Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DEPOSITIONAL DYNAMICS AND THE RECORD OF ECOSYSTEM STABILITY: EARLY EOCENE FAUNAL GRADIENTS IN THE PYRENEAN FORELAND, SPAIN

Abstract We studied mollusk-dominated multispecies assemblies from the south Pyrenean foreland in Spain by using relative abundance data in a framework of high-frequency depositional sequences for an interval spanning 2 myr across the early Eocene climatic optimum. The sequences are part of the Figols (middle Ypresian) and Castigaleu (upper Ypresian) allogroups and together document environmental changes influenced by tectonics at the lower frequency and driven by sea level and climate at the high-frequency temporal scale. We applied ordination through multidimensional scaling and other techniques to explore the structure of the data set. Six Figols and eight Castigaleu communities, linked along onshore-offshore gradients, were interpreted on uniformitarian grounds. Paleoenvironments ranged from mangrove forest to tidal flat, tidal creek, estuary, delta front, shoreface, carbonate ramp, and inner shelf. Some habitats were represented throughout the interval, allowing examination of the effect on coastal ecosystems of environmental disturbances tied to sea-level lowstands, as deduced from the sequence stratigraphic analysis. These disturbances presumably amounted to extirpation by river floods, burial, increased turbidity, high river-derived nutrient input, and decreased ecospace availability. The major effect on the mangrove-estuary-delta gradient was coincident with the unconformity separating the two allogroups. Mangrove communities suffered a change in rank of dominating species and a turnover of rare species. Subtidal estuarine and delta communities were affected in their relative abundances, but we observed no change in rank or turnover. We suggest that the different niche breadth of organisms leads to different responses to perturbation of several scales. Many intertidal cerithioidean gastropods went extinct, whereas subtidal turritelline gastropods were unchanged, during the major environmental variation. Mangrove gastropods experienced increased originations in the upper Ypresian. The carbonate ramp heterotrophs did not change across the Figols-Castigaleu perturbation, although throughout the early Eocene the phototroph guild within the same ecosystem was undergoing frequent turnover events. All studied associations showed significant changes in the relative abundances of constituent species across unconformities of minor entity, proving that soft-bottom marine communities conform to an open-membership model of ecosystem recruitment, as suggested by studies of past open marine ecosystems. Persistence to a degree is suggested by mangrove communities, indicating a slightly more limited membership in low-nutrient estuarine habitats, a response more similar to that of coral reef tropical ecosystems. This study confirms the idea that different species and communities may experience opposite effects from the same events and shows that faunal distributions in estuarine and deltaic systems reflect more than just bathymetric change. High onshore origination also conforms to the theory of onshore-offshore faunal change.
Magnetic susceptibility patterns in a Cordilleran granitoid: The Las Tazas Complex, northern Chile

The Las Tazas Complex is a ferromagnetic I-type granitoid that crops out in the Coastal Cordillera of northern Chile. Magnetic susceptibility patterns across the complex are controlled by modal magnetite contents, rather than overall mineralogy, resulting in an ambiguous correlation between susceptibility magnitude variation and lithological zoning. There is a good correlation between plagioclase magmatic fabric orientations and magnetic fabric orientation, demonstrating that anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) measurements can accurately characterize magmatic fabric patterns in Cordilleran I-type granitoids. However, there is no simple quantitative relationship between magmatic and magnetic fabric intensities. The magmatic and magnetic fabrics share a similar character, and it is clear that AMS fabrics are strongly influenced by the dominant plagioclase fabric across the Las Tazas Complex but cannot be directly equated in quantitative strain analysis.
Policymaking from a 'Macroprudential' Perspective in Emerging Market Economies

Recurrent capital inflows pose important challenges for authorities in emerging market economies seeking to preserve financial stability. Raising interest rates to dampen imbalances that could arise from capital flows can also attract more capital inflows and accentuate appreciation pressures. For this reason authorities have used a number of instruments to mitigate the effects of capital flows, all with financial stability implications. Many of these instruments (eg reserve requirements) may have been used for other purposes but the global financial crisis has raised interest in examining them from a financial stability, or "macroprudential" perspective. This paper reviews some of these instruments, drawing in part on material provided by central banks to the BIS. The instruments include foreign exchange market intervention and foreign reserve accumulation; measures to strengthen bank balance sheets and capital and measures to maintain the quality of credit or to ifnluence credit growth or allocation, and capital controls. Certain implementation issues are also discussed, including signals to respond to, timing of prudential measures and procyclicality and effectiveness and calibration. An unresolved question is how the instruments described are to be used in conjunction with interest rate policy. Over the medium term, these instruments raise concerns because they may impair the development of the financial system.
Paleoecological Approaches to the Conservation Biology of Benthos in Ancient Lakes: A Case Study from Lake Tanganyika

A small number of ancient lakes (mostly >106 y old) scattered around the globe contain an extraordinary percentage of the world's documented freshwater biodiversity. Endemic benthic invertebrates and fish in most of these lakes today face a variety of anthropogenic threats, including damaging fishing activities, water pollution, species introductions and translocations, climate change, and watershed disturbances. Lake Tanganyika, one of the oldest and most diverse of the ancient lakes, provides a model for studying the effects on endemic faunal diversity from watershed disturbances caused by deforestation. Increased erosion rates around the northern portion of the lake are associated with substantially lower diversity levels for both benthic invertebrates and fish. Disturbance processes in the biologically complex littoral region of this lake that are related to this excess siltation include reductions in light penetration (affecting algal habitat and herbivory), reductions in habitat heterogeneity, and reduced connectivity between benthic habitat patches. Paleoecological data for readily fossilized taxa may be used in Lake Tanganyika to determine background levels and variability in diversity and the historical relationship between human activities in the watershed and changes in benthic community structure. Biogeographic and paleoecologic studies of endemic ostracodes demonstrate that many taxa have extremely patchy distributions which are consistent with metapopulation models of organization. The extremely high diversities encountered in Lake Tanaganyika and other ancient lakes may be dependent on nonequilibrium interactions between patchily distributed species, which undergo periodic but uncorrelated extinctions and recolonizations of appropriate habitat patches. Conversely, excess sedimentation along rocky coastlines may reduce habitat patch interconnections and lead to local extinctions, even in areas that are not directly affected by damaging siltation. Paleoecological data may be used by aquatic conservation biologists to determine the history of this and similar problems and, more generally, to obtain a dynamic view of diversity change in lakes through time.
13 Genetic Mouse Models for Osteoarthritis Research

Osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disease, increases in prevalence with age, and affects majority of individuals over the age of 65. OA frequently affects several joints including the hands, knees, hips and spine, and is a leading cause of impaired mobility in the elderly. The major clinical symptoms include chronic pain, joint instability, stiffness and radiographic joint space narrowing (Felson, 2006; Goldring & Goldring, 2007). During OA development, articular chondrocytes undergo hypertrophy leading to extracellular matrix degradation, articular cartilage breakdown and osteophyte formation in the margins of the articular cartilage (Felson, 2006; Goldring & Goldrig, 2007). The precise signaling pathways which are involved in the degradation of cartilage matrix and development of OA are poorly understood and there are currently no effective interventions to decelerate the progression of OA or retard the irreversible degradation of cartilage except for total joint replacement surgery (Krasnokutsky et al., 2007). In this chapter, we will summarize important molecular mechanisms related to OA pathogenesis and provide new insights into potential molecular targets for the prevention and treatment of OA.
Un modèle de propagation de feux de végétation à grande échelle

Le present travail est consacre au developpement et a la validation d'un modele hybride de propagation d'un incendie de vegetation a grande echelle prenant en compte les heterogeneites locales liees a la vegetation, a la topographie du terrain et aux conditions meteorologiques. Dans un premier temps, on presente differentes methodes permettant de generer un reseau amorphe, representatif d'une distribution realiste de la vegetation. Le modele hybride est un modele de reseau ou les phenomenes qui se produisent a l'echelle macroscopique sont traites de facon deterministe, comme le prechauffage du site vegetal provenant du rayonnement de la flamme et des braises et de la convection par les gaz chauds, mais aussi son refroidissement radiatif et son inflammation pilotee. Le rayonnement thermique provenant de la flamme est calcule en combinant le modele de flamme solide a la methode de Monte Carlo et en considerant son attenuation par la couche d'air atmospherique entre la flamme et la vegetation receptive. Le modele est ensuite applique a des configurations simples de propagation sur un terrain plat ou incline, en presence ou non d'un vent constant. Les resultats obtenus sont en bon accord avec les donnees de la litterature. Une etude de sensibilite a ete egalement menee permettant d'identifier les parametres les plus influents du modele, en termes de vitesse de propagation du feu, et de les hierarchiser. La phase de validation a portee sur l'analyse comparative des contours de feux calcules par le modele avec ceux mesures lors d'un brulage dirige realise en Australie et d'un feu reel qui a lieu en Corse en 2009, montrant un tres bon accord en termes de vitesse de propagation, de contours de feu et de surface brulee.
Quantifying crustal fracture heterogeneity by seismic scattering

SUMMARY Seismic waves travelling through the crust generate trains of scattered waves called the seismic coda. Coda motion u(t) excited by a source pulse σ(t) and recorded at times t > ? 2t0 by a sensor located at traveltime t0 from the source can be written as the convolution of σ(t) with the gradient c′(r) =∂c(r) of spatial velocity fluctuations c(r) encountered by the wave front at r? tc0/2: u(t)? 4πu0(t0/t)(c′(tc0/2)> *σ(t), where t0/t accounts for source wavelet spherical divergence, c0 is the mean seismic velocity of the medium, and 〈〉 denotes the scattering amplitude c′(r) averaged over the 4π solid angle of the wave front. It follows that the coda frequency spectrum u(f) is proportional to vc(v)σ(f), where v is the spatial frequency v= 2f / c0, vc(v) the spectrum of c′(r) and σ(f) the source spectrum. Sonic-velocity fluctuations cBH(r) logged at 15 cm intervals over a 1.5 km length of deep borehole in crustal rock show that the major cause of seismic velocity fluctuations c(r) in the brittle crust are fracture distributions with a power-law spectral dependence on fracture spacing, c(v)? v−0.4. The resulting velocity gradient power-law spectrum is vc(v)? v0.6. In accordance with the above scattering expressions, the power-law scattering amplitude vc(v) causes the high-frequency power-law enrichment of the coda spectrum relative to the source spectrum u(f)/σ(f)? f0.6 as observed in coda waves recorded in a borehole at a depth of 2.5 km in the crust. The coda wave phenomenology observed in deep crustal borehole data does not emerge from treatments of seismic scattering based on correlations between randomly distributed elastic heterogeneities. This is because scattering is proportional to the derivative of fluctuations in material properties; for power-law-distributed velocity fluctuations in crustal rock, differentiation enhances scattering while correlation smoothing of fluctuations reduces scattering.
Canyon geometry and the nocturnal urban heat island: Comparison of scale model and field observations

A simple hardware scale model is used to simulate nocturnal cooling rates for rural and urban environments under calm and cloudless conditions. Comparison with field observations gathered under similar conditions shows the model capable of reproducing many of the features of the temporal development of urban heat islands and the long-wave radiative exchange in urban canyons. The model is used to investigate the roles played by rural/urban differences in geometry and thermal admittance. The results of the experiments show that canyon geometry in the central portion of a city (as measured by the sky view factor) is a relevant variable in producing nocturnal urban heat islands due to its role in regulating long-wave radiative heat loss. It is also demonstrated that this measure is central to the relationship between city size and heat island intensity. The importance of canyon geometry as a feature of urban design is discussed. Thermal admittance differences can also produce realistic heat island features but their magnitude requires quantification in the field.
The Origins and Spread of Agriculture and Pastoralism in Eurasia

Introduction, David Harris. Part 1 Thematic perspectives: growing plants and raising animals - an anthropological perspective on domestication, Tim Ingold ecology, evolutionary theory and agricultural origins, Mark Blumler the spread of agriculture and nomadic pastoralism - insights from genetics, linguistics and archaeology, Luca Cavalli-Sforza language families and the spread of farming, Colin Renfrew tracking early crops and early farmers - the potential of biomolecular archaeology, Martin Jones et al the impact of diseases upon the emergence and spread of agriculture, Les Groube plate tectonics and imaginary prehistories - structure and contingency in agricultural origins, Andrew Sherratt. Part 2 Southwest Asia: the mode of domestication of the founder crops of Southwest Asian agriculture, Daniel Zohary climate-induced changes in the plant resources of hunter-gatherers of the northern Fertile Crescent - preludes to cereal cultivation? , Gordon Hillman the emergence of cultivation and pastoralism in the "marginal" zone of the southern Levant, Andrew Garrard et al animal domestication - accident or intention? , Hans-Peter Uerpmann the beginning of caprine domestication in Southwest Asia, Tony Legge the context of caprine domestication in the Zagros region, Frank Hole the one-humped camel in Asia - origin, utilization and mechanisms of dispersal, Ilsa Kohler-Rollefson. Part 3 Europe: the development of agriculture in Greece - when, how, who and what? , Paul Halstead the cultural context of the first use of domesticates in continental central and northwest Europe, Julian Thomas agricultural frontiers and the transition to farming in the circum-Baltic area, Marek Zvelebil the first farmers of southern Scandinavia, Douglas Price arboriculture in Southwest Europe - dehesas as managed woodlands, Richard Harrison. Part 4 Central Asia to the Pacific: the beginnings of agriculture in western Central Asia, David Harris and Chris Gosden the origins and spread of agriculture and pastoralism in northwestern South Asia, Richard Meadow new evidence for early rice cultivation in South, Southeast and East Asia, Ian Glover and Charles Higham Jomon and Yayoi - the transition to agriculture in Japanese prehistory, Keiji Imamura the origins and spread of agriculture in the Indo-Pacific region - gradualism and diffusion or revolution and colonization? , Peter Bellwood people- plant interactions in the New Guinea highlands - agricultural hearthland or horticultural backwater? , Tim Bayliss-Smith early agriculture and what went before in island Melanesia - continuity or intrusion? , Matthew Spriggs the origins of tropical vegeculture - zingiberacene, araceae and dioscoreaceae in Southeast Asia, Jon Hather. Part 5 Conclusion: the origins and spread of agricutlure and pastoralism in Eurasia - an overview, David Harris.
Theory of the optical properties of snow

The optical properties of a snowpack are calculated, giving relations between the asymptotic flux extinction coefficient and albedo under diffuse illumination on the one hand and the density, grain size, and wavelength, on the other. A geometrical optics calculation of the properties of a single grain is used with approximate solutions of the radiative transfer problem. Most of the scattering is the result of change in direction of the light beam upon transmission through the grain, rather than reflection. The asymptotic flux extinction coefficient is directly proportional to the snowpack density and inversely proportional to the square root of the grain size. The albedo under diffuse illumination is independent of density and proportional to the square root of the grain size. The derived relations agree with experimental data to within 20% for the flux extinction coefficient and to better than 2% for the albedo without using adjustable parameters. Higher values of the flux extinction coefficient will be measured if the snow is confined within a finite cylinder with absorbing sides. An analysis of this effect is given.
Trees tracking a warmer climate: The Holocene range shift of hazel (Corylus avellana) in northern Europe

Palaeoecological records provide a rich source of information to explore how plant distribution ranges respond to climate changes, but their use is complicated by the fact that, especially when based on pollen data, they are often spatially too inaccurate to reliably determine past range limits. To solve this problem, we focus on hazel (Corylus avellana), a tree species with large and heavy fruits (nuts), which provide firm evidence of the local occurrence of species in the past. We combine the fossil nut records of hazel from Fennoscandia, map its maximum distribution range during the Holocene thermal maximum (HTM) and compare the fossil record with the Holocene hazel range shift as simulated by the LPJ-GUESS dynamic vegetation model. The results show that the current northern range limit of hazel in central and eastern Fennoscandia is constrained by too short growing seasons and too long and cold winters and demonstrate that the species responded to the HTM warming of about 2.5°C (relative to the present) by shifting its range limit up to 63–64°N, reached a rough equilibrium with the HTM climatic conditions and retreated from there to about 60°N during the last 4000 years in response to the late-Holocene cooling. Thus, the projected future warming of about 2.5°C would reverse the long-term southward retraction of species’ northern range limit in Europe and is likely to lead to hazel being a common, regeneratively reproductive species up to 63–64°N. In addition to the accuracy of the projected warming, the likelihood of this scenario will depend on inter-specific competition with other tree taxa and the potential of hazel to migrate and its population to grow in balance with the warming. In general, the range dynamics from the HTM to the present suggest a tight climatic control over hazel’s range limit in Fennoscandia.
Optical Incoherence Tomography: a method to generate tomographic retinal cross-sections with non-interferometric imaging systems

Optical tomographic cross-sectional images of biological samples were made possible by interferometric imaging techniques such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). Owing to its unprecedented view of the sample, OCT has become a gold standard, namely for human retinal imaging in the clinical environment. In this Letter, we present Optical Incoherence Tomography (OIT): a completely digital method extending the possibility to generate tomographic retinal cross-sections to non-interferometric imaging systems such as en-face AO-ophthalmoscopes. We demonstrate that OIT can be applied to different imaging modalities using back-scattered and multiply-scattered light including systems without inherent optical sectioning. We show that OIT can be further used to guide focus position when the user is"blind"focusing, allowing precise imaging of translucent retinal structures, the vascular plexuses and the retinal pigment epithelium using respectively split detection, motion contrast, and autofluorescence techniques.
Improve the Dynamic Stability of an Integrated Grid-Connected Offshore Wind Farm and Marine-Current Farm Using FACTS

This paper presents a control scheme based on Flexible AC Transmission system (FACTS) controller device to achieve both voltage control and damping enhancement of a gridconnected integrated 80-MW offshore wind farm (OWF) and 40-MW marinecurrent farm (MCF). The performance of the studied OWF is simulated by an equivalent doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) driven by an equivalent wind turbine (WT) while an equivalent squirrel-cage rotor induction generator (SCIG) driven by an equivalent marine-current turbine (MCT) is employed to simulate the characteristics of the MCF. A damping controller of the STATCOM is designed by using modal control theory to contribute effective damping characteristics to the studied system under different operating conditions. A frequency-domain approach based on a linearized system model using eigenvalue techniques and a time-domain scheme based on a nonlinear system model subject to various disturbances are both employed to simulate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. It can be concluded from the simulated results that the proposed STATCOM joined with the designed damping controller is very effective to stabilize the studied system under disturbance conditions. The voltage fluctuations of the AC bus subject to the active-power variations of the studied system can also be effectively controlled by the proposed control scheme.