Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Post-fire ephemerals and spinifex-fuelled fires: a decision model for bilby habitat management in the Tanami Desert, Australia

Seed from post-fire ephemeral plants like Yakirra australiense can form an important component of the diet of the bilby, a threatened arid-dwelling bandicoot. An investigation was conducted to determine the factors affecting the production of Yakirra and fire reoccurrence in the Tanami Desert. A simple decision model was produced to assist managers decide where and when to burn and what to expect regarding Yakirra australiense growth following fire and rainfall. The information used in the model may be derived from existing spatial databases that document rainfall and fire history and could be used to map broad-scale temporal change in total vegetation cover and components of habitat suitability for the bilby. The season and magnitude of rainfall and time-since-fire were the most important variables in the production of Yakirra seed. Rainfall >300 mm within a 2-month period of intense-complete burns could result in >5% Yakirra cover, and >100 mm was required for >1% cover. Negligible Yakirra cover occurred in adjacent long-unburnt plots. Total ground cover and spinifex cover varied substantially in relation to mean annual rainfall, but not in relation to substrate type. Long-unburnt spinifex cover was mostly too sparse to carry a fire in the southern part of the Tanami and the growth of non-spinifex vegetation would be necessary to boost fuel loads sufficiently to carry a fire. Generally, more than 41% cover was required to carry a fire but this was also dependent on weather conditions. Managers should aim to burn in late spring or early summer to improve Yakirra production. Fire management to enhance habitat suitability for the bilby would be of most benefit in the northern part of the Tanami Desert where growth rate of vegetation is greater and there is little existing fire age heterogeneity.
Trends in authorship demographics for manuscripts published in endocrine journals - A 70-year analysis [version 2; peer review: 1 approved with reservations]

Background : Over the previous few decades, trends in author demographics have significantly changed. Such trends have already been studied for many sub-specialties but endocrinology is among the few branches that are yet to see an analysis of such trends. to 70% (170/250) between 1961 and 2021. Male-Female and Female-Male combinations rose with Chi-Square = 124.6, (p<0.0001). Europe and the Americas had the most female academic medical contributors (p<0.0001) Regardless of author status, female participation rose from 17.48% in 1961 to 68% in 2021. Conclusion : In papers published in endocrinology journals, there was a rising trend in female contributions to academic medicine. Even with the large growth of female endocrinologists, there is still a disparity in why the increase in female authors is comparably fewer.
Bacterial transport in porous media: Evaluation of a model using laboratory observations

The factors that control the transport of bacteria through porous media are not well understood. The relative importance of the processes of dispersion, of immobilization of bacterial cells by various mechanisms (deposition), and of subsequent release of these trapped cells (entrainment) in describing transport has not been elucidated experimentally. Moreover, the variability of the phenomenological coefficients used to model these processes, given changes in such primary factors as grain size, organism, and ionic strength of the water, is unknown. We report results of fitting solutions of an advection-dispersion equation, modified to account for deposition and entrainment, to breakthrough curves from packed sand columns using two sizes of sand, two ionic strengths of the carrier solution, and two organisms with different sizes. A solution to the advection-dispersion equation including three processes, that is, dispersion, deposition, and entrainment, provides a match to the data that is superior to that achieved by solutions ignoring one of the processes. Fitted values of the coefficient describing deposition vary in a consistent manner with the control variables (organism, grain size, and ionic strength) and are generally within one order of magnitude of those predicted on the basis of theory.
Immobile Water Content and Mass Exchange Coefficient of a Field Soil

Determining the preferential flow characteristics of a soil is important because agrichemicals can contaminate groundwater via preferential flow pathways. A model that predicts solute transport due to preferential flow is the mobile-immobile solute transport model, which partitions the total water content (θ, m 3 m -3 ) into a mobile fraction (θ m ) and an immobile fraction (θ im ). Recently, an in situ method was proposed for determining the mobile-immobile model parameters of θ im , and mass exchange coeffident (α) between the fractions by using a tension infiltrometer to apply a series of four fluorobenzoate tracers. The objective of this study was to test the in situ technique at 47 sites along a transect in a ridge-till corn (Zea mays L.) field of Nicollet soil (fine-loamy, mixed, mesic Aquic Hapludoll). The immobile fraction (θ im /θ) ranged from 0.394 to 0.952 with a median of 0.622. The mass exchange coefficient ranged from 0.000237 to 0.00481 min -1 with a median of 0.00123 min -1 . These values are similar in magnitude and range to values reported by other investigators, and they follow the same relationships. The values of θ im /θ and a along the transect indicated no obvious spatial trends or spatial correlations. Significant linear correlations did exist between α and soil water flux, α and θ im , and θ and θ im .
Illuminating Activities at Paleo Crossing (33ME274) Through Microwear Analysis

Abstract Microwear analysis provides a means to extract important information on the activities conducted at Paleoindian sites from meager assemblages. Microwear analysis was conducted on a sample of 10 tools from the Paleo Crossing site in Medina County, Ohio. Tools analyzed included fluted points, end scrapers, blades, gravers, and unifacial knives. Wear patterns indicated that the tools were used to cut, scrape, engrave, and penetrate (i.e., via a projectile) such materials as soft plant, meat, hide, and bone/antler. Several of the tools were hafted and wear patterns were well developed overall. Based on this pilot study, comparison with microwear studies conducted on sites in the Great Lakes region and beyond suggests that Paleo Crossing provides new information on the number, as well as the types, of Paleoindian tools used to cut soft plant.
Influence of Continental Ice Retreat on Future Global Climate

AbstractEvidence from observations indicates a net loss of global land-based ice and a rise of global sea level. Other than sea level rise, it is not clear how this loss of land-based ice could affect other aspects of global climate in the future. Here, the authors use the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3) to evaluate the potential influence of shrinking land-based ice on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and surface climate in the next two centuries under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) A1B scenario with prescribed rates of melting for the Greenland Ice Sheet, West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and mountain glaciers and ice caps. Results show that the AMOC, in general, is only sensitive to the freshwater discharge directly into the North Atlantic over the next two centuries. If the loss of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would not significantly increase from its current rate, it would not have much effect on the AMOC. The AMOC slows down further only when the .
Molecular Characterization of Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species in dried Traditional foods in Zimbabwe

The presence of aflatoxin producing Aspergillusspp in sixty samples of six selected traditional foods sold on the Bulawayo open market in Zimbabwe was investigated. Ten samples of each of the following commodities were bought from the market; dried groundnuts, dried cowpeas, dried maize, dried cowpea leaves, dried mopane worms and dried Cleome gynandra leaves and analysed for the presence of aflatoxigenic aspergillus. Moisture content of the samples was determined and another portion of the samples was plated on petri dishes containing Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) and incubated at 28˚C. A total of 35 isolates was obtained and these were characterised according to their morphology as well as the type of aflatoxins they produced as determined by thin layer chromatography.
Modeling of Riverbed Evolution for Bedload Sediment Mixtures

A new computational methodology for fully coupled simulation of unsteady water and sediment movement in mobile‐bed alluvial rivers has been developed and tested. The one‐dimensional approach treats bedload transport of nonuniform sediment mixtures with sorting and armoring effects considered. Spatial lag effects in nonequilibrium bedload transport are taken into account through innovative use of the recently developed notion of a loading law. The new system of equations for water and sediment movement is solved in a fully coupled, implicit manner using the Preissmann finite difference scheme implemented to allow for either upstream‐ or downstream‐induced mobile‐bed perturbations. Formal analysis of the coupled system sheds new light on boundary‐condition requirements for the multiple‐size‐class problem. The fully coupled implicit solution has proven to be robust and stable, and it respects the underlying volumetric conservation laws remarkably well, as demonstrated in continuity analyses of computed bed e.
Experimental studies of seismoelectric conversions in fluid-saturated porous media

When seismic waves generate a relative fluid-solid motion in a fluid-saturated porous medium, the moving charges (streaming current) in the electric double layer induce an electromagnetic (EM) field. This paper first experimentally confirms that the coupling between the seismic wave and the electromagnetic field in the kilohertz range is electrokinetic in nature. Seismoelectric signals are measured in homogeneous cylindrical porous rock samples and multilayered models. The seismoelectric signals in homogeneous rock are electric fields that move along with the acoustic wave. The mechanism of the seismoelectric conversion is completely different from the piezoelectric effect of quartz grains. The seismoelectric sensitivity with respect to salinity of the saturant has been experimentally determined. The amplitude of seismoelectric signals increases as the saturant conductivity decreases. The seismoelectric effects are generated by two different mechanisms. Both the EM radiation and the electric potential generated at an interface and within a porous medium, respectively, were measured as the P wave, at ultrasonic frequencies, passes through the layered models. Our experimental results demonstrate that seismoelectric effects exist and are measurable in the kilohertz range. The paper concludes with a comparison of experimental data and modeled data in a three-layer porous model. Seismoelectric measurements could be an effective means of obtaining transport coefficients such as hydraulic permeability and other porous rock properties.
A study of the sensitivity of simulated mineral dust production to model resolution

The dependence of dust production on model grid-space resolution is investigated using the Navy's operational mesoscale meteorological model with an imbedded dust emission model. The study covers a 2-week period of strong dust storms in April 1998 in the major dust source area of East Asia. The modeled surface winds at grid resolutions of 20, 40, 60, and 80 km are verified against observational data. At all resolutions the model has a positive bias in wind speed that decreases as resolution increases. Dust fluxes that are proportional to the fourth power of the friction velocity (u*) and the third power of the wind speed are calculated at all four resolutions and compared. Compared with the 20-km resolution u*-driven flux, which is deduced to be the most accurate, the u*-driven flux on the coarser grids overestimate the flux, with the 80 km being 60% higher for individual events and nearly 20% higher in the total dust production for the entire study period. The wind-driven flux misses the smaller events due to the lack of a dependence on stability and wind shear, when compared with the timing of surface dust observations, and has differences of up to 70%, when compared with the 20-km u*-driven flux. Averaging over space and time tends to reduce the differences among grids and might support modeling at coarse resolution.
Observed association between air pollution and the biologically effective solar ultraviolet irradiance

The interplay between solar ultraviolet irradiance at the Earth’s surface and the air quality of the troposphere is explored. This attempt is focused mainly on the quantitative and qualitative dependence of the photochemical air pollution on the solar ultraviolet irradiance reaching different height levels and vice versa. To reach this target, observational data acquired in the greater Athens (Greece) area are employed. Special attention is paid to biologically effective solar ultraviolet radiation, focusing on the wavelengths that have an adverse impact on human eyes.
Whole Earth tomography from delay times of P, PcP, and PKP phases: Lateral heterogeneities in the outer core or radial anisotropy in the mantle?

We perform tomographic inversions of compressional wave travel time measurements, in order to image the laterally varying radial anisotropy of P wave velocity in the entire mantle. In order to achieve an adequate sensitivity to both horizontal and vertical P velocity throughout the mantle, we include in our data set travel time measurements corresponding to ray paths of very different geometries. Specifically, we use data associated with the phases P, PcP (core-reflected) and PKPbc, PKP df (core-refracted), all extracted from the bulletins of the International Seismological Centre, 1964–1993. PcP, PKPbc, and PKPdf data are also sensitive to the topography of the core-mantle boundary (CMB) and (PKP only) to the velocity structure of the Earth's core. These circumstances require that we also allow for CMB topographic anomalies as free parameters in our inversions and investigate the possibility of the existence of lateral heterogeneities in the outer core [e.g., Ritzwoller et al, 1986; Stevenson, 1987; Wahr and de Vries, 1989; Vasco and Johnson, 1998]. The solution models that we propose include alternatively a laterally heterogeneous outer core, a radially anisotropic mantle, or both, so that trade-offs between those features can also be evaluated. We conclude that only minor, and very localized, radially anisotropic anomalies are present in the middle and lower mantle, the most prominent being located in the deepest 400 km, under the western Pacific. We find a discrepancy, particularly evident by a comparison between different models of the CMB topography, between the travel time measurements that are sensitive to the Earth's core and those that are not; we show that it is not possible to explain this discrepancy only in terms of radial anisotropy of the mantle and/or lateral heterogeneity of the outer core.
Annual and seasonal variation of turbidity, total dissolved solids, nitrate and nitrite in the Parsabad water treatment plant, Iran

Aims: This study investigated the annual and seasonal variation of turbidity; total dissolved solid (TDS), nitrate and nitrite in Parsabad water treatment plant (WTP), Iran. Materials and Methods: The water samples were obtained from the inlet and outlet of Parsabad WTP from February 2002 to June 2009. The samples' turbidity, TDS, nitrate, nitrite, pH, and temperature were measured according to standard methods once a month and the average of these parameters were calculated for each season of year. Results: The maximum concentration of inlet turbidity, TDS, nitrate and nitrite were 691, 700.5, 25, and 0.17 mg/l, respectively. These parameters for outlet samples in the study period were 3.0, 696.7, 18, and 0.06 mg/l, respectively. While these concentrations in outlet zone were lower than World Health Organization (WHO) or United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) water quality guidelines, WTP could not reduce the TDS, nitrate, nitrite and pH value and these parameters were not different in the inlet and outlet samples. However, the WTP reduced the turbidity significantly with an efficiency of up to 85%. Conclusion: This study showed that a common WTP with rapid sand filtration can treat a maximum river turbidity of 700 NTU in several years. As no differences were observed between inlet and outlet TDS, nitrate, nitrite and pH in the studied WTP. It can be concluded that compensatory schemes should be predicted for modification of these parameters when they exceed the standards in the emergency situations.
Coercive mental health care – dilemmas in the decision-making process

E-post: torkil.berge@diakonsyk.no Adult Psychiatry Department Vinderen Diakonhjemmet Hospital He has contributed to all aspects of the study and has approved the submitted version of the manuscript. Torkil Berge is a specialist in clinical psychology and professional development adviser. The author has completed the ICMJE form and reports the following conflicts of interest: We have received financial support from ‘Tvangsforsk’ (Norwegian Research Network on Coercion in Mental Health Care) and from the Norwegian Directorate of Health for this study.
Clinical events in coronary patients who report low distress: adverse effect of repressive coping.

OBJECTIVE Coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who report low distress are considered to be at low psychological risk for clinical events. However, patients with a repressive coping style may fail to detect and report signals of emotional distress. The authors hypothesized that repressive CAD patients are at risk for clinical events, despite low self-rated distress. DESIGN This was a prospective 5- to 10-year follow-up study, with a mean follow-up of 6.6 years. At baseline, 731 CAD patients filled out Trait-Anxiety (distress), Marlowe-Crowne (defensiveness), and Type D scales; 159 patients were classified as "repressive," 360 as "nonrepressive," and 212 as "Type D. " MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary endpoint was a composite of total mortality or myocardial infarction (MI); the secondary endpoint was cardiac mortality/MI. RESULTS No patients were lost to follow-up; 91 patients had a clinical event (including 35 cardiac death and 32 MI). Repressive patients reported low levels of anxiety, anger and depression at baseline, but were at increased risk for death/MI (21/159 = 13%) compared with nonrepressive patients (22/360 = 6%), p = . 009. Poor systolic function, poor exercise tolerance, 3-vessel disease, index MI and Type-D personality--but not depression, anxiety or anger--also independently predicted clinical events. After controlling for these variables, repressive patients still had a twofold increased risk of death/MI, OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.10-4.08, p = . 025). These findings were replicated for cardiac mortality/MI. CONCLUSION CAD patients who use a repressive coping style are at increased risk for clinical events, despite their claims of low emotional distress. This phenomenon may cause an underestimation of the effect of stress on the heart. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).
Automatic Amalgamation of Buildings for Producing Ordnance Survey® 1:50 000 Scale Maps

Abstract This paper presents algorithms designed to generalize the buildings from Ordnance Survey base-scale data. The aim was to automatically create a representation that follows the style of the current 1:50 000 scale OS Landranger Map series. First, a data enhancement technique is described for distinguishing between dense conurbations and sparser rural settlements. Then two algorithms are detailed, which generate the different building representation styles found in urban and rural contexts. Finally, the experiments and results are presented.
New insights into the cone sheet structure of the Cuillin Complex, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Abstract: Structural data were collected on 1100 cone sheets and dykes with the aim of reconstructing the geometry of the complex, recognizing emplacement phases, and contributing to understanding this classical area and the evolution of cone sheets in general. Mean sheet dip angles are 40°, 43°, 47° and 50° in four sections transecting the complex. Sheet thickness ranges from a few centimetres to 5 m, with a dominant thickness of <1 m. Intrusion intensity ranges from 1% to 35%, increasing towards the central zone. Initial cone sheet emplacement occurred within a gabbroid pluton that was hot enough to amalgamate the sheets. Dykes striking N155–165° were then emplaced, followed by shallow-dipping cone sheets, dykes striking N135–145°, steep-dipping cone sheets, dykes striking roughly east–west and, finally, dykes striking N150–165°. The NW–SE-striking dykes were emplaced during re-establishment of regional stresses, after perturbation by local magma-induced stresses when cone sheets were emplaced, interspersed with magma escaping horizontally from the volcano conduit to feed local dykes. Two successive magma chambers at different depths, with flat geometries and different volumes, may explain sheet architecture and location. The whole cone sheet system consists of a stack of parallel concentric sheets, rather than a model of convergence towards a single focus.
Deviation from reciprocity in bidirectional reflectance

The subject of the paper is to discuss and quantify deviations from reciprocity of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), i.e., the difference of BRDF obtained when inverting illumination and viewing directions. Directional reciprocity is not valid in general, because when the illumination beam has a spatial extension larger than the viewed area (as is most often the case for BRDF measurements), some of the scatterers building up the observed radiance are located at different places in reciprocal measurements. The physical systems under consideration in the two experiments are different, hence the breakdown of reciprocity. The paper develops a theory aiming at a quantitative estimation of deviations from directional reciprocity due to this factor. The theory is based on integral forms of the radiative transfer equation in a horizontal slab of heterogeneous absorbing and scattering media. The observed scene radiance is expanded in a series of scattering orders. Integral expressions of the single- and multiple-scattering radiance are derived and put in a form suitable for the analysis of the reciprocity problem. The first-order expression leads to an estimate of the order of magnitude e of the relative deviations from reciprocity, , where D is the size of the viewed area (pixel size for imaging sensors), h is the vertical photon mean free path, δQ/Q is a measure of the scene heterogeneity, and θi, θv, and ϕ are the illumination and view zenith angles and the relative azimuth between illumination and view directions. It is argued that this order of magnitude should remain approximately valid if all orders of scattering are taken into account. A discussion of practical applications in various fields, laboratory optical reflectometry, Earth radiation budget monitoring, and terrestrial surfaces remote sensing is given.