Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
U/Pb dating of detrital zircons: Implications for the provenance record of Gondwana margin terranes

SHRIMP U/Pb age data for more than 300 detrital zircons from late Mesozoic samples of the Torlesse and Waipapa arc-trench terranes in New Zealand range from ca. 100 Ma (Early Cretaceous) to 3140 Ma (Archean). More than 65% of the analyzed zircon grains are Permian or Mesozoic age. The remaining detritus is largely of Paleozoic age with progressively smaller amounts of Proterozoic and Archean debris. Cathodoluminescence imaging indicates that the younger grains are exclusively of igneous origin, whereas the older grains show evidence for a more complex history including metamorphic overprints and inherited cores. The youngest zircon grains in most of the samples approximate the age of deposition of the rock units, suggesting input into the depositional basins from contemporaneous igneous activity. The overall age profile of the detrital zircons is consistent with sediment accumulation adjacent to the Gondwana margin rather than in exotic blocks accreted to the margin. The bulk of the detritus is derived from a late Paleozoic to Mesozoic Gondwana margin, Andean-style magmatic arc. Elements of this arc extend from Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica, through New Zealand (Median tectonic zone) to New England in eastern Australia. Paleozoic and older grains form a minor but significant component of all samples and have an age signature indicative of derivation from the Paleozoic and Neoproterozoic fold belts of East Australia and Antarctica (Gondwana). A characteristic feature of the older grains is ages in the range 500–650 and 1000–1200 Ma, which is also a feature of the zircon age spectrum for early Paleozoic graywackes from the Lachlan-Tuhua fold belt, suggesting derivation from these sedimentary rocks or from the same original source rocks.
Mean Velocities and Boulder Transport During Tahoe–Age Floods of the Truckee River, California–Nevada

In Truckee River glacial outwash deposits of the Tahoe Glaciation, boulders and gravel bars indicate discharges and velocities far greater than those of the present river. Collapse of unstable glacier dams near Lake Tahoe's outlet would have been necessary to release quickly the large volumes of impounded water that produced the above features. A mean flood velocity, using the Manning formula, near 30 feet per second, probably was attained along the valley as far downstream as Verdi, Nevada. A velocity of slightly more than 10 feet per second was possible farther downstream. A reasonable tractive force can be estimated for the movement of most of the observed boulders. It is concluded that a tractive force of from 20 to 30 pounds per square foot was sufficient to move the largest boulder, measuring 40 × 20 × 10 feet above ground surface, in a 40-to 80-foot-deep flood moving nearly 30 feet per second on a slope of 0.007.
A dietary vitamin B12 deficiency impairs motor function and changes neuronal survival and choline metabolism after ischemic stroke to the sensorimotor cortex in middle aged male and female mice

The majority of the world’s population is growing older, in 2000, 10% of the total population of the world was over 60 years old and the proportion is projected to increase to 21% by 2050. Currently, ischemic stroke predominately affects the elderly. Nutrition is a modifiable risk factor for stroke, as people age their ability to absorb some nutrients decreases. A primary example is vitamin B12, most older adults are deficient in vitamin B12 because of changes in breakdown and absorption of the vitamin that take place during the aging process. Using a mouse model system, we investigated the role of vitamin B12 deficiency in ischemic stroke outcome and investigate mechanistic changes in ischemic versus non-ischemic brain tissue. At 10-weeks of age male and female C57Bl/6J mice were put on control or vitamin B12 deficient diets for 4-weeks prior to ischemic damage. At 14 weeks of age, we induced ischemic stroke in the sensorimotor cortex using the photothrombosis model. Animals were continued on diets for 4 weeks after damage. At 18 weeks of age, we assessed stroke outcome using the accelerating rotarod and forepaw placement tasks. After the collection of behavioral data, we euthanized animals and collected brain, blood, and liver tissues to assess histological and biochemical measurements. All animals maintained on the vitamin B12 deficient diet had increased levels of total homocysteine in plasma and liver tissue. Male and female mice maintained on a vitamin B12 deficient diet had impairments in balance and coordination on the accelerating rotarod compared to control diet animals after ischemic stroke. In ischemic brain tissue no difference between groups in lesion volume was observed. More neuronal survival was present in ischemic brain tissue of the vitamin B12 deficient group compared to controls. There were changes in choline metabolites in ischemic brain tissue as a result of diet and sex. In conclusion, the data presented in this study confirms that a vitamin B12 deficiency impacts motor function in older adult male and female mice after ischemic stroke. The mechanisms driving this change may be a result of neuronal survival and compensation in choline metabolism within the damaged brain tissue.
Relationships of coastal nocturnal boundary layer winds and turbulence to Houston ozone concentrations during TexAQS 2006

[1] Measurements made with a ship-based Doppler wind lidar during the summertime 2006 Texas Air Quality Study are used to study the relationship between lower-tropospheric vertical structure and winds and ozone (O3) concentrations in Houston, Texas, under two different flow regimes. We observed that strong southerly flow regimes, dominated by the subtropical anticyclone (Bermuda high) off the Atlantic coast of the United States, resulted in strong (i.e., high wind speed) onshore nocturnal low-level jets (LLJ) and low O3 and oxidant Ox (where Ox = O3 + NO2) concentrations at night and the following afternoon. In contrast, periods dominated by northerly or easterly flow resulted in relatively weak (low wind speed), but still onshore, nocturnal LLJs associated with higher concurrent and next-day concentrations of O3 and Ox. We present lidar data from 24 h example periods for each of these conditions and demonstrate how each type of flow regime is related to in situ ship-based ozone measurements. We expanded the study to include all days during the study when the ship was near Houston, to demonstrate how the strength of the meridional winds aloft show a better relationship to concurrent ship-measured Ox concentrations than the winds near the surface do. We found a strong relationship between a parameterization of the observed nocturnal jets, which reflect the synoptic conditions, to peak hourly O3 measured the next day at the ship and averaged throughout the Houston/Galveston/Brazoria continuous ambient monitoring stations monitoring network, indicating potential applications for planning air quality.
Seismic crustal structure of Galicia Continental Margin, NW Iberian Peninsula

The Galicia margin is one of the most intensively surveyed continental margins. However, little is known about its deep structure between 11° and 9° W. In this work, we present the interpretation of a W‐E 425 km long survey section, using near‐vertical seismic reflection, coincident refraction/wide angle seismic reflection and gravity data. Our results show that the crustal thickness varies from 30 km inland to 9 km near the ocean‐continent boundary, with two areas of crustal thinning. The main thinning of the crust is located below the Deep Galicia Margin. The crust under the Galicia Interior Basin is also thinned, reaching a total thickness of 19 km. The Galicia Bank corresponds to a thicker area, reaching 22 km.
Characterisation of native and decellularised porcine tendon under tension and compression: A closer look at glycosaminoglycan contribution to tendon mechanics.

Decellularised porcine superflexor tendon (pSFT) has been characterised as a suitable scaffold for anterior cruciate ligament replacement, with dimensions similar to hamstring tendon autograft. However, decellularisation of tissues may reduce or damage extracellular matrix components, leading to undesirable biomechanical changes at a whole tissue scale. Although the role of collagen in tendons is well established, the mechanical contribution of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) is less evident and could be altered by the decellularisation process. In this study, the contribution of GAGs to the tensile and compressive mechanical properties of pSFT was determined and whether decellularisation affected these properties by reducing GAG content or functionality. PSFTs were either enzymatically treated using chondroitinase ABC to remove GAGs or decellularised using previously established methods. Native, GAG-depleted and decellularised pSFT groups were then subjected to quantitative assays and biomechanical characterisation. In tension, specimens underwent stress relaxation and strength testing. In compression, specimens underwent confined compression testing. The GAG-depleted group was found to have circa 86% reduction of GAG content compared to native and decellularised groups. There was no significant difference in GAG content between native (3.75 ± 0.58 μg/mg) and decellularised (3.40 ± 0.37 μg/mg) groups. Stress relaxation testing discovered the time-independent and time-dependent relaxation moduli of the decellularised group were reduced ≥50% compared to native and GAG-depleted groups. However, viscoelastic behaviour of native and GAG-depleted groups resulted similar. Strength testing discovered no differences between native and GAG-depleted group's properties, albeit a reduction ∼20% for decellularised specimens' linear modulus and tensile strength compared to native tissue. In compression testing, the aggregate modulus was found to be circa 74% lower in the GAG-depleted group than the native and decellularised groups, while the zero-strain permeability was significantly higher in the GAG-depleted group (0.86 ± 0.65 mm4/N) than the decellularised group (0.03 ± 0.04 mm4/N). The results indicate that GAGs may significantly contribute to the mechanical properties of pSFT in compression, but not in tension. Furthermore, the content and function of GAGs in pSFTs are unaffected by decellularisation and the mechanical properties of the tissue remain comparable to native tissue.
Histopathological Spectrum of Gall Bladder Lesions in A Tertiary Care Hospital in The MalwaBeltA Hospital Based Study

Introduction: Gallbladder stones are commonest disorder among gall bladder lesions and are usually asymptomatic. Its frequency in cholecystectomy specimens is not clear. The aim of this study was to report the morphological variants and frequency of different lesions in cholecystectomy specimens. Objective: To study the various histopathological spectrum of gall bladder lesions. Materials and Methods: In present study we have studied total 141 cases of gall bladder lesion during the period of 6 months from April 2017 to October 2017 in the Dept. of Pathology at Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Bathinda. Results: Benign lesions of gall bladder outnumbered the malignant ones with non-neoplastic lesions accounting for 93.6% (132 cases) with chronic calculous cholecystitis contributing the majority of the non-neoplastic lesions (49.64%) followed by cholesterolosis (22.69%), acalculous cholecystitis (4.96%), followed by gangrenous and xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis. Females were predominantly affected in the present study with total 107 cases out of 141 cases-75.8% cases. Most of the non-neoplastic lesions of the gall bladder lesions are common in 3rd, 4th and 5th decades of life. Neoplastic lesions of the gall bladder were common in 5th, 6th and 7th decades of life. Out of 141 cases 5 cases are of adenocarcinoma of gall bladder-3.5% of all cases. The mean age of patient with adenocarcinoma of gall bladder is 60.8 years. Conclusion: Gall bladder lesions were common indication for surgical intervention and pathological evaluation. Most of them were inflammatory lesions with cholelithiasis, however thorough examination is important as these lesions may progress to fatal malignancies.
A physical explanation of the variation in threshold for delineating terrestrial water surfaces from multi-temporal images: effects of radiometric correction

Multi-temporal satellite images are widely used to delineate objects of interest for monitoring surface changes. Threshold value(s) are often determined from a histogram of a delineation index. However, the threshold determined may vary and be case-dependent, with images taken at different times. Although the variation is well known, its cause remains unclear, and this raises doubts about the reliability of the classification results. This study selects three widely used indices, the near-infrared (NIR) band, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the normalized difference water index (NDWI), all of which can be used to delineate water surfaces. Our theoretical analysis reveals that sensor calibration, the Sun–target–satellite geometry and the atmospheric optical properties create synthetic effects on the satellite's digital number (DN) and, subsequently, on the thresholds for delineation. The DN-based threshold has a significant dependence on the reflectance-based counterpart, which has been proved with multi-temporal Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data for the Poyang Lake region of China. Our results show that a DN-based threshold is generally higher than a reflectance-based one, and ∼90% of the difference is accounted for by temporal influences. A quantification of the temporal influences provides a physical explanation to the variation in thresholds, and the findings should be valuable for improving the reliability of long-term studies using multi-temporal images.
A 2400 yr record of natural events and anthropogenic impacts in intercorrelated terrestrial and marine sediment cores: Waipaoa sedimentary system, New Zealand

The Waipaoa sedimentary system spans ∼100 km from terrestrial upland to continental rise. Alluvial buffering has little effect on sediment flux at the outlet of this mesoscale dispersal system, and hinterland-to-margin transport is accomplished rapidly. Because of this synergy, the floodplain and shelf depocenters are sensitive to changes in sediment production in the hinterland, and natural and anthropogenically forced changes in sediment source dynamics that occur at several temporal and spatial scales leave distinctive signals in the stratigraphic record. Manifested as variations in sediment properties, these signals appear in intercorrelated sediment cores from a headwater riparian storage area and the major terrestrial and marine repositories for sediment discharged during the past 2.4 k.y. The signals represent the landscape response to vegetation and land-use change, short-term fluctuations in climate that affect surface properties and processes, and extreme storms and subduction-thrust earthquakes. Extreme storms are the minimum geomorphologically effective event preserved in the sediment records. Lower-magnitude storms that are integral components of the prevailing hydrometeorological regime create high-frequency fluctuations in sediment properties and collectively contribute to event sequences of >100 yr duration. Events and event sequences comprise a hierarchy of temporally sensitive phenomena, the impacts of which are conditioned by frequency and magnitude. By contrast, vegetation disturbance is a spatially sensitive phenomenon that directly impacts sediment source areas and lowers the threshold of landscape sensitivity to erosion. For this reason, the Taupo eruption of 1.718 ka and the piecemeal vegetation changes that occurred after the arrival of Polynesian settlers also generated strong depositional signals. After European colonization, deforestation of the hinterland altered landscape sensitivity and precipitated the transition to an erosional regime that impacted sediment production and dispersal across the entire magnitude-frequency spectrum of events, regulating sediment delivery to and transport in stream channels. No other perturbation had such a profound impact on the Late Holocene depositional record.
Geometry of Hydraulic Fractures Induced From Horizontal Wellbores

In the Dan field, very high breakdown pressures were observed for wellbores drilled with a high azimuth with respect to the preferred fracture plane. The increased breakdown pressure was caused by significant near-wellbore friction. In scaled laboratory tests, variation in breakdown pressure was accompanies by a change in fracture geometry. Therefore, the variation in breakdown pressure in the field treatments could not be related simply to in-situ stresses.
Introduction to the FY-3A Total Ozone Unit: instrument, performance and results

The first 18 months of data from the FY-3A Total Ozone Unit (FY-3A/TOU) was collected to analyse instrument performance. Retrieval tests were carried out using post-launch calibration coefficients. Validation was analysed at 74 ground-based stations of total ozone network by inter-comparison with AURA/Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) V8 data and comparison with ground-based measurements. The validation results show that the TOU total column ozone has an average root mean square (rms) error of less than 3.1% compared with OMI products, and less than 4.4% compared with ground-based measurements. The solar irradiance is measured continuously, and the post-launch calibration coefficients will be updated only if the change of instrument sensitivity has noticeable influence on the retrieval. The instrument is currently stable.
Teacher burnout : a flickering flame : an empirical study among teachers from a social exchange perspective

In this thesis, burnout has been studied among Dutch teachers using the theoretical frame of equity theory. Burnout is a metaphor that describes a particular syndrome which is typically found in human service professions, such as teaching, and is assumed to be linked to the emotional strain of working frequently and intensively with other people. Although burnout among teachers has been studied quite extensively for years, few of these studies are theory driven. Equity theory assumes that people, who are engaged in either an intimate or a work relationship, invest in (investments) and gain from (outcomes) that relationship. A disturbed balance of investments and outcomes (lack of reciprocity) is presumed to lead to both negative emotions and a tendency to restore the inequitable balance. The value of social exchange processes has been demonstrated in a variety of settings. However, results generally are inconclusive as to which operationalisation of reciprocity can be used best. In this thesis the Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Educators (MBI-NL-ES), as well as three reciprocity indices are validated. In general, results demonstrate that the MBI-NL-ES is a reliable and valid instrument to measure burnout among Dutch teachers and that reciprocity is best measured at a global instead of a specific level. Examining burnout among teachers from a social exchange perspective resulted in several conclusions. First, social exchange processes are relevant in the exchange relationships teachers maintain with their students, colleagues, and the school. Second, the relationship with students can be regarded as the most salient in this respect, the relationship with the school the least salient and the relationship with colleagues taking an intermediate position. Third, burnout levels tend to be higher when lack of reciprocity is experienced. Forth, although it is assumed in equity theory that people try to reduce inequitable feelings by for instance lowering their investments, we have found no support to back-up this assumption. In fact, inequitable feelings seem to increase when investments are decreased. In sum, the findings presented in this thesis contributed not only to the validation of burnout and reciprocity measures, but they also reinforced our notion that a disturbed balance of investments and outcomes (i.e., lack of reciprocity) relates significantly to burnout. Furthermore, more insight was gained into the affective and psychological withdrawal reactions to feelings of lack of reciprocity.
Modelling of water flow through typical Bavarian soils: 2. Environmental deuterium transport

Abstract Seven experimental lysimeters were filled with different soil materials and used to study water flow and tracer transport through the unsaturated zone under natural atmospheric conditions during an eight year period (1984–1991). The study of soil characteristics and water flow was presented in Part 1. The present paper focuses on environmental deuterium transport. The concentrations of environmental deuterium were measured in both precipitation and the water outflowing from the lysimeters. Two model approaches were used to describe tracer transport. The numerical solution of water flow and two-phase mass transport equations, referred to here as the variable flow dispersion model (VFDM), can exactly simulate spatial and temporal distribution of flow and transport parameters. The fitting parameters of VFDM are the soil characteristics, the longitudinal dispersivity, the fraction of immobile water and the transfer constant between mobile and immobile water. However, the application of the VFDM for detailed transport simulations requires an adequate database, which is typically not available. That was the reason to introduce a second model, the lumped-parameter steady-state dispersion model (DM). This model assumes dispersive distribution of the transit time of a tracer particle between input and output from the system, has two fitting parameters: the apparent dispersion constant and the mean transit time of the tracer, and requires only input and output concentrations of tracer as a function of time. Both models were calibrated to the experimental data with similar accuracy. Using the VFDM it was possible to fit output concentrations with the same accuracy assuming that the entire volume of water takes part in motion. The results obtained with the DM demonstrated that this simple steady-state approach can be applied successfully to describe tracer transport under variable flow conditions. Both models have shown that, under applied experimental conditions, it is practically impossible to discover the existence of immobile water in the system.
Simulating Bromide Transport from Soil to Overland Flow: Application and Evaluation of Interfacial Diffusion-Controlled Model

The interfacial diffusion-controlled models of chemical transport across the interface of the soil surface and overland flow are physically based and can be easily expanded to include other functional modules to predict chemical loads from soil to overland flow. The efficiency of the model predictions and the veracity of the parameters are critical for accurate estimation of the chemical loads. In this study, the interfacial diffusion-controlled model was employed to simulate the transport process of a dissolved chemical (bromide, Br-) from saturated soil to overland flow. The model parameters were optimized by fitting the analytical solution of the model with experimental data. Comparison between model simulations and experimental observations showed that the model is efficient for predicting (Br-) transport in the soil and overland system. It predicted runoff-concentration data very well and predicted the short-term change in the upper soil profile better than the long-term change in the lower profile. When the mass transfer coefficient estimated by the existing equation was applied in the model, the model underestimated the chemical loads in overland flow by a relative error of 21.5% in this study, which was attributed to the neglect of rainfall impact on the solute transfer from the soil surface to overland flow. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0000495. (C) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.