multiple identification and attenuation are one of the most challenging tasks in the seismic data processing chain. We are presenting an approach for the identification of surface related multiples within the Common Reflection Surface (CRS) workflow, so that a processing chain from time to depth imaging with CRS related technology can be established. The approach is based on multiple prediction by auto-convolving each stacked trace. The implementation of the method is done with focus on automating the process. After the multiples are identified/predicted their offset traveltimes are calculated with the help of the CRS attributes, afterwards adaptively filtered, and subtracted from the prestack data. Initial tests were performed on a real marine data set. The results indicate the potential of further developing this method. The identified / predicted multiples could be successfully removed from the data set. The prediction by auto-convolution is simple and robust, but is also affected by some prediction errors due to theoretical assumptions involved in this concept.
Repeated evolution of reproductive isolation in a marine snail: unveiling mechanisms of speciation

Distinct ecotypes of the snail Littorina saxatilis, each linked to a specific shore microhabitat, form a mosaic-like pattern with narrow hybrid zones in between, over which gene flow is 10–30% of within-ecotype gene flow. Multi-locus comparisons cluster populations by geographic affinity independent of ecotype, while loci under selection group populations by ecotype. The repeated occurrence of partially reproductively isolated ecotypes and the conflicting patterns in neutral and selected genes can either be explained by separation in allopatry followed by secondary overlap and extensive introgression that homogenizes neutral differences evolved under allopatry, or by repeated evolution in parapatry, or in sympatry, with the same ecotypes appearing in each local site. Data from Spain, the UK and Sweden give stronger support for a non-allopatric model of ecotype formation than for an allopatric model. Several different non-allopatric mechanisms can, however, explain the repeated evolution of the ecotypes: (i) parallel evolution by new mutations in different populations; (ii) evolution from standing genetic variation; and (iii) evolution in concert with rapid spread of new positive mutations among populations inhabiting similar environments. These models make different predictions that can be tested using comprehensive phylogenetic information combined with candidate loci sequencing.
Electronic Stability Control for Powered Two-Wheelers

Active stability control is now present in all cars. On powered two-wheelers (PTW), instead, this control system has not been introduced yet. This is due to both a structural delay in control system design for PTW with respect to four-wheeled ones and the very challenging nature of the related control problems due to the complexity of the vehicle dynamics involved. This paper constitutes the first attempt to address this problem, and it provides an innovative control strategy that significantly enhances vehicle stability while preserving driveability. A control strategy is herein proposed, which, by modulating braking and traction torques, improves the stability of the vehicle. The proposed strategy is endowed with an activation/deactivation logic. Extensive validation tests carried out on a commercial multibody simulator assess the validity of the proposed approach.
The Origin Recognition Complex Interacts with a Subset of Metabolic Genes Tightly Linked to Origins of Replication

The origin recognition complex (ORC) marks chromosomal sites as replication origins and is essential for replication initiation. In yeast, ORC also binds to DNA elements called silencers, where its primary function is to recruit silent information regulator (SIR) proteins to establish transcriptional silencing. Indeed, silencers function poorly as chromosomal origins. Several genetic, molecular, and biochemical studies of HMR-E have led to a model proposing that when ORC becomes limiting in the cell (such as in the orc2-1 mutant) only sites that bind ORC tightly (such as HMR-E) remain fully occupied by ORC, while lower affinity sites, including many origins, lose ORC occupancy. Since HMR-E possessed a unique non-replication function, we reasoned that other tight sites might reveal novel functions for ORC on chromosomes. Therefore, we comprehensively determined ORC “affinity” genome-wide by performing an ORC ChIP–on–chip in ORC2 and orc2-1 strains. Here we describe a novel group of orc2-1–resistant ORC–interacting chromosomal sites (ORF–ORC sites) that did not function as replication origins or silencers. Instead, ORF–ORC sites were comprised of protein-coding regions of highly transcribed metabolic genes. In contrast to the ORC–silencer paradigm, transcriptional activation promoted ORC association with these genes. Remarkably, ORF–ORC genes were enriched in proximity to origins of replication and, in several instances, were transcriptionally regulated by these origins. Taken together, these results suggest a surprising connection among ORC, replication origins, and cellular metabolism.
Attenuation and Source Parameters of Shallow Microearthquakes at Mt. Etna Volcano, Italy

We estimated the attenuation laws of high-frequency seismic waves in the shallow crust (depth 5 km) and earthquake source parameters by using a se- lected data set of 320 shallow events (2.6 MD 4.2), recorded at Mt. Etna volcano during the last two flank eruptions occurring in 2001 and 2002-2003. The quality factor (Q) was estimated from spectra of P and S waves for 24 stations of the local permanent network by applying a spectral ratio technique. The results show varia- tions in both QP and QS as a function of frequency, according to the power law Q Q0f n , with n ranging between 0.3 and 1.3 for P waves and between 0.2 and 0.9 for S waves. As typical of volcanic environments, strong azimuthal variations of QP were also found, suggesting the presence of local strong lateral heterogeneities and/or of fluid-filled cracked volumes. After correction for attenuation, we estimated the source parameters (seismic moment, source radius, and stress drop) of a subset of 66 shallow events, under the assumption of a circular dislocation. The estimated seismic moments M0 range from 10 13 to 10 15 N m. The source radii (r) are confined between 100 and 1000 m and stress drop (Dr) ranges between 0.2 MPa and about 4 MPa. Combining the source parameters obtained in this study with those calculated by Pataneet al. (1997) for an old data set of smaller microearthquakes (10 9 M0 10 14 N m) recorded in the same area, we re-evaluated the scaling relationship between seismic moment (M 0 ) and corner frequency ( f c ) for the earthquakes with M 0 ranging between 10 13 and 10 15 N m. We confirm that microearthquakes at Mt. Etna seem not to obey a
The role of cingulate cortex in the detection of errors with and without awareness: a high‐density electrical mapping study

Error‐processing research has demonstrated that the brain uses a specialized neural network to detect errors during task performance but the brain regions necessary for conscious awareness of an error are poorly understood. In the present study we show that two well‐known error‐related event‐related potential (ERP) components, the error‐related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) have a differential relationship with awareness during performance of a manual response inhibition task optimized to examine error awareness. While the ERN was unaffected by the participants' conscious experience of errors, the Pe was only seen when participants were aware of committing an error. Source localization of these components indicated that the ERN was generated by a caudal region of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) while the Pe was associated with contributions from a more anterior ACC region and the posterior cingulate–precuneus. Tonic EEG measures of cortical arousal were correlated with individual rates of error awareness and showed a specific relationship with the amplitude of the Pe. The latter finding is consistent with evidence that the Pe represents a P3‐like facilitation of information processing modulated by subcortical arousal systems. Our data suggest that the ACC might participate in both preconscious and conscious error detection and that cortical arousal provides a necessary setting condition for error awareness. These findings may be particularly important in the context of clinical studies in which a proper understanding of self‐monitoring deficits requires an explicit measurement of error awareness.
Prosody conversion from neutral speech to emotional speech

Emotion is an important element in expressive speech synthesis. Unlike traditional discrete emotion simulations, this paper attempts to synthesize emotional speech by using "strong", "medium", and "weak" classifications. This paper tests different models, a linear modification model (LMM), a Gaussian mixture model (GMM), and a classification and regression tree (CART) model. The linear modification model makes direct modification of sentence F0 contours and syllabic durations from acoustic distributions of emotional speech, such as, F0 topline, F0 baseline, durations, and intensities. Further analysis shows that emotional speech is also related to stress and linguistic information. Unlike the linear modification method, the GMM and CART models try to map the subtle prosody distributions between neutral and emotional speech. While the GMM just uses the features, the CART model integrates linguistic features into the mapping. A pitch target model which is optimized to describe Mandarin F0 contours is also introduced. For all conversion methods, a deviation of perceived expressiveness (DPE) measure is created to evaluate the expressiveness of the output speech. The results show that the LMM gives the worst results among the three methods. The GMM method is more suitable for a small training set, while the CART method gives the better emotional speech output if trained with a large context-balanced corpus. The methods discussed in this paper indicate ways to generate emotional speech in speech synthesis. The objective and subjective evaluation processes are also analyzed. These results support the use of a neutral semantic content text in databases for emotional speech synthesis
Ring-faults in composite volcanoes: structures, models and stress fields associated with their formation

Abstract Most ring-faults of collapse calderas are either circular or slightly elliptical in plan view, vertical or steeply dipping, and have vertical displacements from several hundred metres to a few kilometres. Most ring-faults are dip slip. Many, however, are partly dip-slip faults and thus shear fractures, and partly ring-dykes and thus extension fractures. Ring-faults have been modelled using analytical, analogue and numerical methods. While analytical models throw light on some aspects of the conditions for ring-fault initiation, they are too general for detailed analysis of ring-fault development. By contrast, analogue and numerical models, combined with rigorous testing on field data, have in recent years provided many new ideas and improved understanding of ring-fault initiation and development. Here we present numerical models for ring-fault formation in isotropic (non-layered) and anisotropic (layered) host rocks. Magmatic underpressure (below lithostatic) or excess pressure (above lithostatic) as the only loading normally favours dyke injections rather than ring-fault formation. A spherical (circular) chamber in a volcanic field subject to (centimetre-scale) doming, tension, or both, is unlikely to trigger ring-fault formation unless the chamber is located in a very soft (low Young’s modulus) layer or has recently injected dykes. The numerical models indicate that a ring-fault (and a ring-dyke) is most likely to form, in layered as well as non-layered host rocks, in a local stress field generated by a shallow sill-like chamber in a volcanic field subject to doming, tension, or both. The diameter of the chamber must be much smaller than the diameter of the volcanic field subject to doming; in many of the numerical models the volcanic field diameter is three to five times that of the chamber diameter. For a 20-km-wide layered volcanic field, either tension or tension combined with doming may result in ring-fault formation. For a 40-km-wide layered volcanic field, tension is not necessary; doming alone is sufficient to trigger ring-fault formation.
Maternal Care Associated with Methylation of the Estrogen Receptor-α1b Promoter and Estrogen Receptor-α Expression in the Medial Preoptic Area of Female Offspring

Variations in maternal behavior are associated with differences in estrogen receptor (ER)-α expression in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and are transmitted across generations such that, as adults, the female offspring of mothers that exhibit increased pup licking/grooming (LG) over the first week postpartum (i.e. high LG mothers) show increased ERα expression in the MPOA and are themselves high LG mothers. In the present studies, cross-fostering confirmed an association between maternal care and ERα expression in the MPOA; the biological offspring of low LG mothers fostered at birth to high LG dams show increased ERα expression in the MPOA. Cross-fostering the biological offspring of high LG mothers to low LG dams produces the opposite effect. We examined whether the maternal programing of ERα expression is associated with differences in methylation of the relevant ERα promoter. Levels of cytosine methylation across the ERα1b promoter were significantly elevated in the adult offspring of low, compared w.
Regulation of Cytokine Production by Virus-Specific CD8 T Cells in the Lungs

ABSTRACT Inflammation and the elimination of infected host cells during an immune response often cause local tissue injury and immunopathology, which can disrupt the normal functions of tissues such as the lung. Here, we show that both virus-induced inflammation and the host tissue environment combine to influence the capacity of virus-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells to produce cytokines in various tissues. Decreased production of cytokines, such as IFN-γ and TNF-α, by antigen-specific T cells is more pronounced in peripheral tissues, such as the lung and kidney, than in secondary lymphoid organs, such as the spleen or lymph nodes. We also demonstrate that tissues regulate cytokine production by memory T cells independently of virus infection, as memory T cells that traffic into the lungs of naïve animals exhibit a reduced ability to produce cytokines following direct ex vivo peptide stimulation. Furthermore, we show that cytokine production by antigen-specific memory CD4 and CD8 T cells isolated from the lung parenchyma can be rescued by stimulation with exogenous peptide-pulsed antigen-presenting cells. Our results suggest that the regulation of T-cell cytokine production by peripheral tissues may serve as an important mechanism to prevent immunopathology and preserve normal tissue function.
Linear Cascade Arrays of GaN-Based Green Light-Emitting Diodes for High-Speed and High-Power Performance

In the following study, we demonstrated linear cascade GaN-based light-emitting-diode (LED) arrays at a wavelength of approximately 520 nm. Experimental LEDs were analyzed with the goal to improve the output power and differential efficiency of a single LED. The study shows that using arrays with up to four LEDs connected in series, we can achieve four times the improvement in output power (differential quantum efficiency) under the same bias current as compared to a single LED apparatus. We have also measured the modulation-speed performance of experimental LEDs, and both devices exhibit similar 3-dB bandwidth (90 MHz) under the same bias currents. Experimental results indicate that the cascade connection offers the advantages of significantly enhanced external differential efficiency and provision of a method to use a constant-voltage power supply. The current crowding problem and resistance-capacitance-limited bandwidth degradation issues in a large active area LED can also be minimized using the connection demonstrated in our experiment.
Covert attention accelerates the rate of visual information processing

Whenever we open our eyes, we are confronted with an overwhelming amount of visual information. Covert attention allows us to select visual information at a cued location, without eye movements, and to grant such information priority in processing. Covert attention can be voluntarily allocated, to a given location according to goals, or involuntarily allocated, in a reflexive manner, to a cue that appears suddenly in the visual field. Covert attention improves discriminability in a wide variety of visual tasks. An important unresolved issue is whether covert attention can also speed the rate at which information is processed. To address this issue, it is necessary to obtain conjoint measures of the effects of covert attention on discriminability and rate of information processing. We used the response-signal speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) procedure to derive measures of how cueing a target location affects speed and accuracy in a visual search task. Here, we show that covert attention not only improves discriminability but also accelerates the rate of information processing.
Anelasticity explains topography associated with Basin and Range normal faulting

Topography associated with normal faulting in the Basin and Range (western United States) is usually modeled as a flexure of a broken elastic plate. However, modeled effective rigidities are usually 100 times lower than the rigidity deduced from upper-crustal thickness. This discrepancy may be related to a significant anelastic deformation, which we explore through numerical modeling. Because experimental rock rheology evidences a pressure-dependent yield stress beyond the elastic limit in crustal rocks, we made a finite element model that accounts for such a crustal rheology and also for the frictional behavior of an embedded high-angle fault. Resulting topography after extension is similar to that obtained from a thin elastic plate model; however, the corresponding strain pattern differs. First, the footwall rotates in a rigid fashion over a width of 15 km that matches the typical size of uplifted Basin and Range blocks. Second, hanging-wall subsidence results from a significant horizontal extension and rotation of the crust. We suggest that plastic deformation in the deep part of the footwall could trigger the development of a new high-angle fault with a fault spacing that matches Basin and Range structure.