Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New velocity map and mass-balance estimate of Mertz Glacier, East Antarctica, derived from Landsat sequential imagery

Abstract Automatic feature tracking on two Landsat images (acquired inJanuary 2000 and December 2001) generates a complete and accurate velocity field of Mertz Glacier, East Antarctica. This velocity field shows two main tributaries to the ice stream. Between the tributaries, a likely obstruction feature in the bedrock results in a slow-down of the flow. A third Landsat image, acquired in 1989 and combined with the 2000 image, permits the determination of the glacier mean velocity during the 1990s. Although some parts of the Mertz Glacier system show evidence of slight speed increase, we conclude that the Mertz flow speed is constant within our uncertainty (35 m a−1). Using this complete velocity field, new estimates of the ice discharge flux, 17.8 km3 a−1 (16.4 Gt a−1), and of the basal melting of the tongue, 11 m a−1 of ice, are given. Our results lead to an apparent imbalance of the drainage basin (ice discharge 3.5 km3 a−1 lower than the accumulation). Considering previous studies in the Mertz Glacier area, we then discuss the uncertainty of this imbalance and the problems with accumulation mapping for this region.
SEISMIC EARTH PRESSURE EXERTED ON RETAINING WALLS UNDER A LARGE SEISMIC LOAD

ABSTRACT In recent years, serious damage has been done to retaining structures because of large earthquakes. In order to establish practical methods for evaluating the seismic earth pressure, which is one of the important external forces acting on retaining structures during large earthquakes, a series of shaking table tests was conducted on retaining wall (RW) models. The experiments revealed that the seismic active earth pressure was considerably smaller than that obtained by the Mononobe-Okabe theory, particularly under a large seismic load. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the seismic earth pressure had an upper limit, which was determined by the force equilibrium of the soil wedge at the critical state when the RW lost its stability. On the basis of the test results, a new method to evaluate the seismic earth pressure for practical designs under a large seismic load has been suggested. This proposed method provides a reasonable earth pressure as well as an angle of failure plane, those of which depend on the seismic stability of the retaining wall. It has been confirmed that earth pressure obtained by the proposed method agrees well with the measured seismic earth pressure exerted on several retaining walls with different degrees of stability.
Importance of wind-induced undercatch adjustment in a gauge-based analysis of daily precipitation over Japan

We produced a new gauge-based analysis of daily precipitation over Japan from 1981 to 2000 on a 0.01° grid. Wind-induced undercatch was adjusted at each observation station, and orographic effects were considered in the process of spatial interpolation from station data to the gridded product. The resulting gridded gauge-based analysis of precipitation was validated against observed river discharge data. The validation demonstrated that the product is reasonable, mostly because of the undercatch adjustment. Based on the resulting product, Japan receives nearly 2000 mm/year of precipitation on average, which is approximately 10% larger than commonly thought.
Age of air in a “leaky pipe” model of stratospheric transport

We discuss the characteristics of analytical solutions for the mean age of air in a simple, one-dimensional conceptual model of stratospheric transport. This “leaky pipe” model is a version of the “tropical pipe” model which has been modified to include detrainment of surf zone air into the tropics. We examine the dependence of the mean age on advection, diffusive mixing, and quasi-horizontal mixing between the surf zones and the tropics. In the absence of vertical diffusion across tracer mixing ratio isopleths the age difference between the tropics and midlatitudes does not depend on mixing across the edge of the tropics, but only on advection. The age difference given by this nondiffusive limit is an upper bound on the tropical-midlatitude age difference. This work provides some insight into the results of recent modeling studies that have used the mean age as a diagnostic of stratospheric transport.
Linking Breeding and Wintering Ranges of a Migratory Songbird Using Stable Isotopes

We used the natural abundance of stable isotopes (carbon and hydrogen) in the feathers of a neotropical migrant songbird to determine where birds from particular breeding areas spend the winter and the extent to which breeding populations mix in winter quarters. We show that most birds wintering on western Caribbean islands come from the northern portion of the species' North American breeding range, whereas those on more easterly islands are primarily from southern breeding areas. Although segregated by breeding latitude, birds within local wintering areas derive from a wide range of breeding longitudes, indicating considerable population mixing with respect to breeding longitude. These results are useful for assessing the effects of wintering habitat loss on breeding population abundances and for predicting whether the demographic consequences will be concentrated or diffuse.
Patterns of Low-Frequency Monthly Sea Level Pressure Variability (1899–1986) and Associated Wave Cyclone Frequencies

Abstract Spatial patterns of low-frequency sea level pressure (SLP) variability are identified by performing rotated principal component analysis (RPCA) on a long-term (1899–1986) Northern Hemisphere gridded dataset. The analysis is limited to the region 160°E eastward to 40°E due to missing data early in the century. The objective is to identify a comprehensive set of highly recurrent SLP teleconnection patterns; to examine some aspects of their seasonality; and to identify the associated mean winter pressure fields and cyclone frequencies occurring at times of opposite eigenvector polarity. The results are further described in the context of the Southern Oscillation and known midtropospheric teleconnection patterns. Four low-frequency variability patterns are identified over the Atlantic-European sector, including (i) the North Atlantic 0scillation (NAO), and spatial patterns with SLP variability centers over (ii) the eastern Atlantic (EATL), (iii) southern Europe and the northern Mediterranean basin (S.
Rupturing of the Awatere Fault during the 1848 October 16 Marlborough earthquake, New Zealand: Historical and present day evidence

Abstract Evidence from newspaper reports, diaries and journals, related first‐hand information, an 1854 survey map of the lower part of the Awatere Valley, and reports by geologists between 1856 and 1890, indicates that surface rupturing occurred on the Awatere Fault during the 1848 October 16 earthquake and not on the Wairau Fault as previously inferred. The rupture was initially described as a “fissure”, “crack”, and later as a “rent”, and although it extended for c. 105 km (from the coast to Barefell Pass), it was not termed a fault because displacement of the land surface or strata across the rupture could not be determined. The coincidence of the 1848 earthquake “rent” and the Awatere Fault was first demonstrated by Alexander McKay in 1885. Present day evidence of the 1848 Awatere Fault rupture is indicated by a depression between 0.6–1.5 m wide and c. 0.3 m deep that has the appearance of an infilled fissure similar to that described in early reports. The smallest and freshest displacements along th.
Exploratory study of the use of community treatment orders with clients of an Ontario ACT team

ABSTRACT Community Treatment Orders (CTOs) have raised questions about coercion, lack of autonomy, and effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations and improving service users’ quality of life. This study examined the experiences of clients and clinicians when CTOs are used in combination with Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in a recovery oriented approach. Eleven clients who were or had previously been on a CTO and eight ACT clinicians were interviewed. Although most clients had negative feelings about CTOs, some acknowledged their lives had improved. Clinicians reported that the decision to employ a CTO is sometimes debated within the team but they agreed that combining CTOs and ACT resulted in regular access to mental health supports, fewer hospitalizations and overall improvement of quality of life for their clients.
Modelling the effects of soil properties on the concentration of Cd extracted by 10 mm CaCl2 from soils of the Sydney Basin

Undisturbed surface soils on the peri-urban fringe of the Sydney Basin are mostly acidic, with low concentrations of total cadmium (Cdt) and a wide range of other properties. In taxonomically similar soils on vegetable farms, Cdt is typically about 20-fold greater and undesirably large concentrations of Cd occur in some of the vegetables. We used a sequence of multiple regression models to evaluate how soil properties, taxonomy, and farming affected the behaviour of Cd in surface composites (0–15 cm) from 29 farmed and 12 unfarmed sites in the Basin. The dependent variable was the log10 transformation of the concentration of Cd extracted in 1 h by 10 mm CaCl2 solution (log10 CdCa). The range of values of CdCa was 0.2–60 μg/L. The independent variables in the base model were pHCa and log10 Cdt (R2 = 0.885, r.s.d. = 0.245). The final model contained 2 additional log10-transformed soil properties: effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and oxalate-extractable Fe (Feox) (R2 = 0.974, r.s.d. = 0.121). The effect of log10 Feox was significant (P 5.6, the approximate sorption edge for Cd on goethite. The effects of other soil properties could not be adequately tested because the residual variation was too small. The measured values of CdCa had a median error of ±17% and a maximum error of ±58% relative to the back-transformed fitted values from the final model. The coefficient of log10 Cdt in the final model was 1.33 ± 0.05 for the farmed soils and 1.01 ± 0.04 for the unfarmed soils, i.e. log10 CdCa was more sensitive to changes in log10 Cdt in the farmed than the unfarmed soils (P < 0.01). This difference is consistent with the effects of the greater load and briefer duration of contact for Cd in the farmed soils. The coefficients of pHCa and of log10 ECEC in our final model had values of 0.49 (± 0.03) and 0.69 (± 0.08). These values are remarkably similar to those obtained when we fitted our data, using a model that had been used to describe the effects of soil properties on a compilation of Cd-sorption data, and to those in a partitioning model based on the desorption of Cd from contaminated soils. That is, the behaviour of Cd may be influenced by the duration of contact between Cd and the soil, and perhaps the load; however, neither factor appears to change the effects of pHCa and log10 ECEC.
Les formations quaternaires de la France du Nord-Ouest : Limites et corrélations [The quaternary formations of North-West France : Boundaries and correlations]

Les travaux recents menes sur le Pleistocene de la France du Nord-Ouest permettent de completer et de reviser les tableaux stratigraphiques publies dans les annees 80. Par rapport a ces premieres syntheses, les nouveaux apports sont essentiellement representes par les elements suivants : ; - Definition de nouvelles formations marines et fluviatiles pour le Pliocene et le Pleistocene inferieur dans le Bassin de Carentan (Normandie) ; ; - Mise en evidence de nouvelles formations marines pleistocenes et holocenes en Normandie ; ; - Definition des systemes fluviatiles pleistocenes de la Seine moyenne et de la moyenne Somme ; ; - Mise en evidence de sequences de reference pour l'Eemien et le Debut Weichselien au sein de la Formation fluviatile de la Lys (Nord), et pour le Flandrien dans la plaine maritime du Nord ; ; - Mise en evidence d'une longue sequence de reference pour le Pleistocene moyen de versant dans le bassin de la Somme (Picardie) ; ; - Proposition de nouveaux stratotypes et d'une nouvelle synthese pedostratigraphique pour le dernier cycle Interglaciaire-glaciaire en milieu loessique sur la base de nouvelles donnees de terrain, d'analyses sedimentologiques, de mesures de susceptibilite magnetique et de datations TL et IRSL. ; - Parallelement, des recherches sur l'Argile a Silex ont permis de preciser le mode de formation et l'attribution chronostratigraphique de ce facies d'alteration present dans l'essentiel du Nord-Ouest de la France. ; Enfin, la prise en compte de ces elements nouveaux debouche sur une revision de la carte des formations superficielles de la France du Nord-Ouest publiee en 1987 par F. Joly et dont une nouvelle version est proposee dans le cadre de cet article synthetique.
Chemotherapy with preoperative radiotherapy in rectal cancer.

BACKGROUND Preoperative radiotherapy is recommended for selected patients with rectal cancer. We evaluated the addition of chemotherapy to preoperative radiotherapy and the use of postoperative chemotherapy in the treatment of rectal cancer. METHODS We randomly assigned patients with clinical stage T3 or T4 resectable rectal cancer to receive preoperative radiotherapy, preoperative chemoradiotherapy, preoperative radiotherapy and postoperative chemotherapy, or preoperative chemoradiotherapy and postoperative chemotherapy. Radiotherapy consisted of 45 Gy delivered over a period of 5 weeks. One course of chemotherapy consisted of 350 mg of fluorouracil per square meter of body-surface area per day and 20 mg of leucovorin per square meter per day, both given for 5 days. Two courses were combined with preoperative radiotherapy in the group receiving preoperative chemoradiotherapy and the group receiving preoperative chemoradiotherapy and postoperative chemotherapy; four courses were planned postoperatively in the group receiving preoperative radiotherapy and postoperative chemotherapy and the group receiving preoperative chemoradiotherapy and postoperative chemotherapy. The primary end point was overall survival. RESULTS We enrolled 1011 patients in the trial. There was no significant difference in overall survival between the groups that received chemotherapy preoperatively (P=0.84) and those that received it postoperatively (P=0.12). The combined 5-year overall survival rate for all four groups was 65.2%. The 5-year cumulative incidence rates for local recurrences were 8.7%, 9.6%, and 7.6% in the groups that received chemotherapy preoperatively, postoperatively, or both, respectively, and 17.1% in the group that did not receive chemotherapy (P=0.002). The rate of adherence to preoperative chemotherapy was 82.0%, and to postoperative chemotherapy was 42.9%. CONCLUSIONS In patients with rectal cancer who receive preoperative radiotherapy, adding fluorouracil-based chemotherapy preoperatively or postoperatively has no significant effect on survival. Chemotherapy, regardless of whether it is administered before or after surgery, confers a significant benefit with respect to local control. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00002523 [ClinicalTrials.gov].).
Bed Mobility on the Deschutes River, Oregon: Tracer Gravel Results

Tracers are marked particles introduced into streams to obtain information on the movement of sediment in rivers. On the lower Deschutes River, Oregon, the threshold for bed mobility has been of interest in the relicensing of hydroelectric dams, with cross sections plotted from historical US Geological survey gauging records having shown changes at flows as low as 150 to 200 m3 s-1 and general mobility at approximately 250 m3 s-1. To obtain direct, empirical evidence of bed mobility, we deployed exotic gravel tracers (quartz particles) on the reach below the dam over four runoff seasons in which peak flows ranged from 146 to 192 m3 s-1, close to entrainment threshold indicated by the cross section changes. The observed tracer movements indicated the bed experienced partial mobility (with 0-37 % of particles moving). We found no unique relation between grain diameter and critical flow strength (e.g. specific stream power), suggesting that overall bed texture and structure were more important controls on mobility than individual grain sizes.
Implications of Joint Properties on the Strength of a Jointed Rock Mass

In order to minimize the environmental and physical hazards of rock slope failures in deep open cut mines, evaluation of rock mass strength with a reasonable degree of accuracy is required. The task is made much more difficult due to the presence of discontinuities or joints, as the strength of a rock mass depends on both the strength of intact rock and of the discontinuities. The main objective of this study was to review the applicability and accuracy of existing models for the prediction of the strength of a jointed rock mass. Therefore, some experimentally- determined strength results with corresponding outcomes derived from five different existing models were analysed. The experimental results reviewed in this paper were obtained from physical model tests. In the empirical models, the influence of joint properties was aggregated into one parameter, called the "joint factor". The analysis shows that the effect of joint orientation on the strength of a rock mass is overestimated by existing empirical models for joint angles smaller than 20 0 and larger than 40 0 , measured with direction of the major principal stress. Therefore, a modification is suggested to determine the joint factor, and subsequently the unconfined compressive strength, more precisely.
Tropopause folds and cross-tropopause exchange: A global investigation based upon ECMWF analyses for the time period March 2000 to February 2001

[1] A new methodology is proposed to identify folds of the dynamical tropopause (taken as the 2 potential vorticity (PV) units (pvu) isosurface) from global analysis data sets from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). It consists of a three-dimensional subdivision of the atmosphere into stratospheric and tropospheric parts and a subsequent examination of multiple tropopause crossings in vertical profiles of the analyses. The method is applied to a 1-year period starting in March 2000. Seasonal mean fold frequency distributions show that folds occur preferentially in the subtropics, with maximum frequencies of about 30%. Pronounced maxima are located in the subtropical bands that extend from 20°E to 120°E on both hemispheres during summer. Generally, subtropical folds are comparatively shallow. Deep folds occur most frequently in midlatitudes during winter (over eastern North America and the western North Atlantic), with maximum frequencies of about 1%. Detailed investigation of the relationship between individual folds and cross-tropopause exchange events reveals that, on the average, individual folds in the extratropics are associated with larger exchange mass fluxes compared to the subtropics. However, due to the much higher frequency of subtropical folds, the percentage of exchange events that are associated with tropopause folds is larger near 20°–40° latitude (50–70%) than further poleward (20–30% during winter and 10–20% during summer). This indicates that tropopause folds are the key feature for cross-tropopause exchange in the subtropics, whereas in the extratropics other tropopause structures are at least of equal importance.
Infrastructure effects on floods in the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam

The Mekong River Delta (MRD) is one of two primary rice‐growing areas in Vietnam. Flooding in the Mekong River is a recurrent event and is not only one of the most destructive natural disasters but also a natural resource in this area. The cultivated surface soil layer in the Mekong Delta has a thickness of only about 50 cm, and is heavily polluted by acidic water infiltrating from deeper soil layers during the dry season. The annual floods carry fertile silt to farmland and fresh water to wash away the acidic water and provide the water needed to grow vast rice fields. The flood water carries with it various fish species that facilitate aquaculture development in the area. The floods also wash away polluted water and provide the whole delta with clean water.
Latin American Urbanization

Preface 1. The city in history 2. Why people move 3. Who moves from where: selectivity and migration 4. Return migration, brokerage, and effects on the community 5. Migrant adaptation: kinship, networks, and small groups 6. The urban class structure 7. Voluntary associations 8. Housing, poverty, and politics 9. International migration Conclusion Notes References Index.
Thyroid Function and Effect of Aging in Combined Hetero/homozygous Mice Deficient in Thyroid Hormone Receptors and Genes

The maintenance of thyroid hormone (TH) homeostasis is dependent on the synthesis and secretion of TH regulated by TSH. This is achieved, in turn, by the negative feedback of TH on TSH secretion and synthesis, which requires the interaction with TH receptors (TRs). Derived by alternative splicing of two gene transcription products, three TRs (TR1, TR2 and TR1) interact with TH while another, TR2, binds to DNA but not to TH. In this study we compare the results of thyroid function tests in mice with deletions of the TR and TR genes alone and present novel data on mice that are double homozygous and combined heterozygous. Homozygous deletions of both the TR and TR in the same mouse (TRo/o; TR/) resulted in serum TSH values only slightly lower than those in athyreotic, Pax8 knockout mice. Whereas the absence of TR alone does not cause resistance to TH, the absence of TR in the presence of TR results in a 205, 169, 544% increase in serum thyroxine (T 4), triiodothyronine (T 3) and TSH concentrations respectively. However, in the absence of TR, loss of one TR allele can worsen the resistance to TH with a 243 and 307% increase in T 4 and T 3 respectively. Similarly, while the heterozygous mouse with a single TR allele shows no alteration in thyroid function, the concomitant deletion of TR brings about mild but significant resistance to TH. Furthermore, the severity of the resistance to TH was noted to decrease with age in parallel with the decrease in serum free T 4 values also seen in wild-type mice. These results demonstrate that (1) unliganded TR or TR are not absolutely necessary for the upregulation of TSH; (2) TR but not TR is sufficient for TH-mediated downregulation of TSH; and (3) TR may partially substitute for TR in mediating a partial TH-dependent TSH suppression.
Thermal response of the F region ionosphere in artificial modification experiments by HF radio waves

The thermal response of the nighttime F region ionosphere to local heating by HF radio waves has been observed with the incoherent scatter radar at Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The observations consist of high-resolution space and time variation of the electron temperature as a high-power HF transmitter is switched on and off with a period 240 s. As soon as the HF transmitter is turned on, the electron temperature begins to rise rapidly in a narrow altitude region near 300 km, below the F2 layer peak. The electron temperature perturbation subsequently spreads over a broader altitude region. The observations are compared with the anticipated thermal response of the ionosphere based on numerical solutions of the coupled time-dependent heat conduction equations for the electron and composite ion gases and are found to be in good agreement over the entire altitude region covered by the observations. The calculations show that heat conduction is responsible for the spreading of the electron temperature enhancement outside the region where the radio wave energy is deposited. They also show that a smaller, but experimentally observable, ion temperature enhancement takes place while electron temperatures are enhanced by 40% or more of their equilibrium values. For the data presented they also show ionospheric absorption of roughly half the radiated HF energy, with anomalous absorption roughly equal to deviation absorption heating.