Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Suggested method for estimating the in-situ modulus of deformation of rock using the NX-Borehole Jack

The NX-borehole jack is a widely used tool for estimating the deformability of rock masses in-situ. It applies unidirectional pressure to the walls of a rock borehole by means of two steel platens. In theory, the analysis of test data is straightforward: the modulus estimate requires a record of applied hydraulic pressure versus borehole diameter change, and a knowledge of the rock's Poisson's ratio. In practice, the above procedure, using the original theoretical formula, frequently has resulted in computing a material modulus that was demonstrably too low. Today, it is finally understood how one or more of the following factors can provide a low modulus estimate: (1) the longitudinal outward bending of the jack plates which gives artificially high readings of the displacement gages and (2) the mismatch between borehole and jack platen radii, which would negate the full platen/rock contact assumed in the original analysis, and (3) tensile cracking of the intact rock or tensile opening of natural joints around the borehole under the jack. The detailed discussion of the theoretical developments is contained in a separate paper, which should be a complement to this draft. This document outlines a suggested procedure for testing with the NX-jack, and analyzing the test results in a medium which is assumed to be isotropic, linear, clastic, and homogeneous.
Statistical validation of a 3-D bio-physical model of the western North Atlantic

Abstract. High-resolution, physical-biological models of coastal and shelf regions typically use a single functional phytoplankton group, which limits their ability to represent ecological gradients (e.g. highly productive shelf systems adjacent to oligotrophic regions), as these are dominated by different functional phytoplankton groups. We implemented a size-structured ecosystem model in a high-resolution, regional circulation model of the northeast North American shelf and adjacent deep ocean in order to assess whether the added functional complexity of two functional phytoplankton groups improves the model's ability to represent surface chlorophyll concentrations along an ecological gradient encompassing five distinct regions. We used satellite-derived SST and sea-surface chlorophyll for our model assessment, as these allow investigation of spatial variability and temporal variations from monthly to interannual, and analyzed three complimentary statistical measures of model-data agreement: model bias, root mean square error and model efficiency (or skill). All three measures were integrated for the whole domain, for distinct subregions and were calculated in a spatially explicit manner. Comparison with a previously published simulation that used a model with a single phytoplankton functional group indicates that the inclusion of an additional phytoplankton group representing picoplankton markedly improves the model's skill.
Diffusive mass exchange of non‐reactive substances in dual‐porosity porous systems – column experiments under saturated conditions

Diffusive mass exchange into immobile water regions within heterogeneous porous aquifers influences the fate of solutes. The percentage of immobile water is often unidentified in natural aquifers though. Hence, the mathematical prediction of solute transport in such heterogeneous aquifers remains challenging. The objective of this study was to find a simple analytical model approach that allows quantifying properties of mobile and immobile water regions and the portion of immobile water in a porous system. Therefore, the Single Fissure Dispersion Model (SFDM), which takes into account diffusive mass exchange between mobile and immobile water zones, was applied to model transport in well‐defined saturated dual‐porosity column experiments. Direct and indirect model validation was performed by running experiments at different flow velocities and using conservative tracer with different molecular diffusion coefficients. In another column setup, immobile water regions were randomly distributed to test the model applicability and to determine the portion of immobile water. In all setups, the tracer concentration curves showed differences in normalized maximum peak concentration, tailing and mass recovery according to their diffusion coefficients. These findings were more pronounced at lower flow rates (larger flow times) indicating the dependency of diffusive mass exchange into immobile water regions on tracers' molecular diffusion coefficients. The SFDM simulated all data with high model efficiency. Successful model validation supported the physical meaning of fitted model parameters. This study showed that the SFDM, developed for fissured aquifers, is applicable in porous media and can be used to determine porosity and volume of regions with immobile water. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bacterial Urinary Tract Infection and Early Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Kidney Transplantation Still Negatively Affect Kidney Transplant Outcomes in the Era of Modern Immunosuppression and Cotrimoxazole Prophylaxis

Risk factors and consequences of urinary tract infection (UTI) post-kidney transplant have been variously reported by studies that were heterogenous in immunosuppressants and prophylactic protocols. We aimed to clarify the risks and consequences of UTI in kidney transplant recipients with post-transplantation cotrimoxazole prophylaxis in the context of modern immunosuppression. This retrospective cohort included kidney transplant recipients receiving tacrolimus, mycophenolate, prednisolone, and cotrimoxazole for bacterial UTI prophylaxis. Recipients were categorized into non-UTI and UTI groups. Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) was screened in the first 3 months and was evaluated for association with UTI. Of 348 kidney transplant recipients, 129 were in the UTI group and 219 in the non-UTI group. UTI risk factors were female sex, body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2, human leukocyte antigen mismatch, and panel reactive antibody ≥ 50%. Recipients with recurrent UTI had inferior allograft function compared with non-UTI recipients. Patient survival was significantly lower in recipients with UTI in the first post-transplant month. Higher degree of immunosuppressions was associated with recurrent UTI and drug-resistant organisms. In conclusion, UTI continues to negatively affect graft function and survival of kidney transplant recipients. Treating ASB in the first 3 months did not reduce the UTI incidence in the first transplantation year.
Residence time distributions of the Northern Annular Mode

The Northern Annular Mode (NAM) is a large‐scale climatic anomaly pattern characterizing the atmospheric circulation in the polar and the mid‐latitude regions. To help in understanding the basic physics underlying the NAM we determine and examine the probability distributions of residence times in the positive and negative phases of the NAM. These distributions are found to have only slightly different mean residence times but differ strongly in their tails. The difference in the tails of the distributions expresses a dominance of one phase of the NAM over the other during rarely occurring events such as the dominant positive NAM in the mid 1960s to the late 1990s.
Calibration of non-conventional imaging systems

This thesis investigates the calibration of cameras that do not conform to the standard pinhole-plus-distortion camera model. The ability to calibrate such camera systems is essential for the development of new, non-conventional, camera types. The major contributions of the thesis are the development of calibration algorithms for both central catadioptric cameras and non-central flexible mirror imaging systems. A key link between the calibrations of pinhole cameras and of general central cameras is expounded, upon which the proposed central calibration scheme is built. The proposed scheme incorporates constraints inherent to the geometry of central cameras, resulting in a method that is shown through rigorous experimentation to have superior performance to the standard generic method. An enabler for this calibration scheme is the use of active calibration grids, using structured light techniques, in place of standard calibration targets. An implementation and thorough characterisation of these active grids is presented. Nevertheless, the extraction of static calibration grid feature points from images with large distortions is still fundamentally important, in particular for experimentation with real images. To this end, a novel algorithm for the detection and consistent ordering of corners in such images of chessboard calibration grids is presented, and its capabilities are demonstrated. The flexible mirror imaging system investigated in this thesis consists of a fixed perspective camera viewing a deformable mirrored surface, which in general results in a non-central imager. A novel calibration technique is proposed that can model the flexibility of these systems, resulting in a calibration that is dynamically updated as the reflective surface flexes. Comprehensive testing for both constrained and unconstrained mirror deflections demonstrates that good calibration results can be obtained using this technique. Results for structure-from-motion and object reconstruction from a sequence of images from a calibrated flexible mirror camera are presented, establishing the capabilities of such calibrated non-conventional imaging systems.
Treatment of postherpetic neuralgia: focus on pregabalin

: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a devastating, chronic pain syndrome that can develop following an outbreak of herpes zoster and becomes increasingly common as patients age. PHN can be difﬁ cult to treat and often requires trials of multiple agents to achieve signiﬁ cant pain relief. Pregabalin is the newest agent to gain approval for PHN. Data suggest efﬁ cacy for relief of pain and sleep disturbance secondary to PHN in affected patients. Although there are no head-to-head comparisons, pregabalin appears comparable to gabapentin and other ﬁ rst-line agents for treating PHN.
Comparing Assessments Within Junior Geography Textbooks Used in Mainland China

The 2001 Geography Standards for Junior Secondary Schools are the first national standards for geographic education since the founding of Communist China. The standards heralded several new ideas for geographic education, and textbook assessments are one important way for understanding their impact. This study examines the changes in assessments by comparing assessments in older geo- graphy textbooks with new geography textbooks written in accordance with the new standards. The assessments were investigated in terms of their taxonomy, type, design, and general qualities.
The timing of sedimentation and Buchan metamorphism in the Grampian Terrane in Scotland from 40Ar/39Ar apparent age spectra

New 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data from the Buchan and Barrovian metamorphic sequences on the NE coast of Scotland have been obtained from in vacuo step-heating experiments conducted on white mica extracted from seven samples. The results confirm the synchronous formation of the Barrovian and Buchan metamorphic sequences, with the 40Ar/39Ar apparent age spectra obtained for samples of andalusite grade and higher recording a range of ages between 470.4 ± 1.8 and 464.6 ± 1.3 Ma. These ages are close to the accepted age for peak metamorphism during the Grampian Orogeny, c. 470 Ma, whereas 40Ar/39Ar apparent age spectra of white mica from the lower grade cordierite zone near Banff preserve pre-Grampian detrital ages. In these spectra an age of c. 560 Ma is recorded. This indicates that a tectonothermal event occurred at c. 560 Ma and may provide further insight into the timing of sedimentation. These samples also preserve evidence of ages older than 750 Ma. Supplementary material: 40Ar/39Ar step-heating data tables for all samples, data from analyses of flux monitors, determination of correction factors and mass discrimination used for data reduction and 40Ar/39Ar step-heating spectra and inverse isochron plots from each sample are available at www.geolsoc. org.uk/SUP18723.
Some fundamental features of biomineralization

Abstract This contribution summarizes the considerations that are of major importance in inorganic mineral formation before we look at specific biological minerals. Some factors which have to be taken into account (other than those that are well-known from inorganic (abiological) precipitations) are: the nature of the biological organic matrix; the restricted volume, outside or inside the cytoplasm, which can cause differences in impurity content (Mg); crystal morphology; and isotopic fractionation. Cases such as those of corals, foraminifera and coccoliths are taken as examples.
Origin of felsic sheets in the Scourian granulites: new evidence from rare earth elements

Synopsis Felsic sheets within the Scourian granulites of NW Scotland are shown to be granites, trondhjemites and tonalites. Their origin has been extensively debated. Previously they have been considered to be either a product of anatexis of Scourian gneisses during granulite facies metamorphism, or part of a Scourian igneous complex which predated the granulite facies metamorphism. The trace element geochemistry of the felsic sheets is, however, incompatible with an anatectic origin. It is proposed that the felsic sheets were formed by the partial melting of a mafic source at > 15 kbar and that their origin is linked to that of tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite suites common in Archaean cratons.
Radiative Susceptibility of Cloudy Atmospheres to Droplet Number Perturbations: 1. Theoretical Analysis and Examples from MODIS

[1] Theoretical and satellite-based assessments of the sensitivity of broadband shortwave radiative fluxes in cloudy atmospheres to small perturbations in the cloud droplet number concentration (N) of liquid water clouds under constant water conditions are performed. Two approaches to study this sensitivity are adopted: absolute increases in N, for which the radiative response is referred to as "absolute cloud susceptibility," and relative increases in N or "relative cloud susceptibility. " Estimating the former is more challenging as it requires an assumed value for either cloud liquid water content or geometrical thickness; both susceptibilities require an assumed relationship between the droplet volume and effective radius. Expanding upon previous susceptibility studies, present radiative calculations include the effect of AN perturbations on droplet asymmetry parameter and single-scattering albedo, in addition to extinction. Absolute cloud susceptibility has a strong nonlinear dependence on the droplet effective radius as expected, while relative cloud susceptibility is primarily dependent on optical thickness. Molecular absorption and reflecting surfaces both reduce the relative contribution of the cloud to the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) flux and therefore also reduce the TOA albedo susceptibility. Transmittance susceptibilities are negative with absolute values similar to albedo susceptibility, while atmospheric absorptance susceptibilities are about an order of magnitude smaller than albedo susceptibilities and can be either positive or negative. Observation-based susceptibility calculations are derived from MODIS pixel-level retrievals of liquid water cloud optical thickness, effective radius, and cloud top temperature; two data granule examples are shown. Susceptibility quantifies the aerosol indirect effect sensitivity in a way that can be easily computed from model fields. As such, susceptibilities derived from MODIS observations provide a higher-order test of model cloud properties used for indirect effect studies. MODIS-derived global distributions of cloud susceptibility and radiative forcing calculations are presented in a companion paper.
Analysis of the oxygen nightglow measured by the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope: Implications for ionospheric partial radiative recombination rate coefficients

The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) recorded nighttime ultraviolet O+ spectra in the tropical ionosphere during the December 1990 Astro 1 space shuttle mission. We reexamine the HUT 911-A radiative recombination continuum spectra and the relative 911-A and 1356-A intensities in order to address questions raised in a previous study. First, we find that the radiative recombination of O+ to the ground state of O accounts for nearly all of the continuum emission. The need for a second component beyond the ionization threshold is eliminated by allowing for an instrumental wavelength shift. Second, we find that certain low-count spectral features in some of the data are not due to a non-Maxwellian energy distribution because of the fast electron thermalization in the nighttime F region. Instead, we show that these features are consistent with random fluctuations alone. Third, the best known O+ – O− mutual neutralization chemistry gives good agreement between theoretical and measured 1356/911 ratios, thereby demonstrating the consistency among the various determinations of the O− photodetachment cross section. We update the 911-A radiative recombination rate coefficient using recent photoionization cross section information, and the 1356-A rate coefficient by fitting HUT 1356/911 ratio data. The derived rate coefficient agrees very closely with our interpretation of independent 7774-A data. Both the three-parameter fit to the 911-A radiative recombination continuum and the updated 911 and 1356-A radiative recombination rate coefficients improve the agreement between the model and measured 1356/911 ratios. The updated radiative recombination rate coefficients are 3.5 × 10−13 cm3 s−1 for 911-A, and 7.3 × 10−13 cm3 s−1 for 1356-A, both at 1160 K.
Changing grazing systems in central north Namibia

Current and historical livestock movement patterns are explored in a semi‐arid communal environment in central–north Namibia, placed in context of increasing population, large‐scale enclosures, increased water supply and changing vegetation. Farmer's knowledge of movements, rangeland potential, vegetation condition and plant indicators was gathered and analysed with various methods such as Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). Local rangeland units were mapped with Landsat TM imagery and analysed with a Geographical Information System (GIS). The data suggest that good grazing was previously maintained by low herbivore pressure and frequent fires in a management regime controlled by hunter‐gatherers and limited permanent water supply.
On the connection between artifact filtering in reverse-time migration and adjoint tomography

Finite-frequency sensitivity kernels in seismic tomographydefinethevolumesinsidetheearththatinfluenceseismic wavesastheytraversethroughit.Ithasrecentlybeennumerically observed that an image obtained using the impedance kernel is much less contaminated by low-frequency artifacts due to the presence of sharp wave-speed contrasts in the background model, than is an image obtained using reversetime migration. In practical reverse-time migration, these artifacts are routinely heuristically dampened by Laplacian filtering of the image. Here we show analytically that, for an isotropic acoustic medium with constant density, away from sources and receivers and in a smooth background medium, Laplacian imagefiltering is identical to imaging with the impedance kernel. Therefore, when imaging is pushed toward using background models with sharp wave-speed contrasts, the impedance kernel image is less prone to develop low-frequency artifacts than is the reverse-time migration image, due to the implicit action of the Laplacian that amplifies the higher-frequency reflectors relative to the low-frequency artifacts.Thus,theheuristicLaplacianfilteringcommonlyused in practical reverse-time migration is fundamentally rooted inadjointtomographyand,inparticular,closelyconnectedto theimpedancekernel.
Modeling of local disturbance formation in the ionosphere electron concentration before strong earthquakes

In the past numerical experiments had shown that local disturbances of zonal electric fields allow reproducing the morphology of ionospheric disturbances during seismic active periods. In these numerical experiments the physical processes leading to the formation of such electric fields were not discussed. This paper offers two potential formation mechanisms of ionospheric precursors based on (1) the propagation and dissipation of small-scale internal gravity waves (IGWs) in the upper atmosphere, and (2) the penetration of a vertical electric field from the atmosphere into the ionosphere. We have simulated the effects of small-scale IGWs and the penetration of a vertical electric field for a mid-latitude earthquake in Greece using the Global Self-consistent Model of the Thermosphere, Ionosphere and Protonosphere (GSM TIP). It is shown that the simulation results obtained with the IGWs hypothesis are in good qualitative agreement with GPS TEC data. The simulation results obtained with the vertical electric field hypothesis are in less good agreement with GPS TEC data.
Spatial variability of Hurst statistics in the Castagnola Formation, Tertiary Piedmont Basin, NW ITaly: discrimination of sub-environments in a confined turbidite system

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential of the use of the Hurst test as a statistical tool for quantifying the degree of clustering of high and low values of field measurements in vertical turbiditic sections within a small and confined tectonically mobile basin. The paper (1) documents the fact that significant clustering occurs in almost all sections, (2) shows that there are systematic spatial variations in the degree of clustering such that different parts of the basin have different Hurst statistics, (3) discusses the origin of those spatial trends, and (4) compares Hurst H with Chen and Hiscott’s Hurst K. The case study focuses on one well-exposed reservoir-scale turbiditic unit cropping out in the eastern part of the Tertiary Piedmont Basin (NW, Italy) and representing the lower portion of an Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene turbidite system (Castagnola Formation). The sedimentological model that has been adopted is based on the description of 41 sedimentological logs (approximately 25–35 m apart) physically correlated bed by bed. Three variables were studied: thickness of sandstones and siltstones, grain size score, and sand and silt thickness percentage (i.e. the ratio of coarse division to overlying mudstones, in percent). The Hurst test has revealed the existence of common clustering for the three studied variables (only 2 of 41 logs failed to pass the test at the 10% significance level for all the studied variables). This clustering is associated with lateral and vertical facies variations in response to changes in depositional sub-environments within the Castagnola Basin. A geostatistical analysis has been performed in order to estimate the spatial distribution of the Hurst statistics within the studied area. The analysis makes possible predictions at unsampled locations.