Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early tectonic uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau

The Hexi Corridor is the northmost foreland basin of the Tibetan Plateau and its formation is controlled by the northern marginal fault of Tibet, Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF)-North Qilian Shan marginal Fault (NQF), and the southern Kuantan Shan-Longshou Shan Fault (KLF). So its study is important to understanding the mechanism of Tibet formation and its influence on global climate change. The oldest Cenozoic sediments in the Corridor is the Huoshaogou Formation which consists of terrigenous fine conglomerate, sandstone, sandy mudstone and mudstone, depositing in al-luvial to lacustrine and fan delta sedimentary environments. Detailed paleomagnetic measurements of this sequence at Yumen clearly reveal eleven pairs of normal and reversed polarities. Fossil mammals found around the section support that most of the observed polarities can be well correlated with chrons between 13n and 18r of the standard geomag-netic polarity time scale, yielding ages of 40.2–33.35 Ma. The mean declinations of this sequence and its immediately above stratigraphy indicate an 18.3° rapid clockwise rotation of the Hexi Corridor. Since this sequence has been strongly folded and is capped by an angular unconformity, we think that the presence of the thick alluvial fan conglomeration at the bottom of the foreland basin may indicate the initial de-formation and uplift of the northern Qilian Shan. This proc-ess could occur at latest at 40.2 Ma, driven by the faults NQF and KLF that thrust onto the Hexi corridor respectively from its southern and northern margins. These faults are in an early response to the collision of India with Asia, while the unconformable termination and rotation of the Huoshaogou Formation at ∼33.35 Ma indicate other early episode of rapid tectonic deformation and uplift of the northern Tibet.
Intrusion of recent air in midlatitude stratosphere revealed by in situ tracer measurements and trajectory calculations

[1] In the midlatitude stratosphere the mean circulation is downward leading to relatively old air. Mixing between this old air and more recent air from the troposphere or the tropical stratosphere can nevertheless occur. In particular, mixing between the lower part of the tropical stratospheric reservoir and the midlatitude stratosphere was reported in the so-called “tropically controlled transition region” which extends from the tropics to midlatitudes between the isentropic surfaces 380 K and 450 K (15–18 km altitude). O3/CO and HCl/O3 relations derived from the measurements of the in situ tunable lasers (TDLAS) balloon-borne instrument Spectroscopie Infrarouge par Absorption de Lasers Embarques (SPIRALE), and 3D air parcels trajectories are used to analyze the characteristics of this region at the time and location of SPIRALE. These measurements took place above Aire sur l'Adour (43.6°N, 0°E) in October 2002. Two-month 3D backward trajectories ending around each individual measurement recorded with a time step of 1 s are computed on the basis of European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) wind fields. The region is found to extend from 380 K to 465 K, and mixing is found to take place 1 to 2 months before the SPIRALE measurements. The region is composed of two layers with different characteristics. In the 380–405 K layer the recent air is uplifted from below the 380 K isentropic surface, and the percentage of recent air is high (minimum estimate 32%). In the 405–465 K layer the origin of recent air is the tropical stratosphere, and the percentage of the recent air is lower (minimum estimate 12%).
Forests and Development: Local, National and Global Issues

This book is a fully up to date study of the major issues facing forest conservation and the forestry industry, which considers developments at local, national and global levels. Environmental and development topics relating to each level are discussed - for instance, the use of forest products in a rural poverty context, corruption and forest harvesting and consumption as a political device. Delacote employs a quantitative approach in order to analyse the plight of tropical forests in the developing world, and in doing so produces a range of interesting conclusions. This methodology fills a crucial research gap in existing studies of forests in a development context - increased use of theoretical tools to interpret real life situations might be beneficial to the field. Therefore, the first objective of this book is to provide a sample of theoretical analysis concerning the forests and development nexus. The second objective is to supply empirical economists with new theoretical insights, with the hope that those results can emerge with conclusive field testing and relevant policy recommendations.
Effects of rupture complexity on local tsunami inundation: Implications for probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment by example

We investigated the influence of earthquake source complexity on the extent of inundation caused by the resulting tsunami. We simulated 100 scenarios with collocated sources of variable slip on the Hikurangi subduction interface in the vicinity of Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay in New Zealand and investigated the tsunami effects on the cities of Napier and Gisborne. Rupture complexity was found to have a first‐order effect on flow depth and inundation extent for local tsunami sources. The position of individual asperities in the slip distribution on the rupture interface control to some extent how severe inundation will be. However, predicting inundation extent in detail from investigating the distribution of slip on the rupture interface proves difficult. Assuming uniform slip on the rupture interface in tsunami models can underestimate the potential impact and extent of inundation. For example, simulation of an Mw 8.7 to Mw 8.8 earthquake with uniform slip reproduced the area that could potentially be inundated by equivalent nonuniform slip events of Mw 8.4. Deaggregation, to establish the contribution of different sources with different slip distributions to the probabilistic hazard, cannot be performed based on magnitude considerations alone. We propose two predictors for inundation severity based on the offshore tsunami wavefield using the linear wave equations in an attempt to keep costly simulations of full inundation to a minimum.
Evolution of the Latir volcanic field, Northern New Mexico, and its relation to the Rio Grande Rift, as indicated by potassium‐argon and fission track dating

Remnants of the Latir volcanic field and cogenetic plutonic rocks are exceptionally exposed along the east margin of the present-day Rio Grande rift by topographic and structural relief in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico. Evolution of the magmatic system associated with the Latir field, which culminated in eruption of a regional ash flow sheet (the Amalia Tuff) and collapse of the Questa caldera 26 m.y. ago, has been documented by 74 new potassium-argon (K-Ar) and fission track (F-T) ages. The bulk of the precaldera volcanism, ash flow eruptions and caldera formation, and initial crystallization of the associated shallow granitic batholith took place between 28 and 25 Ma; economically important molybdenum mineralization is related to smaller granitic intrusions along the south margin of the Questa caldera at about 23 Ma. Interpretation of the radiogenic ages within this relatively restricted time span is complicated by widespread thermal resetting of earlier parts of the igneous sequence by later intrusions. Many samples yielded discordant ages for different mineral phases. Thermal blocking temperatures decrease in the order: K-Ar sanidine > K-Ar biotite > F-T zircon ≫ F-T apatite. The F-T results are especially useful indicators of cooling and uplift rates. Upper portions of the subvolcanic batholith, that underlay the Questa caldera, cooled to about 100°C within about a million years of emplacement; uplift of the batholith increases to the south along this segment of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Activity in the Latir volcanic field was concurrent with southwest directed extension along the early Rio Grande rift zone in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The geometry of this early rifting is compatible with interpretation as back arc extension related to a subduction system dipping gently beneath the cordilleran region of the American plate. The Latir field lies at the southern end of a southward migrating Tertiary magmatic locus, along which much of the southern Rocky Mountains was blanketed by volcanic rocks in Eocene and Oligocene time. This southward migration of igneous activity through the Rocky Mountains may have been a critical precursor that, by heating and weakening the lithosphere, helped localize initial extensional deformation in the eastern Cordilleran region. Ages of rift-related basaltic volcanism in the Questa-Latir area span an apparent magma gap 20–10 m.y. ago, inferred by others for more southern sectors of the Rio Grande rift. Rift-related volcanism was nearly continuous through Miocene and Pliocene time in the northern New Mexico sector of the rift, perhaps because of intersection with the diffuse northeast trending Jemez magmatic zone.
Sparsification-a technique for speeding up dynamic graph algorithms

The authors provide data structures that maintain a graph as edges are inserted and deleted, and keep track of the following properties: minimum spanning forests, best swap, graph connectivity, and graph 2-edge-connectivity, in time O(n/sup 1/2/log(m/n)) per change; 3-edge-connectivity, in time O(n/sup 2/3/) per change; 4-edge-connectivity, in time O(n alpha (n)) per change; k-edge-connectivity, in time O(n log n) per change; bipartiteness, 2-vertex-connectivity, and 3-vertex-connectivity, in time O(n log(m/n)) per change; and 4-vertex-connectivity, in time O(n log(m/n)+n alpha (n)) per change. Further results speed up the insertion times to match the bounds of known partially dynamic algorithms. The algorithms are based on a technique that transforms algorithms for sparse graphs into ones that work on any graph, which they call sparsification. <<ETX>>
Arctic Ocean Water Mass Transformation in S–T Coordinates

AbstractIn this paper, water mass transformations in the Arctic Ocean are studied using a recently developed salinity–temperature (S–T) framework. The framework allows the water mass transformations to be succinctly quantified by computing the surface and internal diffusive fluxes in S–T coordinates. This study shows how the method can be applied to a specific oceanic region, in this case the Arctic Ocean, by including the advective exchange of water masses across the boundaries of the region. Based on a simulation with a global ocean circulation model, the authors examine the importance of various parameterized mixing processes and surface fluxes for the transformation of water across isohaline and isothermal surfaces in the Arctic Ocean. The model-based results reveal a broadly realistic Arctic Ocean where the inflowing Atlantic and Pacific waters are primarily cooled and freshened before exiting back to the North Atlantic. In the model, the water mass transformation in the T direction is primarily acco.
Chemical element distributions within conodont elements and their functional implications

Abstract Electron microprobe analyses of platform (pectiniform Pa) elements of Permian conodonts reveal detailed and systematic chemical element distributions. The crown of the conodont element is more densely mineralized than the basal body and shows evidence of less dense mineralization in areas of rapid growth. Patterns in sodium and sulfur concentrations indicate oral to aboral differentiation within conodont elements. These chemical element patterns support oral exposure during life and functional use as a tooth, and they approximate the erupted and embedded positions of the conodont tooth when the animal was alive. Previously unrecognized spatial distributions of geochemically important chemical elements warrant consideration in future geochemical studies of conodonts.
Distributed extensional deformation in a zone of right‐lateral shear: Implications for geodetic versus geologic rates of deformation in the eastern California shear zone‐Walker Lane

The eastern California shear zone (ECSZ)‐Walker Lane belt represents an important, evolving component of the Pacific‐North America plate boundary. Geodetic data suggest the northern ECSZ is accumulating dextral shear at a rate of ∼9.3 mm/a, more than double the total measured late Pleistocene rate at ∼37.5°N. At this latitude, the Silver Peak‐Lone Mountain (SPLM) extensional complex plays an important role in accommodating and transferring slip among the strike‐slip and normal faults of the ECSZ and Walker Lane. To better understand the recent geodynamic evolution of this region, we determined late Pleistocene extension rates for the Clayton Valley fault zone, one of a series of down‐to‐the‐northwest normal faults comprising the SPLM, using geologic mapping, differential GPS fault scarp surveys, and cosmogenic nuclide geochronology. Extension rates along the Clayton Valley fault zone are time‐invariant at 0.1 ± 0.1 to 0.3 ± 0.1 mm/a (depending on fault dip) since ∼137 ka. When combined with other published fault slip rates at this latitude, the cumulative late Pleistocene geologic slip rate is ∼3.3 to 5.2 mm/a. This rate is lower than both the geodetic rate of dextral shear and other long‐term slip rate budgets in the northern ECSZ. Our results suggest that deformation in Clayton Valley is spread across a diffuse set of normal faults and that not all of the deformation is recorded in the surficial geology. We suggest that the low cumulative geologic slip rate in the northern ECSZ may be a result of this distributed extension, which can cause long‐term rates of deformation to be significantly underestimated.
Awareness of polycystic ovarian syndrome in adolescents: A cross-sectional study

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent endocrine disorder affecting a significant percentage of women of reproductive age. This study aimed to assess the level of PCOS awareness and knowledge among urban adolescent females. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted, involving 218 participants aged 12 to 19 years. Categorical variables were presented in the form of numbers and percentages and quantitative data as the means ± SD and as median with 25 th and 75 th percentiles (interquartile range). The association of the variables was analyzed using the Chi-Square test and Fisher’s exact test. The results revealed a low level of PCOS awareness, with only 23.85% of participants demonstrating sufficient awareness. The main sources of knowledge were friends (31.19%) and social media (26.15%), while healthcare professionals played a minimal role (10.09%). Furthermore, mean values exhibited limited awareness of PCOS features (Mean ±SD 4.38±2.4) and complications (Mean ± SD 1.56±1.26). Notably, awareness of long-term complications such as cardiovascular disease (25.69%) and diabetes (13.30%) was particularly low. Age, education level, and stream of education showed no significant correlation with awareness. ( p >0.05). In conclusion, this study highlights the critical need for improved PCOS education among adolescent females in urban settings. Implementing educational programs in school curricula, increasing healthcare professionals' involvement in patient education, and creating awareness workshops are vital steps to reaching a wider audience promoting healthier lifestyle choices enhancing PCOS awareness, and mitigating its long-term consequences.
The influence of alternative tillage systems on the distribution of nutrients and organic-carbon in some common Western Australian wheatbelt soils

The effect of reduced cultivation on the chemical fertility of three agricultural soils important in Western Australia was investigated. The experiment compared the effect of different tillage systems for continuously cropping wheat on the distribution of extractable P, extractable K, total N, organic C and pH for soils ranging from a sand to a sandy clay loam. Three tillage systems were applied (conventional cultivation, direct drilled with a combine, direct drilled with a triple disc drill) and the distribution of nutrients was measured to a depth of 25 cm. Developments were monitored for a period of 9 years. Clear differences between treatments were evident within the first 3 years of the experiment. Relative differences between treatments remained constant after this time. The concentrations of extractable P, extractable K, total N and organic C in the soil were all higher with direct drilling than with conventional cultivation, regardless of soil type or environment. The concentration of these elements declined in all treatments throughout the duration of the experiment. Major differences between treatments occurred in the surface 5-10 cm of the soil, although trends differed slightly depending on the element measured. Ammonium nitrate application substantially reduced the pH of the sandy soil, regardless of tillage treatment, but had no effect on the other soil types. Conventionally cultivated sandy and sandy clay loam soils also had a slightly higher pH than the direct drilled soils. The yield of plants was not directly related to the concentration in the soil of any elements measured. Accumulation of nutrients near the surface indicated that, if the surface soil is dry, then nutrients may be less available to plants established with direct drilling than with conventional cultivation. Further research is needed to establish whether present 'soil testing-P recommendation' relationships, based on conventional cultivation systems, are appropriate under direct drilling systems in Western Australia. Changes in pH with different tillage systems may have a bearing on fertilizer application strategies. Finally, the decline in organic C with conventional cropping indicates that the structure of soils in this experiment remains fragile even with direct drilling.
Temporal trends of stroke incidence over 14 years in Iran: Findings of a large-scale multi-centric hospital-based registry

Background: The burden of stroke is high worldwide, especially in low-middle income countries. We aim to explore the temporal trends of the incidence rate (IR) of stroke over 14 years in Iran’s central areas. Methods: Stroke registry as part of cardiovascular disease (CVD) registry in Isfahan that focused on hospitalized patients (≥15 years) with first or recurrent stroke from 2001 to 2015. Factors included date of symptoms, demographics, management, survival at 28 days, date of admission, history of stroke, and other CVD and clinical diagnosis according to Computer Tomography Scan. We calculated age-, sex, and place-of-residence-adjusted IR based on multiple reference populations. Data were analyzed by bootstrap robust zero-truncated negative binomial regression models using R Statistical Software. Results: From 19,174 registered patients with stroke assessed by ICD-10; 18,010 (93.93%) cases were identified based on WHO-MONICA. Approximately 51% of hospitalized stroke patients were women. The average annual increase in stroke incidence based on ICD-10 ranged from 1.56% (95% CI, 0.14, 2.97) to 2.67% (95% CI, 1.25, 4.09) for different reference populations. In addition, a similar trend was also observed for stroke IR based on WHO-MONICA during the study period for the whole reference population, with an average annual change of 2.5% (95% CI, 1.28, 3.72) to 3.64 % (95% CI, 2.47, 4.82). Conclusion: Given that temporal trends of stroke have increased in both sexes, especially in Iran’s urban areas, prevention programs are needed for public awareness and physician motivation in order to identify risk factors as well as primary and secondary prevention.
Unpacking the nature of critical thinking for educational purposes

ABSTRACT Although critical thinking has been widely accepted as an educational goal for decades, clear evidence for the development of students’ critical thinking is sparse. Critical thinking has been conceptualised as skill, knowledge, and disposition respectively in psychology, philosophy and critical theory, but which applies to education is unclear. In this paper, we argue that treating critical thinking as skill is most appropriate in education. However, there are still three competing theories of critical thinking as skill: as a single unitary skill, as a set of disparate sub-skills, and as a composite skill with several sub-skills. We evaluated the validity of these theories through conducting Rasch and correlation analyses on the results of 385 undergraduate students in Thailand on the Multi-Purpose Assessment of Critical Thinking (MPACT) test. The findings suggest that critical thinking is a composite skill with several sub-skills with implications for the teaching and testing of critical thinking.
Seasonal to interannual variability of vegetation and fires at SAFARI 2000 sites inferred from advanced very high resolution radiometer time series data

[1] NOAA advanced very high resolution radiometer data are used to place the SAFARI 2000 and SAFARI 1992 intensive campaigns in the context of the interannual variability of vegetation conditions in southern Africa. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) measurements and sea surface temperature (SST) indices of El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are compared and the connections explained. The paper shows the vegetation evolution for the 2000 growing season, with unprecedented high and persistent NDVI anomalies associated with a cold phase of ENSO (La Nina) and above average rainfall between November and May, south of 15°S. In contrast, the 1992 season showed marked negative NDVI anomalies associated with an extreme drought in the southern part of the region, associated with the warm phase of ENSO (El Nino). These differences in NDVI patterns resulted in different patterns of fire distribution. More satellite detections of active fires were observed in 2000 than in 1992, especially for Botswana, Namibia, southern Zimbabwe, and southern Mozambique. Comparisons between in situ airborne measurements collected in 2000 and 1992 require an understanding of the extremely different vegetation and fire conditions associated with those years. Generalizations from results of the two SAFARI campaigns should be made with careful consideration of the extreme differences in conditions and the large interannual variability encountered in southern Africa, as depicted by the long-term record of satellite vegetation measurements.
Rock mass response model for circular openings

The main parameters affecting the failure and deformation state of the rock mass around a circular opening are the level of vertical and horizontal in situ stresses, the characteristics of the rock mass, the diameter of the opening, and the support pressure. The influence of all these parameters on the stress-induced final deformations around circular openings was investigated by a finite difference based two-dimensional numerical simulation for both hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic stress field conditions. From the results of the parametric studies, the variation of tunnel strain versus the ratio of uniaxial compressive strength of the rock mass to in situ vertical stress and the ratio of radial support pressure to in situ vertical stress for fair quality and poor quality rock masses was statistically analysed. As a result of the three-dimensional nonlinear regression analysis and surface curve fitting process by means of a large number of models, a best-fit model with the best correlation with these dimen.