Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-method monitoring of rockfall activity on the Mont Blanc (4,809 m a.s.l.) classic route to encourage the adaptation of mountaineers

There are on average 35 fatal mountaineering accidents per summer in France. On average since 1990, 3.7 of them have occurred every summer in the Grand Couloir du Goûter , on the classic route up Mont Blanc (4,809 m a.s.l.). Rockfall is one of the main factors that explains this high accident rate and contributes in making it one of the most accident-prone areas 15 in the Alps for mountaineers. In this particular context, the objective of this study is to document the rockfall activity and its triggering factors in the Grand Couloir du Goûter in order to disseminate the results to mountaineers and favor their adaptation to the local rockfall hazard. Using a multi-method monitoring system (5 seismic sensors, an automatic digital camera, 3 rock subsurface temperature sensors, a traffic sensor, a high-resolution topographical survey, 2 weather stations and a rain gauge), we acquired a continuous database on rockfalls over 68 days in 2019 and some of their potential triggering factors 20 (precipitation,
Remarks on the determination of the Lorentzian metric by the length of geodesics

We consider a Lorentzian metric in $\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R}^n$. We show that if we know the lengths of space-time geodesics starting at $(0,y,\eta)$ when $t=0$, then we can recover the metric. We also prove the rigidity of Lorentzian metrics.
Propionyl-CoA carboxylase subunit B modulates PIK3CA-regulated immune-surveillance in a pancreatic cancer mouse model

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) are resistant to systemic treatments including immunotherapy. Over 90% of PDACs have oncogenic KRAS mutations, and phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are direct effectors of KRAS. Previously, we demonstrated that genetic ablation of PI3K isoform, Pik3ca in the KPC ( Kras G12D ; Trp53 R172H ; Pdx1-Cre ) pancreatic cancer cell line induced complete tumor elimination by infiltrating T cells in a mouse model. However, clinical trials using PI3K inhibitors for PDAC patients exhibited limited efficacy due to drug resistance. To identify potential contributors to PI3K inhibitor resistance, we conducted an in vivo genome-wide gene-deletion screen using the Pik3ca -/- KPC (named α KO) cells implanted in the mouse pancreas and discovered propionyl-CoA carboxylase subunit B (PCCB) modulates PIK3CA - mediated immune evasion. Deletion of Pccb gene in α KO cells (named p-α KO) allowed tumor progression causing death of host mice even though p-αKO tumors are infiltrated with T cells. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed that infiltrating clonally expanded T cells in p-α KO tumors were more exhausted as compared to T cells founds in α KO tumors. Blockade of PD-L1/PD1 interaction reversed T cell exhaustion, slowed tumor growth and improved the survival of mice implanted with p-α KO cells. These results indicate that propionyl-CoA carboxylase activity modulates PIK3CA-regulated immune surveillance of PDAC.
First Study on the Occurrence Frequency of Equatorial Plasma Bubbles over West Africa Using an All‐Sky Airglow Imager and GNSS Receivers

This is the first paper that reports the occurrence frequency of equatorial plasma bubbles and their dependences of local time, season, and geomagnetic activity based on airglow imaging observations at West Africa. The all‐sky imager, situated in Abuja (Geographic: 8.99°N, 7.38°E; Geomagnetic: 1.60°S), has a 180° fisheye view covering almost the entire airspace of Nigeria. Plasma bubbles are observed for 70 nights of the 147 clear‐sky nights from 9 June 2015 to 31 January 2017. Differences between nighttime and daytime ROTIs were also computed as a proxy of plasma bubbles using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers within the coverage of the all‐sky imager. Most plasma bubble occurrences are found during equinoxes and least occurrences during solstices. The occurrence rate of plasma bubbles was highest around local midnight and lower for hours farther away. Most of the postmidnight plasma bubbles were observed around the months of December to March, a period that coincides with the harmattan period in Nigeria. The on/off status of plasma bubble in airglow and GNSS observations were in agreement for 67.2% of the total 768 h, while we suggest several reasons responsible for the remaining 32.8% when the airglow and GNSS bubble status are inconsistent. A majority of the plasma bubbles were observed under relatively quiet geomagnetic conditions (Dst ≥ −40 and Kp ≤ 3), but there was no significant pattern observed in the occurrence rate of plasma bubbles as a function of geomagnetic activity. We suggest that geomagnetic activities could have either suppressed or promoted the occurrence of plasma bubbles.
Environmental Perception, Sense of Place, and Residence Time in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Integral to the geographic discipline are cross-cultural analyses, many of which use languages outside of the researcher’s own. There are few analyses, however, that address issues of translation that are inherently geographic; namely, that language is understood as a manifestation of place and culture. This article argues that the results of environmental interviews must be interpreted through a lens that evaluates how the translation of a word, or even a concept, is understood differentially based on one’s sense of place. Interviews were conducted in three of the Etsha villages situated in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, comparing perceptions of changes in both the local area and the flooding regime. Findings show qualitatively and quantitatively how residents perceive environmental change in light of their residential histories and their production of place. These results highlight that environmental change in an area is perceived in the context of previous residences, including the length of time spent in residence and the environmental characterization of that place. The process of interviewing regarding such change, especially when translation is necessary, should therefore proceed by incorporating inquiries about previous residences and the environments of those areas to correctly contextualize environmental change in a particular area.
Managing invasive species [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Invasive species pose considerable harm to native ecosystems and biodiversity and frustrate and at times fascinate the invasive species management and scientific communities. Of the numerous non-native species established around the world, only a minority of them are invasive and noxious, whereas the majority are either benign or in fact beneficial. Agriculture in North America, for example, would look dramatically different if only native plants were grown as food crops and without the services of the European honey bee as a pollinator. Yet the minority of species that are invasive negatively alter ecosystems and reduce the services they provide, costing governments, industries, and private citizens billions of dollars annually. In this review, I briefly review the consequences of invasive species and the importance of remaining vigilant in the battle against them. I then focus on their management in an increasingly connected global community.
A Hydrometeorological Perspective on the Karakoram Anomaly Using Unique Valley‐Based Synoptic Weather Observations

Glaciers in the eastern Hindukush, western Karakoram, and northwestern Himalayan mountain ranges of Northern Pakistan are not responding to global warming in the same manner as their counterparts elsewhere. Their retreat rates are less than the global average, and some are either stable or growing. Various investigations have questioned the role of climatic factors in regard to this anomalous behavior, widely referred to as “The Karakoram Anomaly. ” Here, for the first time, we present a hydrometeorological perspective based on five decades of synoptic weather observations collected by the meteorological network of Pakistan. Analysis of this unique data set indicates that increased regional scale humidity, cloud cover, and precipitation, along with decreased net radiation, near‐surface wind speed, potential evapotranspiration, and river flow, especially during the summer season, represent a substantial change in the energy, mass, and momentum fluxes that are facilitating the establishment of the Karakoram anomaly.
Evaluation of Hole-Punching Operculums as a Marking Technique in Centrarchids

: Mark-recapture studies provide important information about fisheries. There are many ways to mark or tag fish, but some populations of fish, like Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) and sunfish ( Lepomis spp.), will require a large number of fish to be tagged. The cost of tags could be prohibitive to these studies. Lower-cost methods help to reduce this barrier. This study was split into a lab and field trial to investigate the applicability of operculum hole-punching as a viable, low-cost option for Centrarchid mark-recapture studies. In the lab, 63 Largemouth Bass and 105 sunfish were collected and marked with a self-piercing tag on their left operculum. Of those, 33 bass and 53 sunfish were marked with a 6.4mm paper hole-punch tool on their right operculum then fish were held in pools to test growth rates, mortality, and longevity. Results showed no significant difference between hole-punch and control fish for growth or mortality. Next, 60 Largemouth Bass and 328 sunfish were collected from a 6-acre pond. Fish were marked with a hole-punch and a fin clip. Hole-punch and fin clip locations varied based on the date collected. In both studies, hole-punch closure rate was observed in 25% increments. Overall, hole-punches closed faster in the lab study, suggesting environment can affect growth rates. Also, Largemouth Bass marks closed faster than sunfish showing a species-specific difference. Approximate operculum hole-punches closure rates take 26 days to close in Largemouth Bass and 164 days in sunfish. Our results suggest operculum hole-punching is a viable low-cost method for marking fish.
The impacts of contrasting grazing management on biodiversity in upland calcareous grasslands

Calcareous grassland, considered among the most species rich and diverse habitats in Europe, underwent wide scale loss and degradation following post 1950s agricultural intensification. Consequently, they are the focus of conservation efforts and are protected in national and international legislation (e.g. EU Habitats Directive). As elsewhere in Europe, a major cause of upland calcareous grassland loss and degradation in Britain was intensive grazing, typically with sheep. In recent years, conservation organisations have altered grazing practices in an attempt to prevent further loss and degradation by focussing management on conserving characteristic calcareous grassland vegetation. However, the impact of the contrasting grazing regimes used in this internationally important habitat on invertebrates is unknown. This study is the first to investigate the impacts of a range of established grazing regimes (low intensity sheep grazing, low intensity cattle grazing, high intensity sheep grazing and no grazing) on aspects of plant diversity and structural complexity, carabid beetle diversity, and spider diversity in upland calcareous grasslands. It also provides the first evidence based management recommendations for UK upland calcareous grasslands which incorporate both plants and invertebrates. In addition, this study is also the first to assess the biodiversity value of acid grassland and limestone heath habitat patches that occur as 3 part of the calcareous grassland matrix and are not targeted by conservation management, by examining the spider fauna in each habitat in relation to calcareous grassland. Further evidence based recommendations for the management of these non-target habitats are made for the first time
Internal wars in history: Triggered by natural disasters or socio-ecological catastrophes?

Chaotic events that might be regarded as proximate causes in triggering war have rarely been considered in the large-N quantitative studies of historical warfare. Furthermore, it has not been fully determined which types of chaotic events, natural disasters or socio-ecological catastrophes, are more influential in modulating the likelihood of wars. This study is based on the incidents of 5368 natural disasters, 1478 famines, 5700 epidemics, 456 nomadic invasions, and 1315 internal wars in the agricultural region (including wheat and rice regions) of China in AD 1470–1911, together with Poisson regression and Granger Causality analyses, to explore the catalytic effect of natural disasters and socio-ecological catastrophes in modulating the likelihood of wars in history. The comparison between the wheat and the rice regions is focused. This is the first large-N inter-regional quantitative analysis on this topic. Our statistical results show that, in general, socio-ecological catastrophes are the proximate triggers of internal wars. Specifically, internal wars are triggered by epidemics in the wheat region, and they are ignited by famines in the rice region in historic China. In addition, internal wars in the two agro-ecological zones are revealed to be context-dependent. Also, conceptual models about the synergy of natural disasters and socio-ecological catastrophes in causing internal wars in the wheat and the rice regions are proposed, respectively. The above findings supplement the Malthusian theory by demonstrating the inter-connection among various mortality factors, which has rarely been examined empirically in academia. Moving beyond historic China, researchers are encouraged to boil down war data in other parts of the world by geographic regions in the course of their statistical analysis to examine each region individually in follow-up studies.
Coral windows onto seasonal climate variability in the northern Caribbean since 1479

Mean surface ocean conditions in the Caribbean were up to ∼2°C cooler than today at times during the Little Ice Age. The seasonal context for such mean state changes is important for determining the mechanisms involved. We reconstructed surface ocean conditions in southwest Puerto Rico at approximately monthly resolution over eight 4–12 year periods during the last ∼520 years to test if the seasonal cycles of temperature or salinity varied with mean state. We carried out paired analyses of Sr/Ca and δ18O for two coral cores. The δ18O data contained clear annual cycles and were significantly correlated to temperature during the 20th century calibration periods (1993–2004 and 1902–1912, r = 0.73). The Sr/Ca data contained high‐frequency noise that obscured the seasonal cycles, although the centennial variability matched that of the coral δ18O, indicating a common forcing that is likely temperature. The seasonal coral δ18O amplitude averaged 0.60 ± 0.17‰, with none of the periods significantly different from the most recent. The simplest explanation is that the amplitudes of seasonal seawater δ18O and temperature variations were not different from today. Previous work in the southern Caribbean indicates that the Intertropical Convergence Zone was shifted southward or weaker during the Little Ice Age, and we speculate about how this could occur with no apparent affect on seasonality in the northern Caribbean.
A dendroclimatological study of east- and west-facing slopes in mountainous areas subjected to strong air pollution (the Sudetes, Central Europe)

ABSTRACT The Sudetes Mountains (Central Europe) were under a particularly intense long-term air pollution load during the 1970s and 1980s. Intense industrial activity in this area led to large-scale forest dieback and reductions in tree growth rates, potentially limiting the use of tree-ring data from this region in dendroclimatic research. In this paper, ring-width chronologies were constructed for 493 Norway spruce trees (Picea abies L. Karst.) from 17 sampling sites within five major mountain ranges in the Sudetes Mountains of Poland. Growth-climate response data indicate that April‒July temperatures are the main factor affecting radial growth of trees in the study area. Our data also indicate the strong influence of slope aspect on temperature signal strength. The lowest correlation values were obtained for sites located on western slopes with effective fog deposition, which are strongly affected by pollution. An appropriate sampling strategy resulted in the creation of a temperature-sensitive proxy record (rAMJJ = 0.70), exceptional for areas under strong pressure from human activity. Based on a regional master chronology, growing season (April‒July) temperatures over the past 200 years were then reconstructed. Four warm and four cold periods were distinguished and compared with other reconstructions and long-term instrumental data.
Effect of Application Rates of N and P Fertilizers on Soil Nematode Community Structure in Mollisols

Long-term application of chemical fertilizer poses an environmental threat to belowground ecosystems. However, the impact of nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) fertilizers on soil biodiversity and the conditions of soil food web remains largely unknown. Soil nematodes are the most abundant multicellular soil animals and serve as excellent bioindicators of soil. Here, we investigated soil nematode communities and food web structure in a long-term experiment with different application rates of N and P fertilizers in northeast China. The application of N and P fertilizers increased the abundance of bacterivores but suppressed the abundance of omnivores and predators. The abundance of bacterivores exhibited an increasing trend, while that of omnivores and predators showed a decreasing trend with increasing rates of N and P fertilizers. Plant parasites displayed a decreasing trend in response to N fertilizer, but not to P fertilizer. N and P fertilizers also altered nematode functional guild composition, with N fertilizer increasing the abundance of Ba1, and P fertilizer increasing the abundance of Fu2 and Ba3. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis revealed apparent successions of nematode communities from no fertilizer soils to high rates of N or P fertilizer soils at both the genus and functional guild levels. Furthermore, N and P fertilizers resulted in different nematode communities. In terms of nematode food web indices, N fertilizer increased the enrichment index (EI) but reduced the channel index (CI) and structure index (SI), whereas P fertilizer only reduced the SI value. High rates of N and P fertilizers increased the respired carbon of bacterivores but reduced the respired carbon of predators. Mantel tests revealed significant correlations between soil properties and the community composition of both fungivores and omnivores. Among all soil properties, available phosphorus (AP) had the greatest influence on the community structure of soil nematodes. Our findings indicate that N fertilizer has a powerful effect on nematode food web structure, while P fertilizer exerts a stronger effect on soil nematode community composition.
ZEF-Discussion Papers on Development Policy No. 337

This paper provides insights into how variances in time spent by mothers in home production (i.e., domestic and care work) impact children’s diets. We test the hypothesis that a decrease in the time spent by mothers in home production negatively impacts children’s diets. Moreover, the paper considers whether substitute caregivers and improved water infrastructure can reduce these impacts. We use primary data from women traders in three markets in two regions in Ghana. Primary data collected from women traders includes women’s time use, the food consumed by children in the previous 24 hours, and the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the traders’ households. To overcome the empirical challenge in estimating the relationship, we focus on the differences in the time spent by women traders in home production due to the differing demands on their time on “market” and “non-market” days. Market days are specified days for markets in a given geographic location. Market days are characterized by heightened trading activity, with more buyers and more competition. A comparison of the diets of traders’ children on market and non-market days allows for the attribution of effects to changes in the time spent by their mothers in home production while keeping other factors constant. The results suggest that children of women traders are significantly less likely to have achieved Minimum Meal Frequency (MMF) and Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) on market days compared to non-market days. This is accompanied by fewer hours spent by women in home production on market days. However, the paper also finds evidence that in certain scenarios the negative effect of demands on women traders’ time on children’s diets can be mitigated by substitute caregivers and the availability of water infrastructure.
Bail-ins and Bail-outs: Incentives, Connectivity, and Systemic Stability

We develop a framework for analyzing how banks can be incentivized to make contributions to a voluntary bail-in and ascertaining the kinds of interbank linkages that are most conducive to a bail-in. A bail-in is possible only when the regulator’s threat to not bail out insolvent banks is credible. Incentives to join a rescue consortium are stronger in networks where banks have a high exposure to default contagion, and weaker if banks realize that a large fraction of the benefits resulting from their contributions accrue to others. Our results reverse existing presumptions about the relative merits of different network topologies for moderately large shock sizes: while diversification effects reduce welfare losses in models without intervention, they inhibit the formation of bail-ins by introducing incentives for free-riding. We provide a nuanced understanding of why certain network structures are preferable, identifying the impact of the network structure on the credibility of bail-in proposals.
The Surface Distribution of Oil Spills, the Environmental Status of the Visoka Oilfield, Its Rehabilitation Ways: Case Study

Visoka oilfield was explored in 1963 through the well G-622. In this oilfield had been drilled more than 170 production wells. Through all this years of its exploitation, mainly because of the outdated technology, the environmental pollution reached really dramatic values. The pollution extends on the Visoka village, affecting so the life for the entire community. The oil spills, the gas emissions and the formation water affected and polluted and ―killed‖ the Gjanica River, its delta and the Adriatic coast in the Semani beach. Due to the technology and the completely wrong policies, used in the past, the wells had been equipped with a pit, whose actually are filled with oil, water and solid wastes. Now these mixtures are more similar with TAR‘s. This is the main evidence which proves that, the area had never been cleaned up properly. Actually the reservoir had been given in use to a foreigner company, based in a petroleum agreement. The concessionary has already preparing the rehabilitation plan. Based on the best international experience the cleaning up ways will be based on the oil spill treatment, mainly through dispersants, the water treatment through dispersants, filtrations processes and reinjection and the emissions cleaning up mainly through reinjection. The polluted soil will be treated through thermal methods, or will be deposited in a closed landfill. Evaluations, calculations and spatial distribution of the oil spills of the Gjanica River and Adriatic Sea are presented in this paper.