Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The potential for sea level rise: New estimates from glacier and ice cap area and volume distributions

Projections of sea‐level rise from mountain glaciers and ice caps for the next century and beyond should be based on an assessment of the ice available for melting. Projections to date are based on all regions except Greenland and Antarctica (the latter are considered separately by the IPCC), yet no sound estimates for the appropriate volume of ice and its potential for sea level rise are evident in the literature. An ice cap data set is compiled allowing the separate treatment of glacier area coverage data. Glacier inventory data are comprehensive enough in some regions to allow the estimation of glacier size distributions. The differences in the distributions are related to a metric of the regional topographic variability, allowing glacier size distributions to be estimated on a 1° latitude longitude grid of cells containing glaciers. Appropriate volume‐area scaling for glaciers and for ice caps gives global estimates of glacier and ice cap volumes by size class. This leads to an estimate of the total ice volume of 0.087 ± 0.010 106 km3 and a sea level rise equivalent of 0.241 ± 0.026 m. The glaciers and ice caps contribute 41% and 59% to these estimates respectively. These values are based on data sets compiled during several decades, mainly in the second half of the 20th Century. We compare our results to published results that include the glaciers and icecaps at the margins of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.
Telescopic imaging of sprites

Telescopic images of sprites show a wide variety of generally vertical but also slanted fine structure, including branching tree‐like shapes and well defined but isolated columns, with transverse spatial scales ranging from tens of meters to a few hundred meters at ∼60–85 km altitude. Simultaneous analysis of radio atmospheric and lightning data indicates that specific columnar regions are selectively excited by successive discharges.
Virtual experiments in megastudies: A case study of language and emotion

A recent dramatic increase in the number and scope of chronometric and norming lexical megastudies offers the ability to conduct virtual experiments—that is, to draw samples of items with properties that vary in critical linguistic dimensions. This paper introduces a bootstrapping approach, which enables testing of research hypotheses against a range of samples selected in a uniform, principled manner and evaluates how likely a theoretically motivated pattern is in a broad distribution of possible outcome patterns. We apply this approach to conflicting theoretical and empirical accounts of the relationship between the psychological valence (positivity) of a word and its speed of recognition. To this end, we conduct three sets of multiple virtual experiments with a factorial and a regression design, drawing data from two lexical decision megastudies. We discuss the influence that criteria for stimuli selection, statistical power, collinearity, and the choice of dataset have on the efficacy and outcomes of the bootstrapping procedure.
Stratigraphy, paleoecology, and glacial history of the Gillam area, Manitoba

Sections along the Nelson River in northern Manitoba, outcropping upstream and downstream from Limestone Dam, record a long succession of late Quaternary events. The oldest sediment exposed consists of sandy, nonfossiliferous Sundance till of northwestern provenance and related to a Kansan or Illinoian glaciation. The paleosol developed in the Sundance till is assigned to the Yarmouthian or Sangamon interglacial on its stratigraphic position and depth of weathering. Fossiliferous, clayey Amery till of eastern provenance overlies the Sundance till and underlies the nonglacial Nelson River sediments. Aspartic acid D/L ratios of wood fragments from the Nelson River sediments correlate with an aspartic acid D/L ratio of similar wood from the Missinaibi Formation in Ontario. Beetle analysis indicates the Nelson River sediments were deposited north of the tree line under conditions more severe than those found in the area today. The deposits are believed to be of latest Sangamon or possibly Mid-Wisconsinan age.
Unique deformation processes involving the recrystallization of chrysotile within serpentinite: implications for aseismic slip events within subduction zones

Serpentinite bodies within the Franciscan Complex, a Mesozoic accretionary prism located in California, USA, display a unique form of deformation that involves the recrystallization of chrysotile and the formation of a block‐in‐matrix structure. The phacoidal‐shaped blocks have a preferred orientation, and result from the local replacement of serpentine minerals by chrysotile grains that are aligned parallel to ductile shear planes such as S–C foliation; ultimately, some of the rocks evolved into chrysotile schist. The relic blocks are also fragmented into multiple parts, with the spaces between fragments being infilled by recrystallized chrysotile. The low coefficient of friction of chrysotile means that this deformation process acts to suppress the frictional properties of the entire serpentinite body within the forearc mantle. This phenomenon can be attributed to the slip style that occurs in aseismic regions of subduction zones in areas shallower than the stability field of antigorite.
Estimation of pasture productivity in Mongolian grasslands: Field survey and model simulation

The Mongolian economy depends critically on products of range-fed livestock. Pasture is the major food source for livestock grazing, and its productivity is strongly affected by climatic variability. Direct measurement of pasture productivity is time-consuming and difficult, especially in remote areas of a large country like Mongolia with sparse spatial distribution of pasture monitoring. Therefore, modeling is a valuable tool to simulate pasture productivity. In this study, we used a remote sensing-based production efficiency model, that is, the Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach (CASA) model, to estimate pasture productivity in three main vegetation zones of Mongolia; desert steppe, steppe and forest steppe. The present study aimed to explore climatic and grazing effects on grassland productivity in Mongolian grasslands during 2005-2007, using ground-based measurements and simulation model outputs.The ground measurements showed that grazing caused a significant decrease in measured aboveground phytomass and plant height. Simulation results demonstrated that the highest net primary productivity (NPP) of 83.2 gC/m2 and the lowest NPP of 12.6 gC/m2 over the growing season (April-September) occurred at Darkhan (steppe) and Mandalgovi (desert steppe), respectively. Moreover, the comparison of temperature and water stresses on pasture productivity indicated that water stress was stronger downregulator of NPP, verifying that drought is the major concern of pasture production. Based on the comparison between the measurements and simulation, the ratio of aboveground NPP to belowground NPP in the Mongolian perennial grasslands was estimated as 1:1.5.
A comparison of DSR, MSR, and BSR in wireless ad hoc networks

With the rapid development of computer and wireless communication technologies, the wireless ad hoc networks are receiving an increasing amount of attention due to its deployment and administration flexibilities. Thus various routing protocols have been developed for wireless ad hoc networks in recent years. This paper presents the results of simulation comparing three multi-hop wireless ad hoc network routing protocols that cover a range of single-path and multi-path source routing design choices: DSR, MSR and BSR. Simulation results demonstrate the performances of DSR, MSR and BSR revealed four interesting insights: (1) In lower mobility situations, multi-path routing MSR and BSR have similar performance as DSR, and three routing protocols being considered all have good performances. (2) In moderate situations of load and mobility, the performances of MSR and BSR are much more superior when compared to that of single-path DSR. And MSR has similar performance as BSR. (3) In heavy load and high mobility situations, BSR performs better than DSR and MSR. (4) In more challenging situations of high mobility, none of the routing protocols considered in this paper can respond to the dynamics in the network topology. The performances of DSR, MSR and BSR are all less than satisfactory.
Downdrafting plasma flow in equatorial bubbles

The electric field experiment carried aboard the San Marco D equatorial ionospheric satellite regularly measured updrafting in plasma depletion channels or “equatorial bubbles” which form on the bottomside of the nightside equatorial F region. We report here observations of downdrafting vertical plasma velocities inside such depletion regions in the nightside equatorial ionosphere. Both updrafting and downdrafting motions can be expected on the basis of a generalized gradient drift/collisional Rayleigh-Taylor instability process in the ionospheric F region. Although the gravitation can only drive upward plasma flow in plasma depletion regions, both background westward zonal electric fields and upward vertical neutral winds can cause an occurrence of downdrafting (i.e., a downward motion of the plasma within the bubble) if those parameters are strong enough. We show that as the background zonal electric field becomes westward (often after ∼2100 LT) in the equatorial ionosphere, the plasma interior to an existing bubble at altitudes of ∼400 km and less at the magnetic equator may assume a downdrafting motion, while at higher altitudes in the same bubble channel, the plasma flow remains upward. Such a simultaneous occurrence of the updrafting and downdrafting plasma flow in a single bubble channel may lead to the pinching off of the upper part of the depletion region from the lower altitude regions, causing the decay of a bubble or the formation of a “dead” bubble.
Water depth and surface current retrievals from airborne optical measurements of surface gravity wave dispersion

Visible images of nearshore ocean waves obtained from an aircraft have been utilized to estimate the surface currents and water depth below the waves. A digital framing camera was mounted in a motion-stabilized turret and used to obtain temporal sequences of high-quality optical images of shoaling ocean waves. Data on the position and attitude of the camera/turret were used to map the image data to a rectilinear coordinate system at the level of the surface, effectively separating the spatial and temporal modulations due to the waves. The resulting three-dimensional (3-D) space-time data sets were Fourier transformed to obtain frequency-wave number spectra of these modulations. These spectra contain information on the propagation characteristics of the waves, such as their wavelengths and frequencies, and their directions and speeds of propagation. The water depth and current vector have been estimated by choosing these parameters so that a “best” fit is obtained between the theoretical dispersion relation for linear gravity waves and these 3-D wave spectra. Image data sets were acquired during the Shoaling Waves Experiment (SHOWEX) along the quasi-linear coastline in the vicinity of the Army Corps of Engineers' Field Research Facility (FRF) near Duck on the North Carolina Outer Banks. Summary wave parameters and bathymetry and current retrievals are typically within 10% of contemporaneous in situ measurements, though outliers occur.
Cadomian and Early Paleozoic Magmatic Events: Insights from Zircon Morphology and Geochemical Signatures of I- and S-Type Granitoids (Saxo-Thuringia/Bohemian Massif/Central Europe)

This paper presents studies of zircon morphologies and geochemical signatures of Neoproterozoic and Early Paleozoic metagranitoids and metarhyolites of the Saxo-Thuringian Zone (Central Europe). The Saxo-Thuringian Zone was derived from the northern periphery of Gondwana and became part of the Variscan belt of Central Europe during Paleozoic orogenic processes. Five tectonomagmatic events are preserved in the Saxo-Thuringian Neoproterozoic and Early Paleozoic igneous rocks. These different geotectonic scenarios are each characterized by distinctive geochemical signatures and zircon morphologies. Samples of felsic lithologies with age ranges of ~580-560 Ma, ~500 Ma, and ~380-360 Ma show whole-rock compositions of dry I-type with a tendency to A-type granites and zircon crystals with strong dominance of {100} prisms and {101} pyramids. The ~580-560 Ma and ~500 Ma periods of predominantly juvenile magmatism both were followed by tectonothermal events producing S-type granitoids at ~550-530 Ma and 495-480 Ma. Associated zircon populations are dominated by {110} prisms and {211} pyramids. Inasmuch as the errors of individual geochronological analyses may overlap two different geotectonic episodes, the relationship between geochemical features and zircon morphologies of the Saxo-Thuringian Neoproterozoic and Early Paleozoic igneous rocks can aid in assigning the dated sample to the proper stage of formation.
Sedimentological controls on the erosion and morphology of saltmarshes: implications for flood defence and habitat recreation

Abstract The factors which influence the morphology, drainage characteristics and erosion resistance of saltmarshes are of major interest from the standpoint of flood defence and habitat recreation. Sedimentological characteristics, including grain size distribution, mineral composition and pore fluid chemistry are all highly important. Of particular importance in muddy marshes is the nature of the clay mineral assemblage and dissolved cations present in the pore fluids. In marshes which are deficient in detrital calcium carbonate, such as those in Essex, UK, sodium ions dominate the exchange sites on clays, leading to the formation of thick water films around the clay particles and slow rates of sediment consolidation. This, in turn, causes low erosion resistance and a tendency for the development of highly dissected marsh morphology. Calcium and magnesium-rich marsh sediments, on the other hand, allow these ions to replace sodium in exchange sites, leading to more rapid dewatering and consolidation. Erosion resistance is thereby enhanced and such marshes tend to be characterized by low drainage densities and a low ratio of bare mud to vegetated surface area. The possibilty of engineering the erosion resistance and morphology of marshes through chemical treatments requires further investigation.
Biotic recovery after mass extinction: the role of climate and ocean-state in the post-glacial (Late Ordovician-Early Silurian) recovery of the conodonts

Abstract The pattern of recovery in conodonts following the Late Ordovician mass extinction does not conform to the classical adaptive radiation model of transgression, shelf area expansion and cladogenesis. An alternative hypothesis is proposed in which progenitor ‘survivor’ species evolved in the bathyal ecozone during Ashgill global cooling. Their appearance in low latitude shallow water environments occurred as the result of two phases of migration from the bathyal ecozone. The first, during the extraordinarius Biozone sea-level fall, included species attributed to the Ozarkodina and Oulodus? assemblages. This migration is considered to have been a response to the upward movement of the permanent thermocline, as high latitude climate and ocean conditions developed at low latitudes. The second phase of emergence occurred during the persculptus Biozone transgression when species of the Dapsilodus-Distomodus assemblage, appeared ahead of advancing anoxia. Mean rates of per taxon origination and extinction, measured from an Upper Ordovician to Lower Silurian (low latitude) graphical composite reference section, were unequal at 0.09 and 0.19 taxa per standard time unit. The mean value for net rate of change in diversity was −0.66. Species originations and extinctions were non-random, a feature consistent with the dramatic changes in environment at this time.
Clustering of dendritic cells, helper T lymphocytes, and histocompatible B cells during primary antibody responses in vitro

Mouse spleen suspensions generate discrete cell clusters within 1-2 d of culture. We have isolated these clusters by velocity sedimentation to study their contribution to primary antibody responses. Clusters represent approximately 5% of the starting spleen cells and consist of 20-50% B cells, 20-50% T cells, and 10-20% dendritic cells (DC). When the cultures are stimulated with thymus-dependent antigens, like heterologous red cells or dinitrophenyl-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (DNP- KLH), the clusters are the principal site for the development of plaque- forming cells (PFC). Noncluster fractions form few PFC and only when supplemented with fresh DC. PFC responses in all cases are antigen specific. B cells cluster only in the presence of T cells and DC (1 DC/200 B-T cell mixtures) and only after encountering specific antigen. The elimination of either DC or Lyt-1+2- T cells, with monoclonal antibody and complement, ablates B cell development into PFC. PFC responses are restored with antigen-nonspecific helper factors formed in the syngeneic mixed leukocyte reaction between DC and T cells. Since PFC to DNP-KLH do not develop de novo when B cells are exposed to antigen and helper factors, anti-DNP PFC precursors must be stimulated within clusters to become responsive to helper factors. PFC development within clusters is restricted by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). When DC and T cells are from strain P1, then P1 but not P2 B cells develop into PFC; when DC are from strain P2 and T cells from strain P1, strain P2 B cells are selected to become PFC in clusters. The entry of B cells into clusters is itself MHC restricted, since P1 DC/T cells aggregate six times as many B cells from strain P1 as strain P2. Thus, clusters are the site in which DC, B, and T cells interact to generate PFC. One can use clusters to retrieve B cells that have been selected in an antigen-dependent, MHC-restricted fashion and to show that clustering B cells become responsive to soluble, polyclonal helper factors.
Simulation of fluid distributions observed at a crude oil spill site incorporating hysteresis, oil entrapment, and spatial variability of hydraulic properties

Subsurface oil, water, and air saturation distributions were determined using 146 samples collected from seven boreholes along a 120-m transect at a crude oil spill site near Bemidji, Minnesota. The field data, collected 10 years after the spill, show a clearly defined oil body that has an oil saturation distribution that appears to be influenced by sediment heterogeneities and water table fluctuations. The center of the oil body has depressed the water-saturated zone boundary and the oil appears to have migrated laterally within the capillary fringe. A multiphase cross-sectional flow model was developed and used to simulate the movement of oil and water at the spill site. Comparisons between observed and simulated oil saturation distributions serve as an indicator of the appropriateness of using such models to predict the actual spread of organic immiscible liquids at spill sites. Sediment hydraulic properties used in the model were estimated from particle size data. The general large-scale features of the observed oil body were reproduced only when hysteresis with oil entrapment and representations of observed spatial variability of hydraulic properties were incorporated into the model. The small-scale details of the observed subsurface oil distribution were not reproduced in the simulations. The discrepancy between observed and simulated oil distributions reflects the considerable uncertainty in model parameter estimates and boundary conditions, three-phase capillary pressure-saturation-relative permeability functions, representations of spatial variability of hydraulic properties, and hydrodynamics of the groundwater flow system at the study site.
Human Astrocytes Exhibit Tumor Microenvironment-, Age-, and Sex-Related Transcriptomic Signatures Authors

Astrocytes are dynamic cells with important roles in brain function and neurological disease. There are notable species differences between human astrocytes and commonly used animal models. However, changes of the molecular attributes of human astrocytes across disease states, sex, and age are largely unknown, which is a barrier in understanding human astrocyte biology and its potential involvement in neurological diseases. To better understand the properties of human astrocytes, we acutely purified astrocytes from the cerebral cortices of over 40 humans across various ages, sexes, and disease states. We performed RNA sequencing to generate (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted February 26, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02. 25.432948 doi: bioRxiv preprint
Differential expression of Öbek controls ploidy in the Drosophila blood-brain barrier

ABSTRACT During development, tissue growth is mediated by either cell proliferation or cell growth, coupled with polyploidy. Both strategies are employed by the cell types that make up the Drosophila blood-brain barrier. During larval growth, the perineurial glia proliferate, whereas the subperineurial glia expand enormously and become polyploid. Here, we show that the level of ploidy in the subperineurial glia is controlled by the N-terminal asparagine amidohydrolase homolog Öbek, and high Öbek levels are required to limit replication. In contrast, perineurial glia express moderate levels of Öbek, and increased Öbek expression blocks their proliferation. Interestingly, other dividing cells are not affected by alteration of Öbek expression. In glia, Öbek counteracts fibroblast growth factor and Hippo signaling to differentially affect cell growth and number. We propose a mechanism by which growth signals are integrated differentially in a glia-specific manner through different levels of Öbek protein to adjust cell proliferation versus endoreplication in the blood-brain barrier. Summary: During development, cells react to growth signals by division or growth and polyploidy. In the Drosophila blood-brain barrier, this differential response is controlled by the N-end rule pathway component Öbek.
Efficient Identification of Critical Residues Based Only on Protein Structure by Network Analysis

Despite the increasing number of published protein structures, and the fact that each protein's function relies on its three-dimensional structure, there is limited access to automatic programs used for the identification of critical residues from the protein structure, compared with those based on protein sequence. Here we present a new algorithm based on network analysis applied exclusively on protein structures to identify critical residues. Our results show that this method identifies critical residues for protein function with high reliability and improves automatic sequence-based approaches and previous network-based approaches. The reliability of the method depends on the conformational diversity screened for the protein of interest. We have designed a web site to give access to this software at http://bis.ifc. unam.mx/jamming/. In summary, a new method is presented that relates critical residues for protein function with the most traversed residues in networks derived from protein structures. A unique feature of the method is the inclusion of the conformational diversity of proteins in the prediction, thus reproducing a basic feature of the structure/function relationship of proteins.