Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal diffusivity of igneous rocks at elevated pressure and temperature

Thermal diffusivity measurements of seven igneous rocks were made to temperatures of 400 /sup 0/C and pressures of 200 MPa. The measuring method was based on the concept of cylindrical symmetry and periodic heat pulses. The seven rocks measured were Westerly (Rhode Island) granite, Climax Stock (Nevada) quartz monzonite, Pomona (Washington) basalt, Atikokan (Ontario, Canada) granite, Creighton (Ontario, Canada) gabbro, East Bull Lake (Ontario, Canada) gabbro, and Stripa (Sweden) granite. The diffusivity of all the rocks showed a positive linear dependence on inverse temperature and, excluding the East Bull Lake gabbro, showed a linear dependence on quartz content. (Quartz content varied from 0 to 31% by volume.) Diffusivity in all cases rose or remained steady with increasing confining pressure. The pressure effect was strongest at lowest pressures and vanished by levels between 10 and 100 MPa, depending on rock type. The pressure effect (measured as a percentage change in diffusivity) is stronger in the four rocks of granite composition than in the three of basaltic composition. Our results agree well with existing thermal diffusivity measurements at atmospheric pressure.
Validation of Halogen Occultation Experiment CH4 measurements from the UARS

Global distributions of CH4 in the mesosphere and stratosphere have been measured continuously since October 11, 1991, by the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) onboard the UARS. CH4 mixing ratio is obtained using the gas filter correlation technique operating in the 3.3-μm region. Since measurements are made during solar occultation in the 57° inclination orbit, data are collected 15 times daily for both sunrises and sunsets. This provides coverage of one hemisphere in a month period. One complete hemispheric sweep (from equator to ∼80° latitude) is made during the spring and summer seasons of two hemispheres, and a partial sweep (from equator to around 50° latitude) is made during the fall and winter seasons of two hemispheres. HALOE CH4 measurements are validated using direct comparisons with correlative data and internal consistency checks using other HALOE-measured tracers, HF, and aerosols. It is estimated for the 0.3- to 50-mbar region that the total error, including systematic and random components, is less than 15% and that the precision is better than 7%. The CH4 gas filter channel does not depend significantly on the Pinatubo aerosol extinction. An experimentally accurate measurement of CH4 is very important because CH4 is a primary interfering gas in the HALOE HCl channel and, subsequently, can cause HCl measurement error. Simultaneous measurements of CH4 and other HALOE species (O3, H2O, NO, NO2, HCl, HF, and aerosol extinction coefficients) provide important information on atmospheric dynamic and chemical processes, since CH4 can be used as a tracer and an indicator of atmospheric transport processes. Several new pieces of information on previously unreported HALOE-observed features are also presented.
Blood lead and blood pressure. Relationship in the adolescent and adult US population.

Heavy lead exposure has been connected to cardiovascular disease, but modest exposures encountered in the general environment have not been associated previously with disease risk. The relationship between blood lead levels and blood pressures was examined using data from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A direct relationship was found between blood lead levels and systolic and diastolic pressures for men and women and for white and black persons aged 12 to 74 years. Blood lead levels were significantly higher in younger men and women (aged 21 to 55 years) with high blood pressure, but not in older men or women (aged 56 to 74 years). In multiple regression analyses, the relationship of blood lead to blood pressure was independent of other variables for men, but not for women. Dietary calcium and serum zinc levels were inversely related to blood pressure. ( JAMA 1985;253:530-534)
Climatically linked carbon isotope variation during the past 430,000 years in Southern Ocean sediments

We use the isotopic composition of carbon from organic matter enclosed within diatom frustules as a proxy for paleoproductivity and paleo-dissolved carbon dioxide concentrations in ocean surface waters. A Southern Ocean record from south of the Antarctic Polar Front and spanning 430,000 years of carbon isotopic variation in diatomaceous organic matter is presented for the first time. The most refractory diatomaceous organic matter fraction was extracted and analyzed to avoid problems associated with diagenesis. The results clearly indicate cyclic changes in organic carbon isotopic ratios, with 13C depleted values associated with all of the last five glacial periods, reflecting changes in surface water properties and primary productivity. Changes in dissolved carbon dioxide concentrations are the most probable cause of these cycles, but the possible effect of seawater pH changes cannot be excluded.
Burrows of Paragnathia (Crustacea: Isopoda) and bledius (Arthropoda: Staphylinidae) Enhance cliff erosion

In coastal cliffs consisting of Pliocene fine‐grained clastic sediments at El Rompido, Huelva, Spain we discovered around the high water line an extensive zone of about 1.5 m in height burrows that were made by up to 4 mm long isopods Paragnathia formica (Hesse) and small 5 mm long staphylinid beetles (Bledius cf. corniger Rosenhauer). The burrowing zone was crowded with irregular burrows 2–5 mm in diameter and extended some 5 cm deep in the cliff. The base of the cliff showed a clear (bio)erosional notch due to this burrowing activity, comparable to those produced by marine boring and scraping organisms in, for example, calcareous rocks. This indicates that the activity of Paragnathia and Bledius helps in eroding the cliffs, a phenomenon not published earlier as far as we know. A comparable but less extensive burrowed zone was found farther upstream near Cartaya. Their presence around the high tide zone also might prove these burrows to be good markers of former high tide lines in older cliffs.
Sensitivity of the Climate Response to the Altitude of Black Carbon in the Northern Subtropics in an Aquaplanet GCM

AbstractThis study explores the dependence of the climate response on the altitude of black carbon in the northern subtropics by employing an atmospheric general circulation model coupled to an aquaplanet mixed layer ocean, with a focus on the pattern changes in the temperature, hydrological cycle, and large-scale circulation. Black carbon added below or within the subtropical low-level clouds tends to suppress convection, which reduces the low cloud amount, resulting in a positive cloud radiative forcing. The warmer northern subtropics then induce a northward shift of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and a poleward expansion of the descending branch of the northern Hadley cell. As the black carbon–induced local warming is amplified by clouds and is advected by the anomalous Hadley circulation, the entire globe gets warmer. In contrast, black carbon added near the surface increases the buoyancy of air parcels to enhance convection, leading to an increase in the subtropical low cloud amount and a .
Geochemical variations within the mid-Silurian Grötlingbo Bentonite (Gotland, Sweden): discriminating between magmatic composition, ash transport fractionation and diagenetic effects

This paper reports on the geochemistry of the mid-Silurian Grötlingbo Bentonite, a ca. 0.1–0.4-m-thick and regionally important bentonite bed in Sweden and the East Baltic area. A series of eight samples, spaced by 5 cm, were taken from the Hunninge-1 drillcore in Gotland, Sweden, and were analysed in order to establish the vertical element composition and variation in the bentonite. The results show that the Götlingbo Bentonite originates from one source magma and from one single eruption. The lowermost 0.1–0.15 m of the bentonite (compacted) was deposited from air-transport fall-out, whereas the upper portions have been reworked in a shallow-marine environment and re-deposited. Vertical differences in Ti and Zr within the Grötlingbo Bentonite mean that regional correlation of the bed may need several samples at each locality to be reliable.
Robust Face Recognition via Sparse Representation

In this paper, we consider the problem of automatically recognizing human faces from partially occluded frontal views. We argue that new mathematical theory from sparse signal representation offers the key to address this difficult problem. The desired representation is sparse, since the test face image should only be represented in terms of training face images of the same object. The occlusion of the face is also sparse, typically affecting only a fraction of the image pixels. We propose a simple, novel algorithm which uses ` minimization to express the test image as a sparse linear combination of the training images plus a sparse error due to occlusion. This algorithm achieves state-of-the-art performance using raw imagery data, with no need for dimension reduction, feature selection, synthetic training examples or domain-specific information. We investigate the implications of this new mathematical framework for the engineering of recognition systems, showing how to predict how much occlusion the algorithm can handle and how to choose the training data to maximize robustness to occlusion. Extensive experiments on publicly available databases verify the efficacy of the proposed method.
Forest Nutrition Management

The Context of Forest Nutrition Management. Nutrient Cycling. The Major Nutrient Cylces. Forest Nutrition Assessment. Fertilization. Biological Nitrogen Fixation. Harvesting, Site Preparation, and Regeneration. Special Cases in Forest Nutrition Management. Economics, Energetics, and Decisions. Models in Forest Management. References. Index.
Spatial Patterns of Migration and Income Change in the Mountain West: The Dominance of Service-Based, Amenity-Rich Counties

One of the most recognizable and important changes occurring in the West is rapid population growth. This article intends to address questions associated with whether patterns of population growth and income migration are associated with “new” and “old” West economies. Rural restructuring in the U.S. has created a group of counties with service-based economies. In the Mountain West, a number of counties with service-based economies are located in areas with high levels of environmental or natural amenities, creating what has been termed the “New West. ” Migration to the rural parts of the Mountain West, and the income transfers associated with migration, are increasingly concentrated within these New West counties. Rapid population growth, the changing characteristics of in-migrants, and their spatial concentration in New West counties provide a basis for conflicts over what the rural West is becoming.
A crustal section across the Puerto Rico trench

A crustal section across the Puerto Rico Trench, from 450 km north to 250 km south of San Juan, was deduced from seismic refraction and gravity data. The result, a refinement of previous work, was made possible through more complete seismic refraction coverage and a program for high-speed electronic computation of two-dimensional gravity problems. On the basis of refraction data, the crust was divided into five layers having compressional wave velocities of 1.54, 2.1, 3.8, 5.6, and 7.0 km/sec. Densities taken from a density-velocity curve compiled by Nafe and Drake are 1.03, 2.0, 2.4, 2.7, and 3.0 gm/cc, respectively. Depths to the Mohorovicic discontinuity were computed from the gravity data using sub-crustal density of 3.4 gm/cc, which corresponds to 8.2 km/sec on the density-velocity curve. (A similar calculation was made using a sub-crustal density of 3.3 gm/cc). Depth to M under the trench is about 20 km decreasing sharply on both sides. Northwards, it reaches a minimum of about 10 km under the Outer Ridge and then deepens gradually to about 13 km beneath the southern margin of the Nares Basin. South of the trench M rises under the Puerto Rico Shelf to about 17 km and then deepens sharply to about 30 km beneath Puerto Rico. South of Puerto Rico the depth decreases again to about 14 km under the Venezuelan Basin. Depths to M were also obtained by using Airy isostatic anomalies and assuming constant crustal density of 2.67 gm/cc over a mantle of density 3.27 gm/cc. The crustal section thus deduced differs significantly from that obtained when the density structure within the crust was considered.
Influence of environmental factors on degradation of carbendazim by bacillus pumilus strain NY97-1.

The influence of environmental factors on the performance of carbendazim degradation by Bacillus pumilus strain NY97-1 was investigated under aerobic conditions. The carbendazim degradation in culture medium was characterised by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with UV detector. When the initial concentration of carbendazim was 10, 30, 50, 100, 300 mg/L, the degradation rate was 42.44, 48.97, 77.19, 78.66 and 90.07%, respectively after 24 h at 30°C. Addition of small amount of organic nitrogenous source had a significant influence on carbendazim degradation, while the inorganic nitrogenous source had negative effect. Carbendazim degradation rate varied from 61.55% to 87.76% when pH value within the range of 4-10 after addition of organic nitrogen, the lowest carbendazim degradation percentage of 61.55% was obtained at pH 4.
Consequences of cathepsin C inactivation for membrane exposure of proteinase 3, the target antigen in autoimmune vasculitis

Membrane-bound proteinase 3 (PR3m) is the main target antigen of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) in granulomatosis with polyangiitis, a systemic small-vessel vasculitis. Binding of ANCA to PR3m triggers neutrophil activation with the secretion of enzymatically active PR3 and related neutrophil serine proteases, thereby contributing to vascular damage. PR3 and related proteases are activated from pro-forms by the lysosomal cysteine protease cathepsin C (CatC) during neutrophil maturation. We hypothesized that pharmacological inhibition of CatC provides an effective measure to reduce PR3m and therefore has implications as a novel therapeutic approach in granulomatosis with polyangiitis. We first studied neutrophilic PR3 from 24 patients with Papillon–Lefèvre syndrome (PLS), a genetic form of CatC deficiency. PLS neutrophil lysates showed a largely reduced but still detectable (0.5–4%) PR3 activity when compared with healthy control cells. Despite extremely low levels of cellular PR3, the amount of constitutive PR3m expressed on the surface of quiescent neutrophils and the typical bimodal membrane distribution pattern were similar to what was observed in healthy neutrophils. However, following cell activation, there was no significant increase in the total amount of PR3m on PLS neutrophils, whereas the total amount of PR3m on healthy neutrophils was significantly increased. We then explored the effect of pharmacological CatC inhibition on PR3 stability in normal neutrophils using a potent cell-permeable CatC inhibitor and a CD34+ hematopoietic stem cell model. Human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells were treated with the inhibitor during neutrophil differentiation over 10 days. We observed strong reductions in PR3m, cellular PR3 protein, and proteolytic PR3 activity, whereas neutrophil differentiation was not compromised.
AN INTERNAL INSTRUMENTATION FOR AXIAL AND RADIAL STRAIN MEASUREMENTS IN TRIAXIAL TESTS

A measuring device for axial and radial displacements in triaxial tests on soft rock specimens is described. Developed to optimize the detection of strain localization, the transducers have a linear response and a working range of a few percent. After a presentation of the manufacture and properties, detection of strain localization in the specimen during the compression test is discussed.
Turbulent spectra in a stably stratified atmosphere

After noting the discrepancy between the predictions of turbulence theory and the empirical evidence from radio experiments, the author suggests that this may be the result of modification of the turbulent spectra by the effects of buoyancy in stably stratified layers. He points out that in such situations kinetic energy of turbulence is converted, over a wide range of scales, to potential energy of the resulting density deviations, that this potential energy is subsequently destroyed by the action of further turbulent mixing and molecular diffusion, and, finally, that the primary effect is to reduce the viscous dissipation rate significantly below that which normally would be estimated on the basis of large-scale turbulent motions. Universal forms are predicted for the kinetic energy and density fluctuation spectra, and in the buoyancy subrange (the part of the equilibrium range that reflects the anisotropy induced by the density gradient) the energy spectrum is found to be proportional to k−11/5, the density spectrum to k−7/5.
Simulation of Bay of Bengal Tropical Cyclones with WRF Model: Impact of Initial and Boundary Conditions

An attempt is made to delineate the relative performances and credentials of GFS, FNL, and NCMRWF global analyses/forecast products as initial and boundary conditions (IBCs) to the WRF-ARW model in the simulation of four Bay of Bengal tropical cyclones (TCs). The results suggest that FNL could simulate horizontal advection of vorticity maxima at 850 hPa; hence, the tracks are more realistic with least errors as compared to GFS and NCMRWF. The mean landfall errors for 24-, 48-, and 72-hour forecasts are 73, 41, and 72 km, respectively. The TC intensity is well captured by NCMRWF IBCs, as it could predict 850 hPa vorticity maxima. The 24-hour accumulated rainfall is well simulated with FNL, and equitable threat score is more than 0.2 up to 100 mm with minimum bias.
Gas phase formaldehyde and peroxide measurements in the Arctic atmosphere

Atmospheric peroxides and formaldehyde were measured during the Polar Sunrise Experiment 1992 in Alert, Canada (82.5°N, 62.3°W). Two measurement periods, in the dark winter and in the sunlit spring, were chosen to investigate the effects of photochemistry. Continuous measurements were performed using diffusion scrubbers coupled to aqueous phase fluorometry. The concentration of total peroxides varied from below the detection limit (∼10 parts per trillion by volume (pptv)) to 40 pptv in the dark and 100 to 400 pptv in the sunlit period with large variations in the ratio between H2O2 and organic peroxides. The CH2O concentrations measured in the dark were between 100 and 700 pptv and showed good correlation with a number of atmospheric constituents such as CH4, CO2, and Rn but anticorrelation to O3. A fraction of the observed CH2O concentrations is believed to be formed by nonphotochemical O3-alkene chemistry. In the presence of sunlight the CH2O concentrations ranged between 30 to 600 pptv without correlation to CH4, CO2, or Rn. The maximum CH2O concentrations were associated with air, depleted in O3, coming from the Arctic Ocean. During the O3 depletions, decreased peroxide concentrations were observed. The origin of the air mass was a very important factor during both periods in explaining the observed variabilities in CH2O and peroxide concentrations.
Benthic associations of the shallow hard bottoms off Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea: zonation, biomass and population structure

Quantitative and semi-quantitative samples of phyto- and zoobenthic organisms were collected by SCUBA diving at five stations along a depth transect from 0.5–16 m on the shallow hard bottoms off Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, Antarctica. The benthic associations were dominated by two macroalgal species (Iridaea cordata and Phyllophora antarctica) and by few animal taxa (mainly polychaetes, molluscs and peracarid crustaceans). Distribution at the community and species levels revealed a well-defined zonation pattern as a function of depth, governed mainly by sea ice scouring and melting. Zonation of vagile fauna was also affected by the effects of covering and architecture of the two dominant macroalgae. Species richness and diversity were higher in the Phyllophora-associated community, where habitat complexity and sheltering were higher. The highest faunal abundance (over 82 000 ind.m−2) and biomass (macroalgae and fauna wet weight 2392 g m−2) were recorded at 2 m depth in association with the Iridaea covering, where the harsher environmental conditions select a few taxa. The biomass values, even if underestimates of the whole community standing crop, are among the highest recorded in shallow austral biotopes. An autoecological and demographic analysis of the most abundant animal species revealed for some species (e.g. Laevilitorina antarctica and Paramoera walkeri) a quite complex population structure with up to three size classes, including juveniles. In some species, the cohort of juveniles showed a well-defined depth preference probably related to sheltering by the macroalgae. As a whole, the species analyzed showed various and contrasting reproductive strategies, despite the fact that the environmental conditions along the transect were relatively similar and quite selective.
Waste recycling through urban farming in Hubli-Dharwad.

Urban agriculture in India is strongly characterised by tradition and links with rural areas. Whilst in some metropolitan cities, low-income communities are growing vegetables on small plots of land, by far the greatest amount of urban agricultural activities involve keeping livestock, particularly in urban dairies. Urban and periurban agricultural activities in India are particularly associated with urban-based sources of waste, both in terms of consuming waste and producing dung. As noted by Furedy and Whitney (1997: 2), "food production using wastes is a widespread tradition in Asian cities".
Disability relating to basic and instrumental activities of daily living among elderly subjects.

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of disability and associated factors in elderly, by focusing on basic and instrumental activities of daily living. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study on 598 subjects aged 60 years or over who were selected through two-stage cluster sampling in Pelotas, Southern Brazil, between 2007 and 2008. Basic and instrumental activities were evaluated using the Katz Index and the Lawton Scale, respectively. Disability relating to each domain was defined as the need for partial or total assistance to perform at least one activity of daily living. Poisson regression with robust variance was used in the crude and adjusted analyses, taking the cluster sampling into account. RESULTS The prevalence of disability relating to basic activities was 26.8% (95% CI: 23.0; 30.8). The lowest proportion of independence was in relation to controlling the urination and/or evacuation functions. In relation to instrumental activities, the prevalence of disability was 28.8% (95% CI: 24.5; 33.1), particularly in relation to moving around using means of transportation. A high proportion of the elderly subjects (21.7%) presented more than one instrumental activity with disability. In relation to basic activities, the greatest proportion presented dependence for only one activity (16.6%). In the adjusted analysis, disability relating to basic activities was associated with non-white skin color (p=0.01) and increasing age (p<0.001). Disability relating to instrumental activities was only associated with increasing age (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The association between disability relating to basic and instrumental activities and increasing age is an indicator of importance for enabling the health services to plan actions that aim to prevent or delay the occurrence of disability, thereby ensuring independence and better quality of life among the elderly.