Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhanced thermodynamic ice growth by sea-ice deformation

Sca-icc drift and deformation were measured with an array of drifting buoys during a 1995 winter experiment off the East Antarctic continental shelf south of the Antarctic Divergence. The buoys were configured so that deformation of the icefield could be monitored on a range of spatial scales from 2 to 130 km. The mean hourly drift rate during the 3 week-long experiment was 0.21 m s−1, and the mean daily translation of the field was 17.3 km. Differential kinematic parameters calculated from the data show a very high short-term variance, indicating that high-frequency processes are dominant. Spectral analysis of the velocity data shows a major peak of the energy spectrum at the frequency of passage of synoptic weather systems, and a second peak at the inertial frequency. A major storm event occurred during the experiment. Net divergence over this phase of the experiment, as measured by a five-buoy array, is small compared to the short-period variance. This alternating divergence and convergence has a marked effect on the net ice growth. Intense freezing and rapid new ice formation occurs in the open water areas formed during divergence, and this is thickened by rafting and ridge-building during the subsequent convergence. New open water areas equivalent to 10% of the total area formed during the first phase of the experiment. A one-dimensional multilayer thermodynamic model of ice growth shows that this led to an increase of 2.8 cm in the area-averaged ice growth over a 7 day interval, which is equivalent to 40-50% of the total estimated ice growth over the region.
The effects of deionization processes on meteor radar diffusion coefficients below 90 km

The decay times of VHF radar echoes from underdense meteor trails are reduced in the lower portions of the meteor region. This is a result of plasma neutralization initiated by the attachment of positive trail ions to neutral atmospheric molecules. Decreased echo decay times cause meteor radars to produce erroneously high estimates of the ambipolar diffusion coefficient at heights below 90 km, which affects temperature estimation techniques. Comparisons between colocated radars and satellite observations show that meteor radar estimates of diffusion coefficients are not consistent with estimates from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder satellite instrument and that colocated radars operating at different frequencies estimate different values of the ambipolar diffusion coefficient for simultaneous detections of the same meteors. Loss of free electrons from meteor trails due to attachment to aerosols and chemical processes were numerically simulated and compared with observations to determine the specific mechanism responsible for low‐altitude meteor trail plasma neutralization. It is shown that three‐body attachment of positive metal ions significantly reduces meteor radar echo decay times at low altitudes compared to the case of diffusion only that atmospheric ozone plays little part in the evolution of low‐altitude underdense meteor trails and that the effect of three‐body attachment begins to exceed diffusion in echo decay times at a constant density surface.
Singular value decomposition analyses of tropical tropospheric ozone determined from TOMS

A controversial dispute in space‐based tropospheric ozone remote sensing is the puzzling discrepancy in the spatiotemporal distribution between residual‐based satellite ozone observations and biomass‐burning activity in the tropics during boreal winter. This study focuses on evaluation and analyses of two tropospheric ozone products determined from Earth Probe TOMS measurements: Convective Cloud Differential measurements (CCD) and Scan Angle measurements (SAM). Rather than using the typical station‐to‐station inter‐comparison with ozone sounding measurements, the evaluation was performed at the global scale using temporal and spatial patterns derived from Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) analyses. The satellite observations of ozone precursors from MOPITT CO and GOME NO2 serve as markers identifying airmasses influenced by biomass burning. The SVD analyses reveal that the SAM tropospheric ozone product is remarkably consistent (95% significance level) with the two measured ozone precursors, CO and NO2, in distribution as well as in seasonality. The analyses provide compelling evidence that there is no discrepancy between tropospheric ozone and its precursors during boreal winter.
Petrologic evolution of Palau, a nascent island arc

Palau Islands, 7°30′N, are the only emergent feature on the more than 2500‐km‐long Kyushu–Palau Ridge. Small islands are mainly uplifted reef carbonate. Larger islands are volcanic with basalt to dacite and rare boninite. Polymict breccia is abundant: sills, flows, and dykes are common but pillows are rare. Palau Trench samples include all types found on the islands as well as high‐Mg basalt. Volcanism began in the late Eocene and ended by early Miocene. All igneous rocks comprise a low‐K primitive island arc‐tholeiite series. None are mid‐ocean ridge basalts. Rare earth elements and high field‐strength elements indicate a depleted mantle source. Elevated large ion lithophile elements and light rare earth elements indicate influx of ‘dehydration fluid’. Ce/Ce* and Eu/Eu* ratios show no evidence for recycling of arc‐derived clastics. Plate reconstructions and paleomagnetic data suggest that the arc probably formed on the trace of a transform fault that migrated northward and rotated clockwise up to 90°. Episodes of transtension caused upwelling of hot mantle into depleted mantle and sheared altered rocks of the transform. Episodes of transpression may have initiated subduction of old seafloor with a thin cover of pelagic sediments deposited far from terrigenous sediment sources.
Impact of month of birth on the development of autoimmune thyroid disease

Newcastle University ePrints eprint.ncl. ac.uk Hamilton A, Newby PR, Carr-Smith JD, Disanto G, Allahabadia A, Armitage M, Brix TH, Chatterjee K, Connell JM, Hegedus L, Hunt PJ, Lazarus JH, Pearce SH, Robinson BG, Taylor JC, Vaidya B, Wass JAH, Wiersinga WM, Weetman AP, Ramagopalan SV, Franklyn JA, Gough SCL, Simmonds MJ. Impact of month of birth on the development of autoimmune thyroid disease in the United Kingdom and Europe. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2014, 99(8), E1459-E1465.
World prehistory from the margins: the role of coastlines in human evolution

Conventional accounts of world prehistory are dominated by land-based narratives progressing from scavenging and hunting of land mammals and gathering of plants to animal domestication and crop agriculture, and ultimately to urban civilisations supported by agricultural surpluses and trade. The use of coastlines and marine resources has been viewed as marginal, late in the sequence, or anomalous. This bias is primarily the result of three factors: the removal of most relevant evidence by sealevel change; the bad press given to coastal hunters and gatherers by 19th century ethnographers; and a belief in technological 'primitivism'. In this paper I will examine the case for treating coastal habitats as amongst the most attractive for human settlement, and coastlines and seaways not as barriers but as gateways to human movement and contact, from early hominid dispersals to the rise of the great coastal and riverine civilisations.
Changes in frequency and intensity of daily precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula

[1] There is a general consensus within the climate community that any change in the frequency or severity of extreme climate events would profoundly impact nature and society. Such changes can be studied in terms of rainfall indices derived from daily data. The great variability of the rainfall over the Iberian Peninsula and the irregularity of its water regime make any study of the rainfall in this geographical region very interesting. In this work, we contribute some information about the characteristics and distribution of the daily precipitation series over the Iberian Peninsula, in particular the study of trends in series of several selected indices all related to the frequency or intensity of the daily rainfall. Data used are taken from a set of 35 series of daily rainfall in the aforementioned region during the period 1958–1997. The selected observatories constitute a representative sample of the orography and geographical diversity present in the peninsula. From the daily rainfall data, series of frequency and intensity rainfall indices were constructed on the basis of a prior definition of four rainfall categories reflecting certain percentiles of the precipitation distribution in the peninsula: total rainfall (≥0.2 mm), light (≥0.2 mm and <2.5 mm), moderate (≥2.5 mm and <7.5 mm), intense (≥7.5 mm), and very intense (≥15 mm). The indices studied were number of rainy days in each rainfall category, medians and maxima of length of dry spells (both related to the frequency of the precipitation), accumulated precipitation in each rainfall category, proportion of rainfall in each category relative to the total accumulated rainfall, and mean precipitation per wet day in each category (related to the amounts). All the indices were evaluated seasonally. Significant trends in many of the selected series were found. The results for all the indices are coherent and point to an increase of the light rainfall events at the cost of a decrease of more intense events.
An assessment of the socio-economic impacts of the construction of siya dam in the Mazungunye area: Bikita district of Zimbabwe.

The construction of dams results in widespread socio-economic impacts on communities. The results from the study show that Siya Dam has both positive and negative socio-economic impacts in the Mazungunye area. The impacts tend to be selective both spatially and socially. The study noted that the dam can be used for irrigation making agriculture viable in the face of climate change. Fish resources from the dam can also be used to augment dietary protein requirements thereby improving community health and contributing to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals. Further, the benefits of Siya Dam can be enhanced by using its water resources for the development of a mini hydro-electric power plant project that would augment the national power grid and contribute to clean energy production. It is hoped the study will contribute to the sustainable development and utilization of water resources provided by the dam.
Effect of soil temperature on optical frequency transfer through unidirectional dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing fiber-optic links.

Results of optical frequency transfer over a carrier-grade dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) optical fiber network are presented. The relation between soil temperature changes on a buried optical fiber and frequency changes of an optical carrier through the fiber is modeled. Soil temperatures, measured at various depths by the Royal Netherlands Meteorology Institute (KNMI) are compared with observed frequency variations through this model. A comparison of a nine-day record of optical frequency measurements through the 2×298 km fiber link with soil temperature data shows qualitative agreement. A soil temperature model is used to predict the link stability over longer periods (days-months-years). We show that optical frequency dissemination is sufficiently stable to distribute and compare, e.g., rubidium frequency standards over standard DWDM optical fiber networks using unidirectional fibers.
Heterogeneous magnesium isotopic composition of the lower continental crust: A xenolith perspective

We report 26 high‐precision whole‐rock Mg isotopic analyses for two suites of well‐characterized granulite xenoliths from Chudleigh and McBride, North Queensland, Australia, in order to constrain the behavior of Mg isotopes during deep crustal processes and the Mg isotopic composition of the lower continental crust. Previous studies suggest that the Chudleigh granulites are a suite of cogenetic cumulates crystallized from mafic magmas that intruded into and assimilated the preexisting lower crust via combined assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC). The δ26Mg values of the xenoliths range from −0.31 to −0.21‰ and correlate with radiogenic isotopes, reflecting mixing of mantle‐derived mafic magma (δ26Mg = −0.31‰) with preexisting isotopically heavy crustal materials (δ26Mg = ∼ +0.5‰) through the AFC process. The McBride granulites range compositionally from mafic to felsic, and originated as cumulates, solidified mafic/felsic melts, and restites that formed during basaltic underplating and reworking of preexisting lower crust. Their δ26Mg values vary widely from −0.72 to +0.19‰. The large Mg isotopic variation in the McBride xenoliths reflects both distinct source compositions and metamorphic enrichment of garnet, which is isotopically light. Based on these results, the lower continental crust has a heterogeneous Mg isotopic composition, with a weighted average δ26Mg of −0.18‰. The bulk continental crust, based on available data, has an average Mg isotopic composition of −0.19‰, and is slightly heavier than the mantle. The highly heterogeneous Mg isotopic distribution in the crust indicates that chemical weathering not only modifies the upper crust compositions but also significantly influences lower crust compositions through emplacement of upper crustal materials into the deep crust.
Cancer-Associated Venous Thromboembolism in the Real World

incidence compared with patients without cancer.3 VTE is reported to be the second most frequent cause of death in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.4 Furthermore, VTE in patients with cancer could develop through not only hypercoagulability with cancer, but also treatmentrelated factors including new molecular target therapeutic agents, which have further increased the risk for development of VTE in the current era.5 A recent study reported C ancer is a progressive disease with a high mortality rate despite intensive treatment, but many cancer patients are surviving longer because of progress in early diagnosis and treatment.1,2 Thus, complications during the treatment course of cancer are becoming more clinically relevant. Cancer is a strong risk factor for the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE), and patients with cancer are reported to have a 7-fold higher
A STUDY ON THE ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF SAND IMPROVED BY THE SAND COMPACTION PILE METHOD

In order to directly evaluate the effects of soil improvement by the Sand Compaction Pile (SCP) method on the density, deformation, and static and liquefaction strength characteristics of sandy soils, a series of field and laboratory tests were performed. Laboratory tests were performed on high-quality undisturbed samples obtained from sandy soils both before and after soil improvement by the SCP method. The high-quality undisturbed samples were recovered by the in-situ freezing sampling method. The drained shear strength (internal friction angle, φd), liquefaction strength (R15: cyclic stress ratio needed to cause 5% double amplitude axial strain in 15 cycles), and cyclic deformation characteristics (G~γ and h~γ relations) were determined by performing a series of laboratory tests on the undisturbed samples. Both the in-situ density and the relative density were measured on the undisturbed samples used in the laboratory tests. A standard penetration test (SPT) and a suspension-type P-S wave logging test were performed to investigate the soil profile of the test site before and after the sand compaction. Both the static and the liquefaction strengths of the sandy soils obtained in the laboratory tests were also compared with those estimated by empirical correlations used in practice based on the SPT N-value and soil gradations.
The effects of porosity on the brittle-ductile transition in sandstones

Sandstones with porosities of 6.0%, 13.9%, 19.9%, 20.9%, 22%, and 27.6% were deformed under triaxial conditions either as whole core samples or 35° sawcut samples at confining pressure conditions of 0.1, 5, 10, 30, 50, 70, 90, 110, and 130 MPa. Whole cores exhibited three types of deformational behavior: (1) thoroughgoing shear fractures, (2) brittle-ductile transitional behavior characterized by cataclastic shear zones, and (3) pervasive ductile cataclastic flow. Sawcut cores exhibited either (1) brittle behavior accomplished by reactivation of the sawcut or by the development of a crosscutting shear fracture, or (2) penetrative ductile cataclastic flow which obliterated the sawcut. The 35° sawcut cores lack the development of multiple shear zones associated with transitional brittle-ductile behavior in whole cores. The brittle-ductile boundary in both sawcut and whole cores occurs at similar confining pressures and is dependent upon initial porosity of the sandstone. Increasing the confining pressure has the effect of shifting the brittle-ductile boundary to lower porosities. A comparison of frictional strengths and fracture strengths confirms Byerlee's (1968) observation that the change from brittle to ductile behavior is related to frictional properties of the material.
The interaction of genetics and environmental toxicants in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: results from animal models

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) ALS causes degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord, brainstem, and motor cortex. Degeneration of the motor neurons leads to progressive paralysis, with a median survival of less than 5 years. About 10% of ALS is familial (FALS, with ~20% of FALS resulting from mutations in Cu/ Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) (Siddique et al., 1991). However, the vast majority of ALS (~ 90%) is sporadic (SALS), with epidemiological, clinical, and experimental evidence indicating that early developmental exposures to neurotoxicants can have consequences for neurodegeneration later in life (Fox et al., 2012), and the large variation in onset and progression of FALS and SALS is likely due to developmental exposures to environmental toxicants in genetically susceptible individuals (Trojsi et al., 2013). Pathological late-onset neurodegenerative diseases are increasingly being seen as beginning early in development, and therefore investigating the proteins and pathways disrupted during development and pre-clinically are vital to understanding the eventual pathogenesis (Kovacs et al., 2014). ALS also seems to disrupt spinal motor neuron maturation and aging pathways, supporting the idea that age-related neurodegeneration begins decades before clinical onset (Ho et al., 2016). Evidence points towards an increased risk of ALS due to exposure to a range of environmental toxicants, with the interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental exposure probably responsible for most neurodegenerative diseases (Papapetropoulos, 2007). The most likely explanation for the development of ALS is that ALS is the result of environmental exposures and time acting together (Al-Chalabi and Hardiman, 2013).
Cardiac effects of 6 months’ dietary nitrate and spironolactone in patients with hypertension and with/at risk of type 2 diabetes, in the factorial design, double-blind, randomised-controlled, VASERA TRIAL

Aims : To explore whether long-term intervention with dietary nitrate ((NO 3- ), a potential tolerance-free source of beneficial vasoactive nitric oxide) and spironolactone (to oppose aldosterone’s potential deleterious cardiovascular effects) improve cardiac structure/function, independent of blood pressure (BP), in patients with/at risk of type 2 diabetes (a population at risk of heart failure). Methods : A sub-sample of participants in our double-blind, randomised, factorial-design intervention (VaSera) trial of active beetroot juice as a nitrate source (≤11.2 mmol) or placebo (nitrate-depleted) beetroot juice, and either ≤50 mg spironolactone or ≤16 mg doxazosin (control), had trans-thoracic cardiac ultrasounds at baseline (n=105), 3 and 6 months (n=87) of intervention. Analysis was by modified intention-to-treat. Results : Nitrate-containing juice (n=40) decreased left ventricular (LV) end diastolic volume: -6.3 mL (95% confidence intervals (CI) -11.1,-1.6), and end systolic volume: -3.2 mL (-5.9,-0.5), and increased end diastolic mass/volume ratio: +0.04 (0.00,0.07), relative to placebo juice (n=47). Spironolactone (n=44) reduced relative wall thickness compared to doxazosin (n=43): -0.01 (-0.02,-0.00). Whilst spironolactone reduced LV mass index relative to baseline: -1.48 g/m 2.7 (-2.08,-0.88), there was no difference versus doxazosin: -0.85 g/m 2.7 (-1.76,0.05). Spironolactone also decreased the E/A ratio: -0.12 (-0.19,-0.04) and increased S’ (a tissue-Doppler systolic function index) by ventricular mass index (LVMI), relative wall thickness (RWT), end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), ratio of transmitral Doppler peak early (E) to late (A) filling velocity (E/A), ratio of transmitral Doppler peak early filling velocity (E) to pulsed-wave tissue-Doppler imaging (TDI)-derived early mitral annular diastolic velocity (E′) – (E/E’), early transmitral deceleration time (DT), ejection fraction (EF), pulsed-wave TDI-derived mitral annular systolic velocity – a systolic function index (S'), global longitudinal strain (GLS).
Mid‐Brunhes strengthening of the Indian Ocean Dipole caused increased equatorial East African and decreased Australasian rainfall

The tropical Indian Ocean is an important component of the largest warm pool, marked by changes in sea surface temperatures and depths of thermocline and mixed layer in its western and eastern extremities leading to the development of a dipole mode ‐ the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). A narrow band of westerlies (7°N to 7°S) sweep the equatorial Indian Ocean during the April–May and October–November transitions between the summer‐ and winter‐monsoon seasons. These Indian Ocean equatorial westerlies (IEW) are closely related to the IOD, intensifying the upper ocean Eastward Equatorial current also known as Wyrtki jets. The strength of the IOD/IEW determines the moisture content in East Africa. A major decrease in the strength of the IEW (strengthening or positive mode of the IOD) during the mid‐Brunhes epoch (∼300–250 Kyr BP) coincides with a wetter equatorial East Africa, a drier Australasia and a stronger Indian summer monsoon, indicating that the IOD/IEW play a significant role in driving climate change in East Africa, Australasia and South Asia.
Recent variations in seasonality of temperature and precipitation in Canada, 1976–95

A previously reported analysis of rehabilitated monthly temperature and precipitation time series for several hundred stations across Canada showed generally spatially coherent patterns of variation between two decades (1976–85 and 1986–95). The present work expands that analysis to finer time scales and a greater number of stations. We demonstrate how the finer temporal resolution, at 5 day or 11 day intervals, increases the separation between clusters of recent variations in seasonal patterns of temperature and precipitation. We also expand the analysis by increasing the number of stations from only rehabilitated monthly data sets to rehabilitated daily sets, then to approximately 1500 daily observation stations. This increases the spatial density of data and allows a finer spatial resolution of patterns between the two decades. We also examine the success of clustering partial records, i.e. sites where the data record is incomplete. The intent of this study was to be consistent with previous work and explore how greater temporal and spatial detail in the climate data affects the resolution of patterns of recent climate variations. The variations we report for temperature and precipitation are taking place at different temporal and spatial scales. Further, the spatial patterns are much broader than local climate regions and ecozones, indicating that the differences observed may be the result of variations in atmospheric circulation. Copyright © 2002 Environment Canada. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.