Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emissions of trace gases and aerosol particles due to vegetation burning in southern hemisphere Africa

The emissions of trace gases and particles resulting from extensive vegetation fires in southern and central Africa are estimated from the amount of fuel consumed and emission factors determined during the Southern Africa Fire-Atmosphere Research Initiative (SAFARI-92) field campaign. The fuel consumption estimates are from the modeling approach of Scholes et al. [this issue]. The emission factors are a function of the “combustion efficiency,” a measure of the oxygenation state of the fire. Combustion efficiency is in turn related to the types of fuel consumed. Most of the burning in southern Africa takes place in savannas during the dry season. The main fuel is dry grass, which burns with high efficiency and produces relatively low emissions of methane, carbon monoxide, and aerosols per unit mass of fuel consumed. The combination of the reduced estimates of amount of biomass burned and the low emission factors results in subcontinental emission estimates for CH4, CO, NOx, and aerosols which are substantially lower than previous estimates. The estimates for the nominal year 1989 are 14.9 Tg CO, 0.500 Tg CH4, 1.06 Tg NOx, and 1.08 Tg particles (<2.5 μm). Approximately 324 Tg CO2 is released by vegetation fires and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, is assumed to be reabsorbed by subsequent regrowth. The pyrogenic emissions are concentrated in the area between 5° and 20°S and in the months between June and October, with a peak in August.
Do Non-Cognitive Skills Help Explain the Occupational Segregation of Young People?

This paper investigates the role of non-cognitive skills in the occupational segregation of young workers entering the U.S. labor market. We find entry into male-dominated fields of study and male-dominated occupations are both related to the extent to which individuals believe they are intelligent and have "male" traits while entry into male-dominated occupations is also related to the willingness to work hard, impulsivity, and the tendency to avoid problems. The nature of these relationships differs for men and women, however. Non-cognitive skills (intelligence and impulsivity) also influence movement into higher-paid occupations, but in ways that are similar for men and women. On balance, non-cognitive skills provide an important, though incomplete, explanation for segregation in the fields that young men and women study as well as in the occupations in which they are employed.
Simulating the ice‐thickness distribution in a coupled climate model

Climate simulations in a global coupled model are investigated using a dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice and snow model with sophisticated thermodynamics and a subgrid scale parameterization for multiple ice thicknesses. In addition to the sea ice component, the model includes a full primitive-equation ocean and a simple energy-moisture balance atmosphere. We introduce a formulation of the ice thickness distribution that is Lagrangian in thickness-space. The method is designed to use fewer thickness categories because it adjusts to place resolution where it is needed most and it is free of diffusive effects that tend to smooth Eulerian distributions. Experiments demonstrate that the model does reasonably well in simulating the mean Arctic climate. We find the climate of the Arctic and northern North Atlantic is sensitive to resolving the ice-thickness distribution when comparing the model results to a simulation with a two-level sea ice model. The ice-thickness distribution causes ice export through Fram Strait to be more variable and more strongly linked to meridional overturning in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Lagrangian formulation of the ice-thickness distribution allows for the inclusion of a vertical temperature profile with relative ease compared to an Eulerian method. We find ice growth rates and ocean surface salinity differ in our model with a well-resolved vertical temperature profile in the ice and snow and an explicit brine-pocket parameterization compared to a simulation with Semtner zero-layer thermodynamics. Although these differences are important for the climate of the Arctic, the effects of an ice thickness distribution are more dramatic and extend into the northern North Atlantic. Sensitivity experiments indicate that five ice-thickness categories with ∼50-cm vertical temperature resolution capture the effects of the ice-thickness distribution on the heat and freshwater exchange across the surface in the presence of sea ice in these simulations.
Deriving forest monitoring variables from X-band InSAR SRTM height

The suitability of interferometric X-band radar for forest monitoring was investigated. Working in a spruce-dominated forest in southeast Norway, top height, mean height, stand density, stem volume, and biomass were related to space shuttle interferometric height above ground. A ground truth dataset was produced for each radar data pixel in the study area by combining a field inventory and automatic tree detection with airborne laser scanning data. Pixels were aggregated to forest stands. Interferometric height was strongly related to all of the five forest variables, and most strongly to top height with R2 = 0.71 and RMSE = 13% at the pixel level and R2 = 0.82 and RMSE = 5.6% at the stand level. Interferometric height was linearly related to stem volume and biomass up to 400 m3/ha and 200 t/ha, respectively, and RMSE was approximately 19% for both variables. These errors contain error components caused by the 3.5-year time lag between the radar acquisition and the laser scanning. It is concluded that interferometric X-band radar has potential for use in forest monitoring.
Gray Level Local Dissimilarity Map and Global Dissimilarity Index for Quality of Medical Images

Abstract In order to evaluate performance quality of coding techniques, it is needed to have a good global index and a local index allowing the localisation of the distortions. In this study, a local dissimilarity map is presented for gray-level images. Its application to the comparison of a compressed image and its reference allows an excellent visual detection of the distortions. A global dissimilarity index is computed from the local dissimilarity map. These new measures are compared to the structural similarity index (SSIM). The results of the global measure are as good as the SSIM. The results of the local measure are quite superior to the SSIM computed in a local window. We claim these good results come from the consistency of the proposed index. It is more consistent to compute a global measure from a local one, than a local measure from a global one.
Influence of climate model biases and daily‐scale temperature and precipitation events on hydrological impacts assessment: A case study of the United States

[1] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report concludes that climate change is now unequivocal, and associated increases in evaporation and atmospheric water content could intensify the hydrological cycle. However, the biases and coarse spatial resolution of global climate models limit their usefulness in hydrological impact assessment. In order to reduce these limitations, we use a high-resolution regional climate model (RegCM3) to drive a hydrological model (variable infiltration capacity) for the full contiguous United States. The simulations cover 1961–1990 in the historic period and 2071–2100 in the future (A2) period. A quantile-based bias correction technique is applied to the times series of RegCM3-simulated precipitation and temperature. Our results show that biases in the RegCM3 fields not only affect the magnitude of hydrometeorological variables in the baseline hydrological simulation, but they also affect the response of hydrological variables to projected future anthropogenic increases in greenhouse forcing. Further, we find that changes in the intensity and occurrence of severe wet and hot events are critical in determining the sign of hydrologic change. These results have important implications for the assessment of potential future hydrologic changes, as well as for developing approaches for quantitative impacts assessment.
Determinants of Intravenous Infusion Longevity and Infusion Failure via a Nonlinear Model Analysis of Smart Pump Event Logs: Retrospective Study

Background: Infusion failure may have severe consequences for patients receiving critical, short–half-life infusions. Continued interruptions to infusions can lead to subtherapeutic therapy. Objective: This study aims to identify and rank determinants of the longevity of continuous infusions administered through syringe drivers, using nonlinear predictive models. Additionally, this study aims to evaluate key factors influencing infusion longevity and develop and test a model for predicting the likelihood of achieving successful infusion longevity. Methods: Data were extracted from the event logs of smart pumps containing information on care profiles, medication types and concentrations, occlusion alarm settings, and the final infusion cessation cause. These data were then used to fit 5 nonlinear models and evaluate the best explanatory model. Results: Random forest was the best-fit predictor, with an F 1 -score of 80.42, compared to 5 other
Cenozoic post-rift sedimentation off northwest Britain: Recording the detritus of episodic uplift on a passive continental margin

The Cenozoic sedimentary basins on the Atlantic margin of NW Britain contain a remarkable record of tectonically influenced post-breakup sedimentation. We have mapped the distribution and quantified the solid grain volume of four unconformity-bound successions in the region: the Eocene (~6–8 × 104 km3), Oligocene (~2 × 104 km3), MioceneLower Pliocene (~4–5 × 104 km3) and Lower PlioceneHolocene (~4–5 × 104 km3) complementing previous work on the Paleocene succession. Approximately 80% of the total Cenozoic sediment volume on the Atlantic margin of NW Britain was deposited in Eocene and later times. The relative volumes of the Cenozoic succession do not support previous claims that the Paleocene was the main period of Cenozoic uplift and erosion of sediment source areas. Rather, the Cenozoic sedimentary basins on the Atlantic margin of NW Britain record the detritus of four major episodes of Cenozoic uplift of the British Isles (Paleocene, Eocene–Oligocene, Miocene and Pliocene–Pleistocene).
Ameliorating effects of essential oil from Acori graminei rhizoma on learning and memory in aged rats and mice Authors

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Ionospheric F 2 layer seasonal and semiannual variations

An extensive series of computations, using the Coupled Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Plasmasphere model (CTIP), has been undertaken to investigate the semiannual variation in peak noontime electron density, a common feature of the Fa-layer, particularly at low latitudes and in the southern hemisphere at mid-latitudes. Results from the model reveal such a variation, most prominently, at mid-latitudes, in the South American sector. An analysis of this phenomenon shows that it is intimately related to the large offset of the geomagnetic axis from Earths spin axis in the southern hemisphere. Because of this offset, a given geographic latitude in the South American sector corresponds to a lower magnetic latitude than in other sectors and is thus farther from the energy inputs associated with the auroral regions. As a result, the composition changes are much smaller during the winter months than at other longitudes, the mean molecular mass being essentially constant for a 4-month period centered on the winter solstice. This result is understood in terms of the global thermospheric circulation. In the absence of any composition changes, noon ionospheric density is influenced primarily by the solar zenith angle. This angle reaches a maximum at the winter Solstice, leading to diminished ion production, a minimum in N(m)F2, and therefore a semiannual variation overall. On the basis of the model results, the semiannual variation is seen as a feature of the midlatitude ionosphere at geographic longitudes opposite to the location of the geomagnetic pole. This phenomenon is seen in both northern and southern hemispheres, though the effect is much larger in the southern hemisphere as a result of the greater magnetic offset.
Compositional re-equilibration of garnet: the importance of sub-grain boundaries

Garnets from meta-granitoid high pressure rocks (Sesia Zone, Western Alps) show complex internal sub-grain textures in electron forescatter images. All investigated garnets consist of a large number of sub-grains with different shapes and sizes. Some garnets exhibit a sub-texture with very fine-grained (< 20 μm) sub-grains in their cores overgrown by palisade-like sub-grains in the rims. Sub-grain boundaries in these garnets have enabled diffusive element exchange between the garnet core and the surrounding matrix. Compositional mapping reveals zonation patterns of Mg that indicate modification of the garnet composition during prograde metamorphism. The extent of diffusional re-equilibration is dependent on sub-grain size and element diffusivities. Our samples show that XMg is strongly influenced by diffusion along the sub-grain boundaries, whereas apparently slow diffusing elements, such as Ca, Ti and Y preserve their original concentric zonation pattern. This differential re-equilibration leads to very complex chemical zonation that cannot be easily interpreted in terms of simple prograde growth zonation or of normally-applied spherical diffusion models. The observation that almost all garnets in the investigated samples exhibit a sub-grain pattern suggests this might be a common feature in high pressure/low temperature rocks.
Saltwater‐freshwater mixing dynamics in a sandy beach aquifer over tidal, spring‐neap, and seasonal cycles

The biogeochemical reactivity of sandy beach aquifers is closely linked to physical flow and solute transport processes. Thus, a clearer understanding of the hydrodynamics in the intertidal zone is needed to accurately estimate chemical fluxes to the marine environment. A field and numerical modeling study was conducted over a 1 year timeframe to investigate the combined effects of tidal stage, spring‐neap variability in tidal amplitude, and seasonal inland water table oscillations on intertidal salinity and flow dynamics within a tide‐dominated, microtidal sandy beach aquifer. Measured and simulated salinities revealed an intertidal saline circulation cell with a structure and cross‐sectional mixing zone area that varied over tidal, spring‐neap, and seasonal time scales. The size of the circulation cell and area of the mixing zone were shown for the first time to be most affected by seasonal water table oscillations, followed by tidal amplitude and tidal stage. The intertidal circulation cell expanded horizontally and vertically as the inland water table declined, displacing the fresh discharge zone and lower interface seaward. Over monthly spring‐neap cycles, the center of the circulation cell shifted from beneath the backshore and upper beachface to the base of the beach. Salinity variations in the intertidal zone over semidiurnal tidal cycles were minimal. The dynamics of the circulation cell were similar in simulations with and without a berm. The highly transient nature of intertidal salinity over multiple time scales may have important implications for the types and rates of chemical transformations that occur in groundwater prior to discharge to the ocean.
The Origin of Inverse Grading in Muddy Debris Flow Deposits--A Review

ABSTRACT Inverse grading involves an upward increase in either or both of clast size and percentage. Debris flows possess high viscosity and yield strength; hence dispersive pressure, kinetic sieving, and fluid dynamic boundary effects are regarded as unsatisfactory mechanisms for inverse grading. The strength loss (sensitivity) that clay suffers on deformation can explain inverse grading; the lowest, most strongly sheared layers of debris are weakest and support relatively small clasts. Other processes which may contribute are reduced buoyancy due to dilation, strength/fabric anisotropy, variable clast fall-out rate, inherited stratification (e.g., mud decollement in slumps) and sediment assimilation during flow. The sensitivity mechanism may also apply to density-modified muddy grain-flows. t implies that coarse lag deposits should occur upslope of inversely graded deposits.
Estimation for Stochastic Damping Hamiltonian Systems under Partial Observation. II Drift term

This paper is the second part of our study started with \citet*{CLP}. For some ergodic hamiltonian systems we obtained a central limit theorem for a non-parametric estimator of the invariant density, under partial observation (only the positions are observed). Here we obtain similarly a central limit theorem for a non-parametric estimator of the drift term. This theorem lies on the previous result for the invariant density.
The effect of forestry drainage operations on upland sediment yields: A case study

Forestry is generally considered to be a land use giving low sediment yields. However, in Britain most forestry is on land that requires extensive drainage, and it was found that the drainage of a small upland catchment resulted in sediment yields over the following five years equivalent to nearly half a century's load at pre-drainage rates. Subsequent sediment yields did not decline to pre-drainage levels, but remained about four times higher, as a result of erosion of the drains.
Hyporheic temperature dynamics and heat exchange near channel‐spanning logs

The flow of river water around large woody debris (LWD) creates pressure gradients along the riverbed that drive river‐groundwater mixing, or hyporheic exchange, and heat transport within the hyporheic zone. We quantify hyporheic fluid and heat exchange induced by current interaction with channel‐spanning logs using two approaches: laboratory flume experiments and numerical simulations that link turbulent open‐channel fluid flow, porous fluid flow, and heat transport. Flume and numerical experiments show that logs produce a characteristic diel temperature pattern within sediment that shifts with log blockage ratio (a fraction of the channel depth blocked by the log), channel Froude number, and sediment permeability. Upstream of a log, downwelling water transports the river's diel thermal signal deep into the sediment. Downstream, upwelling water from shallow flow paths has a thermal signal similar to the surface water, while upwelling water from deep flow paths forms a wedge of buffered (low‐amplitude) temperatures. Since most hyporheic water emerges from shallow flow paths, upwelling water has limited potential to buffer surface water temperature. Because of historic channel clearing practices, modern rivers have unnaturally low densities of LWD. A key implication is that LWD removal has contributed to thermal homogenization and potential degradation of hyporheic habitats. LWD reintroduction is a promising strategy to improve vertical connectivity in rivers and increase thermal patchiness within the hyporheic zone. However, hyporheic exchange near LWD may not impact diel surface water temperatures at the reach scale.
Sedimentology of Upper Ordovician regressive strata in Västergötland

Abstract The sedimentology of the upper Ashgillian Dalmanitina Beds in the Billingen-Falbygden area in Vastergotland is studied. They exhibit facies of shallow-water type. In contrast, the underlying Ulunda, Jonstorp and Nittsjo formations (‘Tretaspis Shales’) and the overlying Llandoverian Rastrites Shale were formed in notably deeper water. A possible explanation for the short-term shallowing, which was accompanied by the development of bahamitic sediments, such as peloids and ooids, would be that a large mass of water became bound in the ice cap that covered part of Gondwanaland.
Maternal and Newborn Outcome among Women Undergoing Elective versus Emergency Caesarean Section: A Comparative Study

Caesarean section preferred as an emergency or elective procedure are entirely different entities according to the measures taken, facilities and skilled staff available, and preparation done. Complications are greater in emergencies compared with elective caesarean section. The aim of the present study was to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes among mothers undergoing elective versus emergency caesarean section. A prospective design was carried out for this study, and a representative sample of 300 parturient mothers (150 with elective CS and 150 with emergency CS) at the delivery unit in Mansoura University was recruited for this study. The tools used for data collection were; an interview questionnaire sheet, a clinical assessment form, the partograph, a summary of labor sheet, and a neonatal assessment sheet. Results: mothers who had emergency cesarean section were significantly in the young age category, i.e., below 25 years old , illiterate or could read and write, and were housewives. Previous cesarean section was the most common indication among mothers undergoing elective CS, and the least common indication was diabetes mellitus. While fetal distress was the most common indication for emergency CS, the least common indication was cord presentation. There are no statistically significant differences in maternal intra-operative and postoperative complications of CS between the two groups. Apgar scores at the first and fifth minutes were lower, with the lowest mean birth weight among neonates of mothers with emergency CS than those in the elective CS group, with a statistically significant difference. Meanwhile, asphyxia was the major cause of fetal morbidity at birth. It can be concluded that, previous cesarean section was the most common indication among mothers undergoing elective CS. While fetal distress was the most common indication for emergency CS. There are no statistically significant differences in maternal intra-operative and postoperative complications of CS between the two groups. The study recommended reducing the higher incidence of emergency cesarean section because emergency cesarean section is associated with intra-operative and postoperative complications by improving the quality and availability of antenatal care services.
Spatial variability of field-measured soil-water properties

Infiltration and redistribution of water following an irrigation was studied, and the work was replicated at 20 locations on a 150 hectare plot of land. Hydraulic conductivity was measured as a function of soil-water content at 30.5 cm depth intervals to a depth of 182.9 in twenty 6.5-meter-square plots randomly established over a 150-hectare field. Tensiometers installed at 30.5, 61.0, 91.4, 121.9, 152.4, and 182.9 cm were used to measure hydraulic gradients. Soil-water contents were ascertained from soil-water characteristics obtained from six soil cores taken from each of the above depths for each plot. Variations in soil-water content were found to be normally distributed with depth and with horizontal distance throughout the field, while values of the hydraulic conductivity were found to be log-normally distributed. The correlation between hydraulic conductivity during steady-state infiltration and the clay fraction was significant at the 1 per cent level. Several equations for predicting water movement and retention under field conditions are examined.