Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Syntaxial Overgrowths on Dolomite Crystals in the Bluff Formation, Grand Cayman, British West Indies

ABSTRACT Complex syntaxial overgrowths are common on many dolomite crystals that line the walls of cavities in dolostones of the Bluff Formation exposed along the coastline of Grand Cayman. Scanning Electron Microscopy shows that the siting and development of the overgrowths, which are initiated on "seed crystals" less than 0.1 µm long, are predetermined by the crystallographic structure of the host crystal. Based on their three-dimensional form, the overgrowths are divided into 1) aggregate trigonal prisms, 2) needle, wall, and sheet overgrowths, and 3) needle crystals. The aggregate trigonal prisms with sides up to 12 µm long, are formed of four orders of crystals. The first order crystals, less than 1 µm long, are vertically stacked to form 2nd order crystals that are commonly capped by multifacetted crystals. The 2nd order crystals, each maintaining their identity, are arranged in a triangular outline, thereby forming a 3rd order trigonal prism. Filling the spaces in the 3rd order crystals creates a "solid" 4th order crystal. Needle overgrowths are formed of vertically stacked subcrystals (rounded hexagons, 0.5 to 1.0 µm long and 0.1 µm thick). Lateral merger produces wall overgrowths which in turn merge to form "solid" sheet overgrowths. Such overgrowths, usually 4 to 5 µm thick, can occur on all faces of the host dolomite crystal. Needle crystals are non-aggregate, elongate (up to 10 µm long) crystals that have a round cross section. All the overgrowths occur in near-surface cavities that are subjected to daytime temperatures of 27 to 30°C and periodic influxes of rainwater and seawater. Rapid evaporation of the water leaks films of water on the cavity walls from which the syntaxial overgrowths precipitate.
Comparison of cloud forcing derived from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment with that simulated by the NCAR Community Climate Model

A comprehensive comparison of top of atmosphere radiative quantities from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) with the same quantities from the latest version of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate Model (CCM) is presented. The ERBE data set offers a unique collection of top of atmosphere radiation fields for it includes clear-sky radiation fields that have in the past not been available for such comparisons. Comparison between ERBE clear-sky longwave fluxes and CCMl indicates larger outgoing flux in the model than measured by ERBE. This overestimation is ascribed to the prevalent dryness of the model. Comparison of clear sky albedo indicates good agreement over oceans and land. Total outgoing longwave flux also reflects the moisture deficiency of the model, but differences due to an underprediction of “effective” high cloud are also apparent. The clear-sky and total fluxes are combined to form the cloud radiative forcing from the ERBE data and the CCM. Comparison of shortwave cloud radiative forcing indicates deficiencies in the model where marine stratus clouds are absent. Large longwave cloud forcing over the tropical deep convective regions in Indonesia and South America are present in the model but are underestimated compared with the ERBE results. Three regions, located over Indonesia, the equatorial Pacific, and the North Atlantic, are considered in detail. For the Indonesian region where deep convection is present, we consider the statistical correlation between the longwave cloud forcing and the shortwave cloud forcing from the ERBE data and CCM. Results indicate a near cancellation between the SWCF and LWCF for these regions, whereas the model predicts a net cooling. Another major area of discrepancy is over the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans where ERBE shows that clouds significantly reduce the solar heating of the oceans. While the model simulates this cooling, the magnitude is underpredicted by more than a factor of 2.
Glacial lake outburst flood risk assessment using combined approaches of remote sensing, GIS and dam break modelling

A great number of glacial lakes have appeared in many mountain regions across the world during the last half-century due to receding of glaciers and global warming. In the present study, glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) risk assessment has been carried out in the Teesta river basin located in the Sikkim state of India. First, the study focuses on accurate mapping of the glaciers and glacial lakes using multispectral satellite images of Landsat and Indian Remote Sensing satellites. For glacier mapping, normalized difference snow index (NDSI) image and slope map of the area have been utilized. NDSI approach can identify glaciers covered with clean snow but debris-covered glaciers cannot be mapped using NDSI method alone. For the present study, slope map has been utilized along with the NDSI approach to delineate glaciers manually. Glacial lakes have been mapped by supervised maximum likelihood classification and normalized difference water index followed by manual editing afterwards using Google Earth images. Second, the first proper inventory of glacial lakes for Teesta basin has been compiled containing information of 143 glacial lakes. Third, analysis of these lakes has been carried out for identification of potentially dangerous lakes. Vulnerable lakes have been identified on the basis of parameters like surface area, position with respect to parent glacier, growth since 2009, slope, distance from the outlet of the basin, presence of supraglacial lakes, presence of other lakes in downstream, condition of moraine, condition of the terrain around them, etc. From these criterions, in total, 18 lakes have been identified as potentially dangerous glacial lakes. Out of these 18 lakes, further analysis has been carried out for the identification of the most vulnerable lake. Lake 140 comes out to be the most vulnerable for a GLOF event. Lastly, for this potentially dangerous lake, different dam break parameters have been generated using satellite data and digital elevation model. The volume and depth have been computed using empirical formulae, and other parameters such as cross-sections from the lake to outlet etc. have been prepared in ArcGIS 9.3. The GLOF which can be triggered by Lake 140 was modelled and simulated using MIKE-11 software's hydrodynamic module. As a result, flood values and hydrograph have been obtained. The flood at lake site comes out to be 2611.136 cumec which get mitigated to 1417.844 cumec at the outlet.
Persistence Length of PEGMA Bottle Brushes Determined by Pyrene Excimer Fluorescence

Seven pyrene-labeled poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate)s (PyEG5-PEGnMAs) were prepared with n = 0, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 19 ethylene glycol units by copolymerizing a small amount of penta(ethylene glycol) 1-pyrenemethyl ether methacrylate with an EGnMA monomer. The conformation of the PyEG5-PEGnMA polymers evolved from a random coil for PyEG5-PEG0MA or poly(methyl methacrylate) to a polymeric bottle brush (PBB) architecture with increasing side chain length. The fluorescence decays of the PyEG5-PEGnMA samples were fitted according to the fluorescence blob model (FBM) whose parameters were used, in combination with the Kratky–Porod equation, to calculate the persistence length of these polymers. The persistence lengths obtained from the PEF experiments were found to increase with the square of the number (NS) of non-hydrogen atoms in the side chain as expected theoretically. The persistence lengths found with the PyEG5-PEGnMA samples in DMF also matched those found earlier for another series of PEGnMA samples labeled with 1-pyrenebutanol. The good agreement found between the persistence lengths obtained with the PEGnMA samples labeled with two different pyrene derivatives illustrates the robustness of the method and its applicability for measuring the unknown persistence length of polydisperse polymer samples.
The cranial anatomy of the coelophysoid theropod Zupaysaurus rougieri from the Upper Triassic of Argentina

Zupaysaurus rougieri is a theropod dinosaur that is known from an almost complete skull and limited postcranial material (e.g., axial elements, scapulocoracoid, tibia, astragalocalcaneum), from the Los Colorados Formation (La Esquina Fauna, Norian), NW Argentina. This taxon was originally interpreted as a basal tetanuran, but is actually a member of the Coelophysoidea. Zupaysaurus differs from other basal dinosaurs in the presence of the following cranial apomorphies: a maxillary-jugal ventral margin describing an obtuse angle in lateral view, a horizontal ramus of the maxilla with parallel dorsal and ventral margins, a notch at the base of the ascending process of the maxilla, and a sigmoid ventral process of the squamosal. Furthermore, the skull of this theropod reveals anatomical novelties (e.g., pneumatic lacrimal, maxillary fenestra, oval orbit, wide contact between squamosal and quadratojugal) absent in any other Triassic dinosaur hitherto described, including remaining coelophysoids. Interestingly, these features resemble morphological aspects of more derived theropods, approaching some traits of tetanuran and ceratosaurian neotheropods. In this regard, a redescription of the skull of Zupaysaurus and comparisons with basal neotheropods, mainly coelophysoids, is presented here in order to provide a better cranial anatomical record for this Triassic theropod and insights to their early cranial evolution.
Formulation and Characterization of Hesperidin-Loaded Transethosomal Gel for Dermal Delivery to Enhance Antibacterial Activity: Comprehension of In Vitro, Ex Vivo, and Dermatokinetic Analysis

In this study, hesperidin was loaded into a transethosome and was developed employing the rotary evaporator method. The formulation was optimized using the Box–Behnken design (BBD). The optimized HSD-TE formulation has a spherical shape, vesicle size, polydispersity index, entrapment efficiency, and zeta potential within the range of 178.98 nm; the PDI was 0.259 with a zeta potential of −31.14 mV and % EE of 89.51%, respectively. The in vitro drug release shows that HSD-TE exhibited the release of 81.124 ± 3.45% in comparison to HSD suspension. The ex vivo skin permeation showed a 2-fold increase in HSD-TE gel permeation. The antioxidant activity of HSD-TE was found to be 79.20 ± 1.77% higher than that of the HSD solution. The formulation showed 2-fold deeper HSD-TE penetration across excised rat skin membranes in confocal laser microscopy scanning, indicating promising in vivo prospects. In a dermatokinetic study, HSD-TE gel was compared to HSD conventional gel where TE significantly boosted HSD transport in the epidermis and dermal layers. The formulation showed greater efficacy than free HSD in the inhibition of microbial growth, as evidenced by antibacterial activity on the Gram-negative and positive bacteria. These investigations found that the HSD-TE formulation could enhance the topical application in the management of cutaneous bacterial infections.
A Hybrid Vision-Based Method of Encountered Wave Field Measurement for Navigating Surface Vehicles

Ocean waves have a significant impact on surface vehicles, such as ships and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), and measuring wave fields using existing methods is inefficient and costly. To address this issue, this article presents a hybrid vision-based approach for navigating surface vehicle using monocular image of wave field and vessel motion data. The proposed method is based on depth estimation of image pixels and considers the effect of vessel motion on detection accuracy. The depth of each image pixel is equalized to the sum of the depth of the mean water surface and the depth variation induced by wave elevation. The depth of the mean water surface can be determined using vessel motion, and the depth variation can be approximated by a learning model using monocular images. The learning model was trained using images of field measurements performed in the South China Sea near a typhoon, and ${X}$ -band radar data were acquired for comparison. Using the proposed method, a 3-D wave field can be reconstructed. Wave spectra and wave parameters such as the dominant frequency and significant wave height were analyzed to validate measurement accuracy. The expected errors were also analyzed. The performances of the proposed and other vision-based methods were evaluated using the same dataset and compared in terms of accuracy. The results demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits an improved performance in reconstructing the wave field elevation.
Temperature trends in regions affected by increasing aridity/humidity

A paper in 1991 claimed that regions affected by desertification experience warming trends relative to neighbouring areas. To assess this, an index of aridity/humidity based on the ratio of annual precipitation to annual potential evapotranspiration totals (P/PET) is developed. This index is used to define regions experiencing increases (and those where the increase is statistically significant) in aridity and humidity. We also consider regions always arid (average values of P/PET <0.5) and always humid (P/PET >2.0). Trends of average annual and summer surface air temperature are then calculated for regions in the various aridity/humidity categories and compared to most of the rest of the world's land areas equatorward of 60°. The results indicate that most of the differences in trends between categories are not statistically significant.
Estimation of density, magnetization, and depth to source : A nonlinear and noniterative 3-D potential-field method

The depth to the top, or bottom, and the density of a 3-D homogeneous source can be estimated from its gravity or magnetic anomalies by using a priori information on the maximum and minimum source depths. For the magnetic case, the magnetization direction is assumed to be constant and known. The source is assumed to be within a layer of known depth to the top h and thickness t. A depth model, satisfying both the data and the a priori information is found, together with its associated density/magnetization contrast. The methodology first derives, from the measured data, a set of apparent densities Φij (or magnetizations), which do not depend on the layer parameters h and t, but only on source thickness. A nonlinear system of equations based on Φij, with source thicknesses as unknowns, is constructed. To simplify the solution, a more practical system of equations is formed. Each equation depends on only one value of thickness. Solving for the thicknesses, taking into account the above a priori information, .
A 15-Year Climatology of North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones. Part I: Size Parameters

Abstract The extended best-track (EBT) dataset combines the information contained in the tropical cyclone best-track dataset with measurements of tropical cyclone “size parameters. ” These parameters include the radii of the eye (REYE), maximum winds (RMW), gale-force winds (or size; 17.5 m s−1; R17), damaging-force winds (25.7 m s−1; R26), hurricane-force winds (32.9 m s−1; R33), and the outermost closed isobar (ROCI). The latest update of this dataset, to be used in this study for a size parameter climatology, contains the size parameters for North Atlantic tropical cyclones from 1988 to 2002. Such a climatology has not yet been established in this basin. Most of the results of this North Atlantic study agree with documented tropical cyclone theory and results from similar studies of northwest Pacific tropical cyclones. This provides confidence that the observations of the size parameters in the dataset are reliable. Furthermore, data west and east of 55°W (the boundary beyond which no aircraft observati.
Stenotrophomonas rhizophila Ep2.2 inhibits growth of Botrytis cinerea through the emission of volatile organic compounds, restricts leaf infection and primes defense genes

The bacterium Stenotrophomonas rhizophila is known to be beneficial for plants and has been frequently isolated from the rhizosphere of crops. In the present work, we isolated from the phyllosphere of an ornamental plant an epiphytic strain of S. rhizophila that we named Ep2.2 and investigated its possible application in crop protection. Compared to S. maltophilia LMG 958, a well-known plant beneficial species which behaves as opportunistic human pathogen, S. rhizophila Ep2.2 showed distinctive features, such as different motility, a generally reduced capacity to use carbon sources, a greater sensitivity to fusidic acid and potassium tellurite, and the inability to grow at the human body temperature. S. rhizophila Ep2.2 was able to inhibit in vitro growth of the plant pathogenic fungi Alternaria alternata and Botrytis cinerea through the emission of volatile compounds. Simultaneous PTR-MS and GC-MS analyses revealed the emission, by S. rhizophila Ep2.2, of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with well-documented antifungal activity, such as furans, sulphur-containing compounds and terpenes. When sprayed on tomato leaves and plants, S. rhizophila Ep2.2 was able to restrict B. cinerea infection and to prime the expression of Pti5, GluA and PR1 plant defense genes.
MOISTURE RETENTION CURVE OF TROPICAL SAPRIC AND HEMIC PEAT

This paper presents the preliminary result from a laboratory study to establish the moisture retention curve of undisturbed tropical peat samples classified as Sapric and Hemic. The results obtained were compared with those of the temperate peat. Under the same suction head, tropical peat seems to hold more water. The soil moisture at permanent wilting point (- 15000 cm or -150 kPa) was still relatively high at 50-60 % volumetric indicating that the soil was still visually wet, but may not be available for plant use. The possible implication could be, water table in the field should be maintained optimally high to facilitate irrigation water supply from capillary rise.
Latitude-Time Total Electron Content Anomalies as Precursors to Japan's Large Earthquakes Associated with Principal Component Analysis

The goal of this study is to determine whether principal component analysis (PCA) can be used to process latitude-time ionospheric TEC data on a monthly basis to identify earthquake associated TEC anomalies. PCA is applied to latitude-time (mean-of-a-month) ionospheric total electron content (TEC) records collected from the Japan GEONET network to detect TEC anomalies associated with 18 earthquakes in Japan (M≥6.0) from 2000 to 2005. According to the results, PCA was able to discriminate clear TEC anomalies in the months when all 18 earthquakes occurred. After reviewing months when no M≥6.0 earthquakes occurred but geomagnetic storm activity was present, it is possible that the maximal principal eigenvalues PCA returned for these 18 earthquakes indicate earthquake associated TEC anomalies. Previously PCA has been used to discriminate earthquake-associated TEC anomalies recognized by other researchers, who found that statistical association between large earthquakes and TEC anomalies could be established in the 5 days before earthquake nucleation; however, since PCA uses the characteristics of principal eigenvalues to determine earthquake related TEC anomalies, it is possible to show that such anomalies existed earlier than this 5-day statistical window.
Aerosol emissions by tropical forest and savanna biomass burning: Characteristic trace elements and fluxes

Aerosol particles were collected during the dry season in the amazonian forest and in African and Brazilian savannas. Sampling was performed inside the plumes of vegetation fires and in the local background atmosphere. Samples were analysed for their elemental composition by Particle Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE). Enrichment factors relative to the local background were calculated. Savanna fire aerosols are characterised by enrichments in elements like K, P, Cl, Zn, and Br, whereas forest fire emissions are enriched in Si and Ca. The unexpected low potassium enrichment factor for the forest fires could be due to the prevailing smoldering conditions, whereas the high values of potassium enrichment factor during savanna fires could be associated with the predominant flaming conditions. This result indicates that potassium may be considered a good tracer of the flaming phase of fires only. Emission factors of P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Mn, Zn, Br and total particulate matter were calculated for African savanna fires. Our estimates of the annual potassium and zinc emissions by tropical savanna fires indicate that the contribution of this source should be taken into account to understand the biogeochemical cycle of these elements.
Azimuthal anisotropy in P-wave 3-D (multiazimuth) data

A naturally‐fractured gas reservoir in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming, is the site of a Department of Energy‐sponsored project to optimize seismic techniques for characterizing natural fractures (density, orientation). The target zone is the Lower Fort Union (LFU, depth 5400–10 000 ft, two‐way time ∼1.3–∼2 s), a low porosity, low permeability section in which fractures are necessary for commercial gas production. Flow rates incompatible with matrix porosity and permeability are observed.
A sedimentary record of the deposition of heavy metals and magnetic oxides in the Loch Dee basin, Galloway, Scotland, since c. AD 1500

Geochemical analyses of a 210Pb dated piston core from Loch Dee have highlighted trends of increased Pb and Cu deposition within the catchment as early as AD 1500, probably as a consequence of local mining and smelting activity. More marked atmospheric pollutant deposition appears to have occurred in association with European industrialization after c. 1840, causing a conspicuous enhancement of Pb, Zn, Cu and magnetically detectable Fe oxide concentrations in the uppermost 8 cm of sediment. The co-variability of these contaminants through the surficial sediment suggests that they emanate from a common industrial process and the presence of magnetic oxides in cenospheric particulates implicates thermal power generation plant as a principal pollutant source. This interpretation is further supported by the temporal comparability of trace metal/magnetic oxide influxes at Loch Dee and documented records regarding European fossil fuel combustion levels over the past 150 years. The reduced heavy metal concentrations recorded in sediments deposited during the last decade may accurately chronicle falling deposition during this period, but could also reflect an increase in the efficiency with which metals have been leached from the surficial sediment as the surface waters have acidified. The accordance between the post-industrial record of sedimentary pollutant incorpora tion at Loch Dee and temporal adjustments to the diatom flora of several Galloway lochs is consistent with claims that recent acidification in the region has been a direct response to hydrocarbon-derived atmospheric deposition.
Ethiopia Country Report.

Ethiopia is a land-locked country located in East Africa, and is bordered by Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and Sudan. With an estimated population of more than 85,000,000, Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country. Although Ethiopia’s official language is Amharic, there are a variety of officially recognized regional languages which are spoken among Ethiopia’s ethnically diverse population. According to a census taken in 2007, 34.5 percent of Ethiopians are ethnic Oromo, 26.91 percent Amhara, 6.2 percent Somali, 6.07 percent Tigraway, with the remaining percentage divided among the Guragie, Sidama, Welaita, among others.