Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tire-reinforced earthfill. Part 3: Environmental assessment

A reinforced earthfill was constructed using approximately 10 000 scrap tires. Water samples were collected from a drainage system installed below the tire-reinforced earthfill and analyzed for chemical quality. Additional tests on water quality were performed in laboratory test columns in which tire chips were embedded in sand or clay to provide a conservative estimate of the potential release of toxic compounds. Field monitoring of the effluent indicated that no significant adverse effects on groundwater quality had occurred over a period of 2 years. Laboratory batch tests performed on tire chips embedded in sand provided evidence of an increase in solution of certain metal elements which in some cases exceeds their respective drinking-water standards. This increase was attributed to the exposed steel reinforcement found in the tire chips. The amount of organic compounds leached from the tire chips decreased with the number of exposure periods or pore volumes flushed through the soil.Key words: whole sc.
Non‐Fickian transport in homogeneous unsaturated repacked sand

It is commonly assumed a priori that solute transport experiments conducted in homogeneously repacked laboratory columns can be described by the advective‐dispersive (AD) or single‐rate mobile‐immobile (MIM) transport model. To investigate this, nonreactive transport through macroscopically homogeneous repacked unsaturated sand was studied at two water contents using laboratory columns of diameter of 11 cm and lengths of 10, 20, and 40 cm. Non‐Fickian behavior was found to dominate transport at this scale, with long breakthrough curve (BTC) tailing persistent over the range of column lengths tested. Measured BTC tails were well described by the single‐rate MIM model at each depth; however, over the range of travel distances studied BTC tailing was better explained as a result of stochastic‐convective (SC) transport or continuous time random walk (CTRW). The SC model was applied using the BTC measured at 10 cm as the probability density function to make predictions to subsequent depths. The CTRW model spreading parameter (β) remained approximately constant across the range of both travel distances and water contents considered. It is concluded that the assumption of a single‐rate MIM model cannot be made a priori for macroscopically homogeneous unsaturated sands. In this case, variability between replicates prevented identification of whether a SC transfer function or CTRW provided the best description of transport. These results demonstrate the variability in transport as a result of heterogeneities in column packing, even for macroscopically homogeneous sand, and emphasize the importance of studying transport over a range of travel distances in order to allow prediction of transport.
Direct correlation of 4D seismic with well activity for a clarified dynamic reservoir interpretation

A method to provide an improved time‐lapse seismic attribute for dynamic interpretation is presented. This is based on the causal link between the time‐lapse seismic response and well production activity taken over time. The resultant image is obtained by computing correlation coefficients between sequences of time‐lapse seismic changes extracted over different time intervals from multiply repeated seismic and identical time sequences of cumulative fluid volumes produced or injected from the wells. Maps of these cross‐correlations show localized, spatially contiguous signals surrounding individual wells or a specific well group. These may be associated with connected regions around the selected well or well group. Application firstly to a synthetic data set reveals that hydraulic compartments may be delineated using this method. A second application to a field data set provides empirical evidence that a connected well‐centric fault block and active geobody can be detected. It is concluded that uniting well data and time‐lapse seismic using our proposed method delivers a new attribute for dynamic interpretation and potential updating of the model for the producing reservoir.
Slow variations in mean path of the Gulf Stream east of Cape Hatteras

The Gulf Stream between Cape Hatteras and the New England Seamounts varies in position over a wide range of time scales. We present evidence that interannual path changes may be governed by a time‐varying outflow of waters from the Labrador Shelf region. When the shelf and Slope Waters south of New England turn cold and fresh, the stream frequently assumes a more southerly track and conversely when the waters are warm and saline. These changes in path and surface water properties most likely result from large variations in shelf transport and thus greater or less dilution of the warm saline Gulf Stream waters that continually leak from the current into the Slope Sea. These observations point to a thermohaline rather than winddriven mechanism for governing the path of the Gulf Stream after it leaves the coast.
Changes in precipitation intensity over East Asia during the 20th and 21st centuries simulated by a global atmospheric model with a 60 km grid size

We conducted three‐member ensemble simulations using a global atmospheric model with a high horizontal resolution of a 60 km grid size for the period 1872–2099 (228 years). Between 1872 and 2005, the model was forced with observed historical sea surface temperatures (SST), while between 2006 and 2099, the boundary SST data were estimated using the multimodel ensemble of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 3 models and assuming A1B emission scenario. Annual mean precipitation (PAVE), the Simple Daily Precipitation Intensity Index (SDII), and the maximum 5 day precipitation total (R5d) averaged over East Asia increase almost monotonically through the 21st century. The statistically significant area of precipitation intensity increase is larger for 2080–2099 than for 2046–2065. In particular, intense rainfall will increase over northern and southern China during 2080–2099. The conversion rate from water vapor to precipitation per 1°C rise in surface air temperature for SDII and R5D is much larger than that for PAVE during the 21st century. This suggests that extreme rainfall events will occur more frequently than moderate rainfall events even if the amount of temperature rise is same. Future changes in the horizontal transport of water vapor also lead to more intense precipitation over East Asia. In particular, the increase in clockwise water vapor transport due to intensification of the subtropical high contributes to increased intense precipitation over southern China.
a high lDl-c to hDl-c ratio predicts poor prognosis for initially metastatic colorectal cancer patients with elevations in lDl-c

: Although lipid disequilibrium has been documented for several types of cancer including colorectal cancer (CRC), it remains unknown whether lipid parameters are associated with the outcome of metastatic CRC (mCRC) patients. Here, we retrospectively examined the lipid profiles of 453 mCRC patients and investigated whether any of the lipid parameters correlated with the outcome of mCRC patients. Pretreatment serum lipids, including triglyceride, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), were collected in 453 initially mCRC patients. The LDL-C to HDL-C ratio (LHR) was calculated and divided into the first, second, and third tertiles. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of lipids on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Nearly two-fifths of the patients (41.3%) exhibited elevations in LDL-C while most patients (88.3%) showed normal HDL-C levels. Decreased HDL-C ( P = 0.542) and increased LDL-C ( P = 0.023) were prognostic factors for poor OS, while triglyceride ( P = 0.542) and cholesterol ( P = 0.215) were not. Multivariate analysis revealed that LDL-C ( P = 0.031) was an independent prognostic factor. Triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL-C, and LDL-C did not correlate with PFS. Among patients with elevations in LDL-C levels, patients in the third tertile of the LHR had a markedly shorter median OS compared to those in the first or second tertile ( P = 0.012). Thus, increased LDL-C level is an independent prognostic factor for poor prognosis in mCRC patients, and a high LHR predicts poor prognosis for initially mCRC patients with elevations in LDL-C.
Sea Surface Height Signals as Indicators for Oceanic Meridional Mass Transports

Numerical models are used to test whether the sea surface height (SSH) can be used as an indicator for the variability of Atlantic meridional oceanic mass transports. The results suggest that if the transports over the western boundary current region and those in the eastern part of the basin are considered separately, significant correlations (0.3–0.9) are found between zonal SSH differences and the meridional transports in the top 1100 m. Much weaker correlations are found for the basinwide transport, which corresponds to the surface branch of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC). For the eastern and western branches of the meridional transport, combining the SSH signal with the baroclinic structure obtained from Rossby wave theory enables calculation of a quantitative estimate of the transport variability in the top 1100 m. The results of the method are less convincing for the variability of the MOC. The reason for this is that even small relative errors in the variability of the eastern and western branches can be large compared with the MOC variability. These errors project onto the sum of the eastern and western transports and therefore onto the surface branch of the MOC. Nevertheless, being able to infer transport anomalies from SSH signals in the eastern and western parts of the Atlantic might prove useful in interpreting MOC observations from the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council Rapid Climate Change (RAPID) mooring array at 268N, which show a large subannual variability that is mainly due to changes at the western boundary. Transports inferred from the SSH could help to identify the origin of this variability and whether transport anomalies propagate into the western boundary region from the basin interior or from other latitudes.
Microwave Radiometers and Radiosondes During Nauru99

Previous experience, both in the tropical western Pacific (Westwater et al. 1999) and during Water Vapor Intensive Operational Periods (WVIOPs) at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site, has indicated the need for adjustments to Vaisala Humicap RS80 humidity soundings. The need for such corrections has been identified by measurements of water vapor by microwave radiometers (MWRs) and the subsequent adjustments by scaling of water vapor profiles. The scaled water vapor profiles, when inserted into the Line-By-Line Radiative Transfer Model (LBLRTM) have been in much better agreement with wellcalibrated infrared radiance measurements by the atmospheric emitted radiance interferometer (AERI) operated at many ARM CART sites (Clough et al. 1996).
Systematics, phylogeography and polyploid evolution in the Dactylorhiza maculata complex (Orchidaceae)

The aim of this thesis was to investigate and describe different aspects of variation in the Dactylorhiza maculata complex and to relate the variation patterns to underlying biological processes such as Quaternary migration history, hybridization and polyploid evolution. The variation patterns were analysed at various geographic levels using molecular markers (plastid DNA and ITS of nrDNA), cytological data, morphometry and ecological data. A total of c. 2 500 plants from almost 400 populations from throughout Europe were analysed. Dactylorhiza maculata s.l. is the maternal parent of many allotetraploid taxa. It was shown that allotetraploids in Scandinavia belong to several different widespread lineages that probably arose before the last glaciation. A minimum of three autotetraploid lineages were discerned in the D. maculata complex: (i) southern/western ssp. maculata, (ii) northern/eastern ssp. maculata and (iii) Central European ssp. fuchsii. The southern/western and northern/eastern lineages, which probably predate the last glaciation, form a contact zone in central Scandinavia. Measures of genetic diversity therefore reach high values in central Scandinavia. A high frequency of intermediate plastid haplotypes in the contact zone suggests that plastid DNA recombination is occurring there. Source areas for postglacial migration of ssp. maculata may have been Central Europe and parts of central Russia located between the Fennoscandian ice sheet and the Urals. Areas of sheltered topography in Central Europe may have provided suitable habitats for the more thermophilous ssp. fuchsii. A clinal differentiation in genetic markers from the south to the north was observed for ssp. fuchsii (including ssp. saccifera). The tetraploid lineage of ssp. fuchsii is poorly separated from diploid ssp. fuchsii and probably originated during the current postglacial period. The Mediterranean region and the Caucasus have not contributed to northward migration, neither for ssp. fuchsii, nor for ssp. maculata. Introgression between ssp. fuchsii and ssp. maculata is limited. The differentiation between diploid ssp. fuchsii and autotetraploid ssp. maculata in hybrid zones is reinforced by niche separation at the microhabitat level.
Source complexity of the 6 April 2009 L'Aquila (central Italy) earthquake and its strongest aftershock revealed by elementary seismological analysis

Seismic recordings are immediately available when an earthquake occurs. Their analysis allows the reconstruction of the rupture dynamics by means of sophisticated techniques, which usually need some tests to provide robust results. However, immediate information on the source kinematics is required in order to imagine the fault location and extent and quickly reconstruct the areas of stress release and subsequent accumulation. Very simple analysis may provide useful information, giving insight in source complexity. Right after the 6 April 2009 L'Aquila earthquake (MW = 6.3), we analyzed the seismograms recorded at broadband and strong motion stations and provided firm constraints on rupture kinematics, slip distribution, and static surface deformation, also discriminating the actual fault plane. The fracture occurred in two stages, with initial updip propagation, successively proceeding toward SE, possibly on a different plane. We also analyzed the strongest aftershock (MW = 5.6), showing that useful indications could be retrieved for lower magnitude events.
Magnetotellurics along the Fennoscandian Long Range profile

Summary. Estimates of magnetotelluric transfer functions along the Fennoscandian Long Range (FENNOLORA) profile are presented and discussed in relation to the major lithotectonic subdivisions of the Swedish part of the Baltic shield. None of the transfer functions are found to be consistent with a one-dimensional earth structure, thereby making a quantitative interpretation difficult. However, the geological units are found to display characteristic differences in the obtained transfer functions, and in some areas a quantitative interpretation can be justified. The most interesting structure indicated is a low resistive (4 am) crustal structure of lateral extension more than 150 km centred around the Skellefte ore district. A minimum thickness for this structure of 15 km is inferred.
Some Thoughts on Declustering in Probabilistic Seismic-Hazard Analysis

Abstract In this paper, we discuss in depth, one of the basic procedures that stands behind probabilistic seismic‐hazard analysis (PSHA), that is, the declustering of the seismicity rates. First, we explore the technical, scientific, and practical motivations that led to introducing the declustering of seismicity rates. Then, we show that for PSHA, declustering is essential only to minimize a spatial distortion of the earthquake occurrence process, but, conversely, it may lead to significant underestimation of the true seismic hazard. This underestimation precludes the possibility to test meaningfully PSHA against real observations, and it may lead to underestimate the seismic risk, whenever seismic‐hazard maps are used for risk assessment. Finally, we propose a methodology that can be used in PSHA to avoid this potential bias.
A Model of the Demand for Longevity and the Value of Life Extension

We specify a demand function for longevity, or "quantity of life," along with corresponding demand functions for indicators of "quality of life" and a value-of-health and life extension function. We show that the demand for health must be derived in conjunction with that for longevity and the related consumption plan, and that all choices depend on initial individual endowments and terminal conditions. Our comparative dynamics predictions indicate that optimal health and longevity are increasing functions of endowed wealth rather than, necessarily, current income; that improvements in opportunities to produce health can accentuate the differences between endowed health and attained longevity levels; and that the value individuals ascribe to their health may be increasing over a good portion of their life cycle. We use this model to analyze observed empirical variations in levels and trends of life expectancy and in exposure to health risks across different population groups.
RESERVOIR AND SOURCE‐ROCK CHARACTERISATION OF THE EARLY PALAEOZOIC INTERVAL IN THE PERIBALTIC SYNECLISE, NORTHERN POLAND

Detailed investigations have been conducted on samples from 2,750m of conventional cores from 18 wells penetrating the Cambrian siliciclastics in northern Poland. The results of sedimentological, petrological and geochemical analyses were combined with a computeraided regional evaluation of the Polish onshore sector of the Peribaltic Syneclise. Our results may help in the successful future identification of Cambrian prospects in northern Poland.
Trilhas de Aprendizagem em Ambientes Virtuais de Ensino-aprendizagem: Uma Revisão Sistemática da Literatura

A pesquisa apresentada neste trabalho e resultado de uma Revisao Sistematica da Literatura que buscou identificar como as trilhas de aprendizagem sao representadas nos sistemas e-learning. Foi verificado se essas representacoes contemplam apenas a estrutura de dados e modelagem dos sistemas de e-learning, ou se tambem a visualizacao das trilhas de aprendizagem pelos professores e alunos.
Species diversity of small mammals at Gunung Stong State Park, Kelantan, Malaysia

A recent small mammal survey was conducted in Gunung Stong State Park. Standard mist nets, harp traps and cage traps were used to document diversity of small mammals in this new protected area. This study reports five new distributional records of bats in Gunung Stong State Park and a first record of Myotis muricola in Kelantan. The study also shows that Gunung Stong State Park is one of the three areas in Peninsular Malaysia where all four Cynopterus species that can be found in Peninsular Malaysia coexist. This protected area also has Maxomys rajah, M. whiteheadi and Niviventer cremoriventer which are currently listed as Vulnerable, highlighting this location as an important conservation area for small mammals. Continuous surveys are needed as information of small mammal diversity in Kelantan is still scarce, and this study is a part of a series of small mammal surveys that have been carried out in Kelantan.
A Fast Fixed-Point Algorithm for Independent Component Analysis

We introduce a novel fast algorithm for independent component analysis, which can be used for blind source separation and feature extraction. We show how a neural network learning rule can be transformed into a fixedpoint iteration, which provides an algorithm that is very simple, does not depend on any user-defined parameters, and is fast to converge to the most accurate solution allowed by the data. The algorithm finds, one at a time, all nongaussian independent components, regardless of their probability distributions. The computations can be performed in either batch mode or a semiadaptive manner. The convergence of the algorithm is rigorously proved, and the convergence speed is shown to be cubic. Some comparisons to gradient-based algorithms are made, showing that the new algorithm is usually 10 to 100 times faster, sometimes giving the solution in just a few iterations.
The use of ablation‐dominated medial moraines as samplers for 10Be‐derived erosion rates of glacier valley walls, Kichatna Mountains, AK

We use cosmogenic 10Be concentrations in amalgamated rock samples from active, ice‐cored medial moraines to constrain glacial valley sidewall backwearing rates in the Kichatna Mountains, Alaska Range, Alaska. This dramatic landscape is carved into a small ∼65 Ma granitic pluton about 100 km west of Denali, where kilometer‐tall rock walls and ‘cathedral’ spires tower over a radial array of over a dozen valley glaciers. These supraglacial landforms erode primarily by rockfall, but erosion rates are difficult to determine. We use cosmogenic 10Be to measure rockwall backwearing rates on timescales of 103–104 years, with a straightforward sampling strategy that exploits ablation‐dominated medial moraines.
Field‐Scale Soil Moisture Pattern Mapping using Electromagnetic Induction

Soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) responds to time‐variable soil properties, such as soil water content (θ), and can therefore be used to characterize the spatial and temporal dynamics of θ at the field scale. When clay content is high and uniform and the θ range small, however, it is not clear whether ECa maps can be used for this purpose. A soil management experiment established in a Vertisol in 1982 was surveyed for ECa on 13 occasions to capture changing soil conditions and to determine the sources of this variability. Less variation with time was found in subsoil than in topsoil ECa patterns, especially within the conventional tillage (CT) plots, in areas with shallow soil, and along the drainage network. Using the 13 ECa relative difference data sets as variables, principal component (PC) analysis showed that the first three PCs explained 90% of their total variance. The time‐stable or mean ECa pattern was significantly correlated with PC1 and could also be associated with topography, soil depth, and soil structure but could not be related to a single survey. Topography and soil management could be associated with PC2 and PC3, respectively. Time‐stable θ patterns, inferred from 26 surveys, revealed topographical and management characteristics and showed significant relationships (P < 0.001) with ECa–derived patterns like soil porosity and infiltration caused by soil management, topography, and rainfall. Electromagnetic induction sensors were useful for mapping soil spatial variability and changing soil conditions due to management effects and external forcing in uniform clay soils.