Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assimilation of Disaggregated Microwave Soil Moisture into a Hydrologic Model Using Coarse-Scale Meteorological Data

Abstract Near-surface soil moisture retrieved from Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS)-type data is downscaled and assimilated into a distributed soil–vegetation–atmosphere transfer (SVAT) model with the ensemble Kalman filter. Because satellite-based meteorological data (notably rainfall) are not currently available at finescale, coarse-scale data are used as forcing in both the disaggregation and the assimilation. Synthetic coarse-scale observations are generated from the Monsoon ‘90 data by aggregating the Push Broom Microwave Radiometer (PBMR) pixels covering the eight meteorological and flux (METFLUX) stations and by averaging the meteorological measurements. The performance of the disaggregation/assimilation coupling scheme is then assessed in terms of surface soil moisture and latent heat flux predictions over the 19-day period of METFLUX measurements. It is found that the disaggregation improves the assimilation results, and vice versa, the assimilation of the disaggregated microwave soil mois.
SHORT-TERM FLOOD RISK PREDICTION : A COMPARISON OF THE COX REGRESSION MODEL AND A CONDITIONAL DISTRIBUTION MODEL

Two models for estimating the risk of a flood exceeding some critical threshold within a few days (Smith and Karr, 1986; Ettrick et al., 1987), which take account of the season and prevailing catchment conditions, have recently been published. The models are fitted to a 1000-year synthetic data set, to compare the results with empirically determined risk estimates. After some modifications to the Smith and Karr method both models demonstrated reasonable accuracy. A second comparison is then made using data from a United Kingdom catchment. The Smith and Karr model was further modified to allow risk estimates for up to 30 days ahead to be made. Both models were applied to both data sets for 30 day ahead estimates, and the results demonstrate the sensitivity of the risk to prevailing conditions at the beginning of the period. The assumptions, data requirements, and accuracy of the models are compared and discussed.
Nrlmsise-00 Empirical Model of the Atmosphere: Statistical Comparisons and Scientific Issues

[1] The new NRLMSISE-00 empirical atmospheric model extends from the ground to the exobase and is a major upgrade of the MSISE-90 model in the thermosphere. The new model and the associated NRLMSIS database now include the following data: (1) total mass density from satellite accelerometers and from orbit determination (including the Jacchia and Barlier data sets), (2) temperature from incoherent scatter radar covering 1981–1997, and (3) molecular oxygen number density, [O2], from solar ultraviolet occultation aboard the Solar Maximum Mission. A new component, “anomalous oxygen,” allows for appreciable O+ and hot atomic oxygen contributions to the total mass density at high altitudes and applies primarily to drag estimation above 500 km. Extensive tables compare our entire database to the NRLMSISE-00, MSISE-90, and Jacchia-70 models for different altitude bands and levels of geomagnetic activity. We also explore scientific issues related to the new data sets in the NRLMSIS database. Especially noteworthy is the solar activity dependence of the Jacchia data, with which we study a large O+ contribution to the total mass density under the combination of summer, low solar activity, high latitude, and high altitude. Under these conditions, except at very low solar activity, the Jacchia data and the Jacchia-70 model indeed show a significantly higher total mass density than does MSISE-90. However, under the corresponding winter conditions, the MSIS-class models represent a noticeable improvement relative to Jacchia-70 over a wide range of F10.7. Considering the two regimes together, NRLMSISE-00 achieves an improvement over both MSISE-90 and Jacchia-70 by incorporating advantages of each.
Measurement of the cross section for prompt isolated diphoton production in ppÌ— collisions at â‹ıs=1.96TeV

Recommended Citation Aaltonen, T. , Álvarez González, B. , Amerio, S. , Amidei, D. , Anastassov, A. , Annovi, A. , Antos, J., Apollinari, G. , Appel, J., Apresyan, A. , Arisawa, T. , Artikov, A. , Asaadi, J., Ashmanskas, W. , Auerbach, B. , Aurisano, A. , Azfar, F. , Badgett, W. , Barbaro-Galtieri, A. , Barnes, V. , Barnett, B. , Barria, P., Bartos, P., Bauce, M. , Bauer, G. , Bedeschi, F. , Beecher, D. , & Behari, S. (2011). Measurement of the cross section for prompt isolated diphoton production in pp ̄ collisions at √s=1.96TeV. Physical Review D Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology, 84 (5) https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.84. 052006
A Moving Target: Universal Access to Healthcare Services in Latin America and the Caribbean

Healthcare services are more widespread in Latin America and the Caribbean today than 50 years ago, yet this availability is not necessarily reflected in popular perceptions. This study documents the expansion of healthcare services in the region in terms of medically-trained professionals, service utilization, and insurance eligibility. It finds that people in countries with more doctors have a more positive view of access to healthcare and greater confidence in the healthcare system. However, other factors intervene in this relationship between perceptions and objective indicators, such as the strength of local social networks and wealth. As a consequence of rising expectations, differential access and continuing discontent, public policy can be driven by factors that are least likely to improve the population's health.
An integrated evaluation of the persistence and effects of 4‐nonylphenol in an experimental littoral ecosystem

A comprehensive littoral enclosure study was conducted to assess the persistence and distribution of 4‐nonylphenol (NP) in a littoral ecosystem, and to evaluate the compound's effects on resident aquatic biota. Enclosures with a mean (±SD) surface area and volume of 31.4 ± 3.3 m2 and 32.0 ± 6.4 m3, respectively, received eleven applications at 48‐h intervals with one of four different rates of NP. This created a 20‐d application period which was followed by a three to fourteen month observation period, depending on the endpoint measured. Mean ± SD NP concentrations in the water column measured 2 h after each application averaged 5 ± 4, 23 ± 11, 76 ± 21, and 243 ± 41 μg/L at nominal treatments of 3, 30, 100, and 300 μg/L, respectively. Persistence in the water column was relatively short, with a dissipation half‐life estimated at ≤1.2 d. Persistence of NP in sediment and on macrophytes was substantially longer, with estimated half‐lives of 28 to 104 d and 8 to 13 d, respectively. Zooplankton was the most sensitive group of organisms evaluated, with significant reductions in population abundances of some copepod taxa observed at the 23 ± 11‐μg/L treatment. Fish survival was affected at 243 ± 41 μg/L. The most sensitive benthic macroinvertebrate taxon, Pisidium (Bivalvia) was affected at 76 ± 21 μg/L, but most taxa were only affected at the 243 ± 41‐μg/L treatment. None of the assessed populations were affected at the 5 ± 4‐μg/L treatment. Macrophytes and periphyton were not adversely affected by any of the treatments. Overall community composition, assessed at the family level or higher, was not affected at or below the 23 ± 11‐μg/L treatment, but did exhibit substantial changes at the 243 ± 41‐μg/L treatment. Some minor changes were observed at the 76 ± 21‐μg/L treatment. The maximum acceptable toxicant concentration in the water column, based on protection of the most sensitive taxa in the test system, was estimated at ˜10 μg/L. Details on NP persistence and distribution within the enclosures, and detailed effects on zooplankton, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish are described in four separate papers immediately following this overview.
Semantic Relations for Interpreting DNA Microarray Data

The results from microarray experiments, in the form of lists of over- and under-expressed genes, have great potential to support progress in biomedical research. However, results are not easy to interpret. Information about the function of the genes and their relation to other genes is needed, and this information is usually present in vast amounts of biomedical literature. Considerable effort is required to find, read and extract relevant information from the literature. A potential solution is to use computerized text analysis methods to extract relevant information. Our proposal enhances current methods in this regard and uses semantic relations extracted from biomedical text with the SemRep information extraction system. We describe an application that integrates microarray results with semantic relations and discuss its benefits in supporting enhanced access to the relevant literature for interpretation of results.
Steric and wind-induced changes in TOPEX/POSEIDON large-scale sea surface topography observations

Three years of TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data are analyzed with respect to large-scale fluctuations in sea surface height observations and underlying physical processes. In midlatitudes the most conspicuous feature in the large-scale changes in sea surface height are related to surface buoyancy fluxes, predominantly surface heat fluxes. The next prominent variability on subannual timescales is the adjustment of the ocean to varying winds stress fields in terms of planetary waves. The degree to which basin-scale sea surface height variations relative to the steric component can be described as a time-dependent Sverdrup balance is addressed for the Pacific Ocean. If a flat bottom ocean is assumed, a significant correlation of meridional mass transport variations inferred from TOPEX/POSEIDON and a simple Sverdrup model can be found in the Pacific Ocean north of 40°N, but it fails elsewhere. Numerical ocean general circulation models show a good agreement with the TOPEX/POSEIDON observations in all those components of ocean variability and allow further insight into the dynamics that govern observed sea surface height changes.
How northern peatlands influence the Earth's radiative budget: Sustained methane emission versus sustained carbon sequestration

[1] Northern peatlands sequester carbon and emit methane, and thus have both cooling and warming impacts on the climate system through their influence on atmospheric burdens of CO2 and CH4. These competing impacts are usually compared by the global warming potential (GWP) methodology, which determines the equivalent CO2 annual emission that would have the same integrated radiative forcing impact over a chosen time horizon as the annual CH4 emission. We use a simple model of CH4 and CO2 pools in the atmosphere to extend this analysis to quantify the dynamics, over years to millennia, of the net radiative forcing impact of a peatland that continuously emits CH4 and sequesters C. We find that for observed ratios of CH4 emission to C sequestration (roughly 0.1–2 mol mol−1), the radiative forcing impact of a northern peatland begins, at peatland formation, as a net warming that peaks after about 50 years, remains a diminishing net warming for the next several hundred to several thousand years, depending on the rate of C sequestration, and thereafter is or will be an ever increasing net cooling impact. We then use the model to evaluate the radiative forcing impact of various changes in CH4 and/or CO2 emissions. In all cases, the impact of a change in CH4 emissions dominates the radiative forcing impact in the first few decades, and then the impact of the change in CO2 emissions slowly exerts its influence.
Successful Cognitive Aging and Health-Related Quality of Life in Younger and Older Adults Infected with HIV Raeanne C. MoorePariya L. FazeliDilip V. Jeste • David J. MooreIgor GrantSteven Paul Woods • The HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program (HNRP) Group

Neurocognitive impairments commonly occur and adversely impact everyday functioning in older adults infected with HIV, but little is known about successful cognitive aging (SCA) and its health-related quality of life (HRQoL) correlates. Seventy younger (B40 years) and 107 older (C50 years) HIV? adults, as well as age-matched seronegative comparison groups of younger (N = 48) and older (N = 77) subjects completed a comprehensive bat- tery of neuropsychological, psychiatric, medical, and HRQoL assessments. SCA was operationalized as the absence of both performance-based neurocognitive deficits and self-reported symptoms (SCA-ANDS) as determined by published normative standards. A stair-step decline in SCA-ANDS was observed in accordance with increasing age and HIV serostatus, with the lowest rates of SCA- ANDS found in the older HIV? group (19 %). In both younger and older HIV? adults, SCA-ANDS was strongly related to better mental HRQoL. HIV infection has additive adverse effects on SCA, which may play a unique role in mental well-being among HIV-infected persons across the
OH Meinel band nightglow profiles from OSIRIS observations

The mesospheric nightglow spectrum is replete with OH Meinel band emissions, from the midvisible to the midinfrared. These emissions provide a wealth of aeronomic information, giving a physical view of the chemistry and dynamics of the upper atmosphere. The Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imaging System (OSIRIS) instrument, on the Odin satellite, is currently one of the few satellite instruments that simultaneously observes emissions from multiple and separate Meinel bands. This has allowed the derivation of near‐global data sets of nighttime OH volume emission rate profiles for the Meinel (5‐1), (8‐3), and (9‐4) bands. The 2002–2013 climatologies consistently show that emission from bands in higher upper vibrational levels peaks at higher altitudes. The global average (5‐1), (8‐3), and (9‐4) band emission peak heights are at altitudes of 86.0 km, 86.7 km, and 87.1 km, respectively. The 1σ variation in the (5‐1), (8‐3), and (9‐4) band, peak heights are 1.8 km, 1.9 km, and 1.9 km, respectively. The climatological (30 day, 10° latitude) peak heights can vary significantly with both time and latitude; however, the (5‐1) band climatological peak height is nearly always below that of the (8‐3) band, which is nearly always below that of the (9‐4) band. The temporal variation in the emission peak height can have a significant impact on measurements of OH rotational temperatures from ground‐based observations of the OH layer. It was found that omitting the profile climatology can bias a ground‐based temperature measurement by as much as ±4 K and can also make ground‐based measurements susceptible to nonrealistic temperature variations.
Infrared and visible image fusion based on region growing and contourlet transform

According to the characteristics of infrared and visible images, a new image fusion method based on region growing and contourlet transform is proposed in this paper. To obtain more complementary information, the method is designed as a two-stage procedure. Firstly, the input infrared image is processed with region growing to segment the thermal target. Different fusion rules are adopted in target and background regions, respectively. For the target region, local energy is utilized as the fusion rule of the first fusion to fuse the thermal target and the visible image, while for the non-target region, we reserve the visible background information. Secondly, in order to fully add original information of the source images and avoid loss of information caused by segmentation, we make the second fusion between the visible image and the result image of the one-stage fusion. For good properties of localization, directionality and anisotropy, we adopt contourlet transform as the second fusion method. Experiments are carried out and the results show that our method is clearer in visual quality and effective in quantitative evaluations and the fused images are better than those resulting of using wavelet transform and contourlet transform.
Sedimentology of part of the Lower Oil-Shale Group (Dinantian) sequence at Granton, Edinburgh, including the Granton “shrimp-bed”

ABSTRACT The Dinantian Lower Oil-Shale Group of the Edinburgh area records the evolution of a SW–NE trending basin within an area of fluvial-dominated deltaic sedimentation, with rare marine incursions from the E. The sequence at Granton records the abandonment of a delta lobe, with deltaic sandstones overlain by lagoonal mud-shales. These thinly-laminated non-bioturbated mud-shales record low-energy, stagnant conditions. Fish, ostracodes and conchostracans inhabited the lagoon at this time. Within the mud-shale sequence is the dolomitic Granton “shrimp-bed” which contains fenestrae, possible gypsum pseudomorphs and in situ shrinkage breccias suggesting periods of emergence. The “shrimp-bed” contains a number of laminae packed with soft-bodied fossils including marine forms, which resulted from brief marine incursions into the stagnant lagoon. The fluctuating salinity conditions seem to have favoured the development of an unusual fauna of shrimp-like crustaceans, fish, conchostracans, ostracodes and bellerophontid gastropods. This fauna appears to have suffered periodic mass mortalities during marine incursions which brought orthocone cephalopods, polychaete worms and conodonts into the lagoon, according to our current knowledge of the distribution of these marine taxa in the sequence. The Granton sequence displays a variety of ductile and brittle deformation features most of which can be attributed to local SW-directed extension related to regional dextral strike-slip across the Midland Valley of Scotland.
Calcareous nannoplankton evolution: a tale of two oceans

Calcareous nannoplankton diversity, evolutionary rates and species longevity show markedly different characters above and below the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. Excluding mass extinction events, and the initial origination and radiation, Mesozoic nannoplankton diversity is characterized by relatively continuous increase with low background evolutionary rates and high species longevity. Cenozoic diversity is more variable and features significant Eocene and Neogene diversity declines, with little or no recovery. Cenozoic evolutionary rates are also consistently higher than those of the Mesozoic, and species longevity is low. The response of nannoplankton to climate cooling in the two eras is particularly revealing: cold intervals in the Cretaceous saw greater paleobiogeographical differentiation and high-latitude nannoplankton provinces that supported diversifying communities, whereas, cooling in the Eocene and Neogene coincided with diversity declines, the selective extinction of warm-water taxa, and high-latitude provinces with reduced diversity. It appears likely that the presence of widespread stable, subtropical and tropical oligotrophic water masses promoted the diversification of the broadly K-strategist calcareous nannoplankton (and dinoflagellates) for much of the Mesozoic and into the early Paleogene. The switch to an icehouse climate, however, transformed the oceans, favouring the r-strategist diatoms at the expense of the other phytoplankton groups. The profound Eocene cooling established new, cold-water habitats that limited calcareous nannoplankton habitation and diversification, but promoted diatom expansion and diversification at high latitudes. Diatoms became the most competitive of the phytoplankton groups, flourishing in all environments but particularly those with high and pulsed nutrient inputs, although their expansion may also have been aided by tectonic and biological factors that increased the flux of biolimiting silica to the oceans.
Tissue Regeneration

Critical size tendon defects demand for tissue samples replacing the missing tissue and guiding an effective healing. Autografts, allografts, or xenografts represent viable options; however, limited availability and donor site morbidity go along with this approach, representing big disadvantages. Tissue engineering of tendon tissue is a further strategy fulfilling this need. Basically, an appropriate scaffold material is developed and tested for its biomechanical suitability as a graft material. In addition, cell seeding might improve biointegration of the tissue engineered construct (TEC). Different cell sources as well as different cultivation procedures can be applied in order to tune the envisioned primary strength of the TEC. In this chapter, in vitro fabrication protocols and mechanical tests as well as animal in vivo experiments will be presented—covering various (bio)materials, cell types, and cultivation procedures.
TransCom satellite intercomparison experiment: Construction of a bias corrected atmospheric CO2 climatology

[1] A model-based three-dimensional (3-D) climatology of atmospheric CO2 concentrations has been constructed for the analysis of satellite observations, as a priori information in retrieval calculations, and for preliminary evaluation of remote sensing products. The locations of ground-based instruments and the coverage of aircraft in situ measurements are limited and do not represent the full atmospheric column, which is a primary requirement for the validation of satellite data. To address this problem, we have developed a method for constructing a 3-D CO2 climatology from the surface up to approximately 30 km by combining information from in situ measurements and several transport models. The model-simulated CO2 concentrations have been generated in the framework of the TransCom satellite experiment. The spatial and temporal biases of the transport-model-derived data set have been corrected using in situ CO2 measurements in the troposphere and in situ profiles of the mean age of air in the stratosphere. The constructed multimodel mean CO2 climatology represents the seasonal cycle and the inter-hemispheric gradient better than each transport model. Our approach performs well near the surface and in regions where the observational network is relatively dense. The column-mean CO2 of the constructed climatology was reduced by ∼1 ppm from that of a single transport models, consistent with model validation against measurements of the CO2 total column.
The seismic structure beneath the Yellowstone Volcano Field from ambient seismic noise

We evaluate Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion (5–40 s) around the Yellowstone Volcano Field with ambient noise tomography, measured from vertical component noise correlation functions. We include broadband data from 239 seismic stations (1999–2012), including USArray's Transportable Array and the Noise Observatory for Imaging the Subsurface beneath Yellowstone (NOISY). Short‐period (<13 s) group velocity anomalies are imaged for the Bighorn Basin (~25% slow) and Range (~20% fast), and the Yellowstone Plateau (~10% fast). Beneath the Yellowstone caldera, Rayleigh wave group velocities are ~25% slower than the regional average with slow anomalies (<−15%) observed from 5 to 24 s. These values are consistent with a magmatic body being heated from below by an underlying plume.
Rapid climate shifts in the southern African interior throughout the Mid to Late Holocene

A detailed climate proxy record based on δ18O, δ13O, and grey index of a well‐dated stalagmite from Cold Air Cave in the Makapansgat Valley of north‐eastern South Africa suggests that regional precipitation, temperatures and vegetation oscillated markedly and rapidly over the last ∼6500 years on centennial and multi‐decadal scales. The mid‐Holocene prior to 5200 years ago was humid and warm. A fundamental transition occurred 3200 years ago, leading to drier and cooler conditions that culminated at 1750 AD. Comparisons with ice core records suggest synchronous changes implicating rapid global teleconnections.