Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long‐term variations in regional rainfall in the south‐west of Western Australia and the difference between average and high intensity rainfalls

The south‐west of Western Australia is characterized by a ‘Mediterranean’ climate with dominantly winter rainfall. It is the only Australian region where the annual rainfall has significantly decreased during the period 1911–1990. Based on daily rainfall records from 70 stations in the area, high intensity rainfall (which is closely related to flooding, soil erosion, and gully formation) does not show a concurrent decrease. Reasons for this unconformable trend include a greater temporal variability of high intensity rainfall and an increase in the frequency of occurrence of rainfall events at high intensities during the summer. This tends to balance out a decrease during the winter months. While it is unwise to assume that there will be similar trends for average rainfall and high intensity rainfall for a given region, evidence from the instrumental records supports, to some extent, the notion that in a CO‐warmed world, high intensity rainfall could occur more frequently irrespective of local change to average rainfall. Copyright
Fluviatile sediment fluxes to the Mediterranean Sea: a quantitative approach and the influence of dams

Abstract The Mediterranean drainage basin incorporates more than 160 rivers with a catchment >200 km2, of which only a few are larger than 50 × 103 km2: this observation emphasizes the role of the smaller rivers. The present investigation, incorporating the analysis of data sets from 69 rivers, has estimated a total sediment flux of some 1 × 109 tonnes (t) year−1; of this, suspended sediment contributes some two-thirds of the load, with the remaining third supplied by the combined dissolved and bed-load components. The magnitude of the sediment supply is best demonstrated by various observations: (i) some 46% of the total length of the Mediterranean coastline (46 133 km) has been formed by sediment deposition; (ii) many Mediterranean deltas have prograded in recent times by, at least, several metres per year; and (iii) Holocene coastal (inner shelf) deposits are some tens of metres in thickness. The construction of hundreds of dams around the Mediterranean Sea, especially over the last 50 years, has led to a dramatic reduction in the sediment supply- to approximately 50% of the potential (natural) sediment supply. Such a reduction is considered to be the primary factor responsible for the loss of coastal (mainly deltaic) land, with annual rates of erosion ranging from tens (Ebro, Po) to hundreds of metres (Nile).
T HE E FFECTS OF “G RUNTING ” ON S ERVE AND F OREHAND V ELOCITIES IN C OLLEGIATE T ENNIS P LAYERS

The effects of “grunting” on serve and forehand velocities in collegiate tennis players. J Strength Cond Res 28(12): 3469–3475, 2014—The aim of this study was to examine the effects of grunting on velocity and force production during dynamic and static tennis strokes in peak muscle
Environmental changes in the Late Ordovician–early Silurian: Review and new insights from black shales and nitrogen isotopes

The Late Ordovician (Katian-Hirnantian) through earliest Silurian (Rhuddanian) interval was a time of varying climate and sea level, marked by a peak glacial episode in the early-mid-Hirnantian. Synthesis of recently published data permits global correlation of at least two cycles of glacial advance and retreat with a distinct interglacial period that is recognizable in sequence-stratigraphic and chemostratigraphic records in many parts of the world. A period of warming and sea-level rise during the late Katian is marked by the widespread occurrences of oceanic anoxia in paleotropical and subtropical localities, mostly confined to regions of inferred upwelling and semirestricted marine basins. Nitrogen isotope data show that the regions of oceanic anoxia were marked by intense water-column denitrification in which cyanobacteria were the principal source of fixed N. In the overlying peak glacial interval of the Hirnantian, sedimentary successions from localities representing a wide range of water depths and paleolatitudes indicate that anoxia was restricted during the early-mid-Hirnantian. The shift to more positive N isotope values also suggests less intense water-column denitrification. In the overlying late Hirnantian and early Rhuddanian, the distribution of black shales reaches its greatest extent in the studied interval. Localities showing evidence of anoxia are globally spread over all paleolatitudes and water depths for which data are available, indicating a Rhuddanian ocean anoxic event comparable to examples from the Mesozoic. It is accompanied by a return to intensely denitrifying conditions within the water column, as indicated by the shift to negative N isotope values. The two phases of Hirnantian mass extinction coincide with rapid, climate-driven changes in oceanic anoxia. The first extinction occurred at the onset of glaciation and with the loss of anoxic conditions at the end of the Katian. The second extinction occurred at the demise of glaciation and coincided with the return of anoxic conditions during the late Hirnantian–early Rhuddanian. Integration of our N isotope data with graptolite biodiversity records suggests that the extinctions were profoundly influenced by changes occurring at the base of the marine food web, i.e., redox-driven changes in nutrient cycling and primary producer communities.
Variability of the Indian Ocean Dipole in coupled model paleoclimate simulations

[1] The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) mode of variability has been observed to influence atmospheric circulation and precipitation over the Indian Ocean basin and surrounding continental areas, interacting with the Asian monsoon and El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Paleo-IOD reconstructions from fossil corals from the eastern tropical Indian Ocean suggest that IOD events may have varied in strength and timing under past climate conditions. The variability of the IOD and interactions with the Asian monsoon and ENSO are investigated here using a series of coupled model simulations of time slices during the last 55,000 years. The Fast Ocean Atmosphere Model (FOAM) is used to simulate pre-industrial climate and paleoclimate time slices at 6,000, 11,000, 21,000, 35,000, and 55,000 years before present. The strength and timing of IOD events in the FOAM simulations is found to vary, with larger amplitude IOD variability being associated with a weaker Asian summer monsoon and stronger ENSO variability. FOAM simulates a reduced strength IOD in the mid-Holocene and stronger IOD variability in the Last Glacial Maximum time slice. There is some evidence that the timing of IOD events varies in response to changes in insolation seasonality over the tropical Indian Ocean and resulting changes in the timing and amplitude of the Asian summer monsoon and ENSO.
Efficiency of an incomplete block design based on geostatistics for tillage experiments

Spatial dependence of soil properties often reduces the power of conventional statistical methods to detect treatment differences. Control of adverse effects of soil variability is of special interest in long-term experiments when small and slowly developing treatment effects are generally expected to occur, as in tillage research. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of an incomplete block design based on geostatistical concepts to improve the precision of conservation tillage experiment conducted at four sites in Aragon, northeast Spain. A preliminary geostatistical characterization of plow layer variability at these sites showed that, in most instances, soil water content and silt plus clay content were spatially dependent. Maps of kriged estimates of these properties were used to locate the tillage plots according to the proposed design. Using incomplete blocks of Size 2, the method estimates treatment effects by making short-distance comparisons and ensures spatially balanced treatment contrasts through fixed comparison distances. This design was compared with a complete block design using soil and crop data obtained during the first two growing seasons of the tillage experiment. The results of a total of 1050 analysis of variance comparisons revealed that the incomplete block design was, on average, 24% more efficient than the complete block design. The use of incomplete blocks reduced the average error mean square by 33% and increased the number of cases with significant tillage treatment differences by 25% compared with the use of complete blocks.
The final phase of dead‐ice moraine development: processes and sediment architecture, Kötlujökull, Iceland

Consecutive phases of de‐icing of ice‐cored moraines and the formation of dead‐ice moraine were monitored over a 4‐year period at the terminus of the Kötlujökull glacier, Iceland. Particularly, the transition from partially ice‐cored moraine with isolated dead‐ice blocks to the ice‐free landscape receives attention in this paper in order to link the final melting processes to the architecture of the sedimentary end product. In the current humid sub‐polar climate of south Iceland de‐icing of partially ice‐cored moraines results chiefly from melting along the bottom surface of ice‐cores with an annual average rate of 25 cm. The final de‐icing is associated with an interrelated group of re‐sedimentation processes and surface features. Series of sinkholes evolve at the toe of dead‐ice blocks, which initiate retrogressive rotational sliding or backslumping of the ice‐cored slopes and the formation of distinct edges and fractures in the adjacent basins. Although backslumping is the dominant process in this phase of re‐sedimentation, structures resulting from this process are rarely recognized in the ice‐free landscape. As ice‐cores gradually diminish the effect of the latest re‐sedimentation events will overprint or destroy most existing sedimentary characteristics. Thus, in the ice‐free landscape, structures mainly related to the formation of sinkholes and fractures remain imprinted on the sediment succession. Generally, no inversion of the topography occurs during the final phase of de‐icing. The overall topography recognized in the late phase of the fully ice‐cored terrain is merely lowered and the amplitude of the relief reduced as de‐icing progresses. The sediment architecture of the ice‐free landscape is characterized by heterogeneous and often slumped diamict sediments with variable thickness and lateral distribution; clast orientation is related to the direction of slopes, and boulders are found in isolated groups or in linear arrangements.
Improving the enabling environment to combat land degradation: Institutional, financial, legal and science‐policy challenges and solutions

The need to mainstream land degradation issues into national policies and frameworks is encouraged by international mechanisms such as the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 2000). However, mainstreaming has faced a number of interrelated institutional, financial, legal, knowledge and policy barriers. As such, despite 15 years of existence of the UNCCD, successes in reversing and/or preventing land degradation are widely perceived to be limited. This paper highlights the nature of these barriers to mainstreaming and identifies ways in which specific limitations that hamper mainstreaming of land degradation into national, regional and international activities and policies may be overcome. It also identifies institutional infrastructures through which scientific findings may more effectively enter policy, suggesting that scientific bodies are required to strategise, coordinate and stimulate the global scientific research community to support mainstreaming and the up‐scaling of efforts to combat land degradation. Such a scientific body could also stimulate national cross‐sectoral and multi‐stakeholder knowledge exchange. The paper then moves to the national level to examine mainstreaming processes in Namibia, a country particularly advanced in taking a more integrated approach. Although the Namibia case study shows an impressive degree of integration, there are still many lessons to be learned in order to further strengthen mainstreaming processes. These lessons form the basis of our conclusion and recommendations, which outline a potential way forward. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Time‐resolved statistical analysis of nonlinear electrostatic fluctuationsin the ionospheric E region

[1] Low-frequency electrostatic fluctuations detectedby the instruments on the Rocket and Scatter Experiment (ROSE) rockets inthe E region over northern Scandinavia are analyzed.It is demonstrated that the time-resolved statistical properties of the fluctuationsdeviate significantly from those associated with a Gaussian process. The characteristicsof the fluctuations are analyzed with particular attention to non-Gaussianeffects and phase-coherent mode couplings of electrostatic fluctuations. Non-Gaussianeffects are analyzed by means of the kernel estimator for probability densityfor short data segments. Short-time phase-coherent effects are analyzed andquantified by means of the squared wavelet bicoherence, which has desirablestatistical properties in the frequency regions of interest. The results arecompared with similar results from rocket data obtained over SondreStromfjord in Greenland. The results show a remarkable similarity,indicating that the observed phase coherence is a robust feature of the saturatedstage of the E region instabilities.
Morphine deprivation increases self-administration of the fast- and short-acting mu-opioid receptor agonist remifentanil in the rat

Opiate dependence and withdrawal have long been hypothesized to enhance the reinforcing effects of opiates, however, opiate agonist self-administration in these states has yet to be systematically assessed. To address this issue, the reinforcing property of the short-acting µ-opioid agonist, remifentanil, was assessed in morphine-dependent (MD), morphine-dependent and –withdrawn (MW), and nondependent, control (C) rats. Dependence was established by twice daily administration of increasing doses of morphine for 4 days (10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/kg, s.c), and then maintained with a daily injection of the large dose. Morphine deprivation-induced withdrawal (defined by weight loss and hyperalgesia) was apparent 24, but not 12, hours after morphine treatment. Remifentanil self-administration (0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2, or 6.4 µg/kg/infusion) was assessed over 20 successive, daily, 1-hour sessions, either 12 or 24 hours after the maintenance dose of morphine. Compared to the control group, the MD group demonstrated suppressed remifentanil self-administration, whereas the MW group exhibited enhanced responding for every dose of remifentanil. The increased responding observed in the MW group compared to the control and MD groups resulted in an upward-shift in the remifentanil dose-response curve, an effect that was expressed only after repeated exposure to the contingency, demonstrating that morphine withdrawal ultimately enhances the reinforcing effects of remifentanil.
MODERN ANALOGS IN QUATERNARY PALEOECOLOGY: Here Today, Gone Yesterday, Gone Tomorrow?

▪ Abstract Modern analog analysis, the comparison of Quaternary fossil pollen assemblages with modern assemblages, has long been a mainstay of paleoecological and paleoclimatic inference. The logic of analogical inference involves a comparative element (comparison of modern and fossil assemblages to select matches and assess goodness of fit) and a causal element (assumption that the relationships between modern vegetation and derivative pollen assemblages are matched by those between ancient vegetation and fossil pollen assemblages). An array of numerical and statistical tools have been developed to ensure objective, consistent, and quantitative assessments of similarity between pollen assemblages. Divergent or convergent relationships between vegetation and pollen assemblages can arise from a variety of sources, composing a potential source of error in analog analysis, but such errors can be anticipated and minimized. Pollen assemblages lacking modern analogs are well documented for the late-glacial peri.
International Congress on Hormonal Steroids and Hormones and Cancer The expression and function of estrogen receptor and in human breast cancer and its clinical application

The overexpression of estrogen receptor α (ERα) is frequently observed in the early stage of breast cancer. We previously reported that the specific promoter of the ERα gene is responsible for this enhanced transcription of the gene, and identified the cis-acting elements which play an important role in its transcription. Furthermore, methylation of the ERα gene promoters also contribute to the regulation of gene transcription. Elucidation of these mechanisms of ERα gene expression may provide useful information for the early detection and chemoprevention of breast cancer. On the other hand, the expression of ERβ has been reported in breast cancer. We have also assessed the significance and function of ERβ and its variant types in breast cancer, and suggest that ERβ and ERβcx specifically suppress the function of ERα through different mechanisms. ERβ isoforms may be important functional modulators of the estrogen-signaling pathway in breast cancer cells, and might affect the clinical outcome of patients. Moreover, to address the role of these ERs on the estrogen-dependent growth of breast cancer cells and to develop a diagnostic tool, we have analyzed the gene expression profiles of estrogen-responsive genes using cDNA microarray. Based on these results, the expression of several candidate genes in breast cancer tissues were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR and by immunohistochemical techniques, in order to discover new predictive factors for the endocrine therapy of patients with breast cancer. These studies could provide new clues for the elucidation of the estrogen-dependent mechanisms of cancer and the clinical benefits for patients. Endocrine-Related Cancer (2003) 10 193–202
Interim PET Assessment of Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma: Is It Sufficient?

REPLY: Mesguich et al. ([1][1]) commented on our publication, which reported the long-term outcome of patients with advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma undergoing interim 18F-FDG PET (after 2 cycles of chemotherapy; PET2) and PET2 response-adapted change in therapy in the SWOG S0816 trial ([2][2],[3][3
Tectonics of the Punta Bianca promontory: Insights for the evolution of the Northern Apennines‐Northern Tyrrhenian Sea basin

The structural setting of the eastern headland of the La Spezia Gulf (Punta Bianca promontory) provides some constraints on the contractional and extensional framework of the Northern Apennines-Northern Tyrrhenian Sea basin geodynamic system and allows a detailed reconstruction of a complex evolutionary path. Out-of-sequence thrusting is supposed in the inner side of the chain. Two different extensional events are identified; the older (early-middle Miocene) may be related to the imbrication of the deeper metamorphic units of the Apenninic thrust wedge. Younger extension fits very well into an eastward asymmetrical faulting framework, related to the opening of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea basin, from the late Miocene to the Pliocene-Pleistocene (? ). Well-exposed low-angle normal faults developed during this event. Extensional structures were then overprinted and reactivated by a mainly strike-slip regime in the Quaternary.
Coordinated EISCAT Svalbard radar and Reimei satellite observations of ion upflows and suprathermal ions

[1] The relationship between bulk ion upflows and suprathermal ions was investigated using data simultaneously obtained from the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) Svalbard radar (ESR) and the Reimei satellite. Simultaneous observations were conducted in November 2005 and August 2006, and 14 conjunction data sets have been obtained at approximately 630 km in the dayside ionosphere. Suprathermal ions with energies of a few eV were present in the dayside cusp region, and the ion velocity distribution changed from an isotropic Maxwellian near the cusp region to tail heating at energies above a few eV in the cusp region. The velocity distribution of the suprathermal ions has a peak perpendicular or oblique to the geomagnetic field, and the temperature of the suprathermal ions was 0.9–1.4 eV. An increase in the phase space density (PSD) of the suprathermal ions, measured with the Reimei, was correlated with bulk ion upflow observed at the same altitude using EISCAT, and with the energy flux of precipitating electrons with energies of 50–500 eV. The PSD also has a good correlation with the electron temperature, which was increased by precipitation, but not with the ion temperature (0.1–0.3 eV) at the same altitude measured with EISCAT. These results suggest that plasma waves such as broadband extremely low frequency (BBELF) wavefields associated with precipitation are connected to the bulk ion upflows in the cusp and effectively cause the heating of suprathermal ions. The heating of suprathermal ions disagrees with anisotropic heating due to O+−O resonant charge exchange.
Inkaba yeAfrica Project Surveys Sector of Earth From Core to Space

In the Xhosa language, ‘inkaba’ means ‘navel,’ the central point from which all energy, material, and knowledge emerge and are recycled. The word encapsulates a sense of total interconnectivity Uniting inkaba with yeAfrica adds a regional perspective to a project that has as its central focus the understanding of the dynamic interactions between the Earth and its life-support systems. Following two years of workshops and proposal writing, the German and South African Earth science communities embarked in 2004 on a five-year program, Inkaba yeAfrica, to survey a cone-shaped sector of the Earth from core to space, intersecting its solid surface around southern Africa and its ocean basins (Figure l). The vision is to track the history of this sector's components back over at least the past 200 million years to understand Earth systems processes and their evolving interactions at different scales and rates.