Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Greenhouse warming and threshold temperature events in Victoria, Australia

Small changes in the mean climate can produce relatively large changes in the frequency of extreme events. Two experiments were performed: (i) a sensitivity study where observed temperatures at climate stations were increased by either 1°, 2° or 3°C, and (ii) a scenario study for the year 2030 where temperatures were increased according to warming scenarios which vary spatially and seasonally. The sensitivity study shows that at some sites, up to four more summer days over 35°C occur for a 1°C warming and the frequency is more than doubled for a 3°C warming. The frequency of subzero winter days is halved for a 1°C warming. At selected sites, the current probability of a run of at least five summer days over 35°C is doubled for a 1°C warming and increases by a factor of five for a 3°C warming. Where the current probability of a run of at least five winter days below 0°C is less than 50 per cent, a 1°C warming reduces the probability by a factor of about three. A 10 per cent change in temperature variance is unlikely to significantly alter these results. A low warming scenario for 2030 gives at least 25 per cent more days over 35°C in summer and spring, and at least 25 per cent fewer winter days below 0°C. A high warming scenario produces 50–100 per cent more extremely hot summer and spring days and 50–100 per cent fewer extremely cold winter days. Larger percentae changes occur in regions where absolute changes are smaller. The high scenario also gives a 20 per cent increase in the probability of a run of five summer days over 35°C in the northern half of the State, and the risk of a run of five winter days below 0°C is reduced by less than 20 per cent in the western and coastal areas and by 25–40 per cent in the north-east highlands. Although a reduction in frost frequency may benefit agriculture, more extremely hot temperatures may increase bushfire potential, human mortality, and heat stress to livestock and crops.
State estimation improves prospects for ocean research

Rigorous global ocean state estimation methods can now be used to produce dynamically consistent time-varying model/data syntheses, the results of which are being used to study a variety of important scientific problems. Figure 1 shows a schematic of a complete ocean observing and synthesis system that includes global observations and state-of-the-art ocean general circulation models (OGCM) run on modern computer platforms. A global observing system is described in detail in Smith and Koblinsky [2001],and the present status of ocean modeling and anticipated improvements are addressed by Griffies et al. [2001]. Here, the focus is on the third component of state estimation: the synthesis of the observations and a model into a unified, dynamically consistent estimate.
Single-cell mechanical analysis reveals viscoelastic similarities between normal and neoplastic brain cells

Understanding cancer cell mechanics allows for the identification of novel disease mechanisms, diagnostic biomarkers, and targeted therapies. In this study, we utilized our previously established fluid shear stress assay to investigate and compare the viscoelastic properties of normal immortalized human astrocytes (IHAs) and invasive human glioblastoma (GBM) cells when subjected to physiological levels of shear stress that are present in the brain microenvironment. We used a parallel-flow microfluidic shear system and a camera-coupled optical microscope to expose single cells to fluid shear stress and monitor the resulting deformation in real-time, respectively. From the video-rate imaging, we fed cell deformation information from digital image correlation into a three-parameter generalized Maxwell model to quantify the nuclear and cytoplasmic viscoelastic properties of single cells. We further quantified actin cytoskeleton density and alignment in IHAs and GBM cells via immunofluorescence microscopy and image analysis techniques. Results from our study show that contrary to the behavior of many extracranial cells, normal and cancerous brain cells do not exhibit significant differences in their viscoelastic behavior. Moreover, we also found that the viscoelastic properties of the nucleus and cytoplasm as well as the actin cytoskeletal densities of both brain cell types are similar. Our work suggests that malignant GBM cells exhibit unique mechanical behaviors not seen in other cancer cell types. These results warrant future study to elucidate the distinct biophysical characteristics of the brain and reveal novel mechanical attributes of GBM and other primary brain tumors.
Analysis of groundwater flow through leaky maine retaining structures

This Paper presents a simple closed-form mathematical solution to groundwater variations arising from one-dimensional laminar flow through structures in tidal areas. Finite-difference methods are used to study the groundwater response to tidal variations for a non-laminar flow condition where the discharge is proportional to the square root of the differential head. The study highlights the significance of small openings in marine structures on the water pressures and flows through the boundary. It also shows that, for the same openings and ground conditions, the water pressure response for non-laminar flow through the boundary can be significantly greater than that determined for laminar flow. Examples of the practical application of these findings are included to show the effect on the groundwater response to tidal variations of placing natural and geosynthetic filter layers on confined and unconfined gravel aquifers, and of grouting masonry quay walls. L'article presente une solution mathematique appro.
Comparison of spatial rainfall data calculated with a meteorological model and from interpolation of measurements – implications for FRAME modelled wet deposition

This work quantifies the differences between the two sources of spatial information of precipitation on FRAME modelled wet deposition of oxidised sulphur (SOx), nitrogen (NOy) and reduced nitrogen (NHx) for two years in an area of Poland. The model was run twice, first with precipitation dataset calculated with the WRF model (pWRF). The second run was based on interpolation of measured precipitation with kriging (pOK). SOx, NOy and NHx wet deposition calculated with pWRF precipitation gives lower country mean values if compared with pOK. The maximum values are higher for pWRF precipitation. Grid to grid correlation between pOK and pWRF modelled wet deposition is similar for both years, with the lowest values for NHx and the highest for SOx. The model-measurement agreement is better for the pOK FRAME run. The results show large uncertainties related with wet deposition modelling due to uncertainties in rainfall data.
Source Model of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake Determined by Near-field Strong-motion Records

We have constructed a source model of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake (Ms 6.8) by determining a spatio-temporal slip distribution using strong-motion seismograms recorded at 18 stations of the Japan Meteorological Agency, of which the hypocentral distances are smaller than 150 km (Fig. 1) (Ide et al., 1996). The slip distribution is expressed by an assumed subfault discretization system in which a source time function at each subfault is determined by linear inversion based on Bayesian modeling with Akaike's Bayesian Information Criterion (ABIC)
Neural network analyses of stress-induced overpressures in the Pannonian Basin

SUMMARY Artificial neural networks can learn relationships between sediment characteristics (burial depth, composition, coordinates and thickness of overlying Quaternary deposits) and overpressures from well data, after which they can interpolate and extrapolate to areas and depths not covered by wells. We analyse data from the south-eastern part of the Pannonian Basin. We use a neural network for analysing fluid overpressures because of the complex interaction of the key variables, making it difficult to derive the functional relationships required for a statistical analysis. The optimal topology of the network (number of hidden layers and neurons) is found by minimizing the network’s training and testing errors. The optimal design of the network resembles the interactions scheme of the key variables. The Pannonian Basin, originally formed in an extensional regime, has been in a compressive state of stress since Late Pliocene, causing anomalous subsidence patterns. Numerical forward modelling of compaction-driven fluid overpressures shows that, due to an increase in the level of compressive interplate stress, the fluid overpressures in the deep subbasins have increased substantially since Late Pliocene, giving rise to a very high overpressure (up to 45MPa) at present. The neural network analyses provide an independent estimate of the current amount of overpressuring in this basin, complementing the numerical forward modelling results. The overpressure profiles obtained by the two modelling approaches are in excellent agreement, showing the same magnitude of overpressures, a reversal of the overpressure in the deepest parts of the subbasins and a general decrease of the overpressure from SW to NE.
Filter-based Least Squares Wave Equation Shot Profile Migration

Least squares migration is a linearized waveform inversion that produces true amplitude reflectivity models in such a way that they honour the recorded wave field. However, implementation of least squares migration in its full potential is very expensive. Usually it requires more than 10 iterations, hence increases the cost by factor of 20 or more comparing to the conventional migration. In this paper we introduce a filter based method to approximate the Hessian inverse efficiently. We test the method on simple data example with main focus on least squares wave equation shot profile migration. The results show that the proposed method can be a practical tool for improving the spatial resolution of migrated images and can alleviate the effect of acquisition footprint.
Olympic main venue construction and urban growth model monitoring using remote sensing temporal data

In order to follow up the concepts of "Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People's Olympics", Chinese Academy of Sciences set up a project to monitor the land cover and use change of Beijing city especially inner sixth ring road driven by the venues construction use remote sensing images after the successful bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. Landsat TM and airborne remote sensing temporal data were used in this paper to monitor the construction of Olympic main venues as well as the effluences on neighboring land use and urban growth. This research forms a complete set of urban growth model analysis, records the develop situation of Beijing driven by Olympic games and also provides decision and research reference of Olympic construction.
Humanoid Robots for Wellbeing Assessment in Children: How Does Anxiety towards the Robot Affect Perceptions of Robot Role, Behaviour and Capabilities?

With the introduction of socially assistive robots in many avenues of children’s lives, it is becoming increasingly vital to understand how children’s perceptions of the robot affect their evaluation and interaction. The main objective of this work is to investigate how children’s anxiety towards robots has influenced their perceptions of their interaction with a Nao robot. We collected data from 37 children (8 - 13 years old) who interacted, for about 30-45 minutes, with the robot which delivered initial pleasantries and four different tasks to help assess their mental wellbeing in a lab setting. We collected audio-visual recordings of the interaction. At the end of the session, we asked children to answer three self-report questionnaires to evaluate: the robot’s role as a confidante, the anxiety towards the robot, and the children’s perception of the robot’s behaviour and capabilities. Based on their responses to the robot’s anxiety questionnaire, children were divided into two categories: “low anxiety” (anxiety score <= median anxiety score) and “high anxiety” (anxiety score> median anxiety score). Our results show that i) most children (89.2%) irrespective of their wellbeing, experience some degree of anxiety towards the robot, ii) children’s anxiety has influenced their willingness to participate in the initial pleasantries conducted by the robot, and iii) children’s anxiety has also affected their evaluations of the robot as a confidante and their perceptions of the robot’s behaviour and capabilities. Findings from this work have significant implications for designing effective and successful robot-led initiatives for assessing mental wellbeing in children, by taking into account their mindsets and dispositions.
Ground‐penetrating radar monitoring of a controlled DNAPL release: 200 MHz radar

A controlled release of tetrachloroethylene was performed in a saturated, natural sandy aquifer to evaluate the effectiveness of various geophysical techniques for detecting and monitoring dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in the subsurface. Tetrachloroethylene, typical of most DNAPLs, has a low relative dielectric permittivity (2.3), which contrasts with the high relative permittivity (80) of the pore water it displaces, making it a potential target for detection by ground‐penetrating radar (GPR). GPR data were acquired using 200 MHz antennas. Radar sections collected at different times over the same spatial location clearly show the changes induced by the movement of DNAPL in the subsurface. Temporal changes can be examined through the evolution of a radar data trace collected at a single spatial location. Normal moveout analysis of common‐midpoint (CMP) data demonstrates induced changes in electromagnetic (EM) wave velocities of up to 30 percent caused by the presence of DNAPL. The distribution o.
Temporal pattern prevails over spatial variability in phytoplankton communities from a subtropical water supply reservoir

Phytoplankton species are dominant components in reservoir ecosystems, yet little is known about their variability and dynamics, especially along the depth continuum. This study examined vertical and horizontal differences in phytoplankton communities in a typical subtropical deep reservoir (i.e. Dongzhen Reservoir) from 2011 to 2012. Phytoplankton communities separated into four groups based on the biomass data, indicating that temporal differences in the community structure were greater than spatial differences. Autumn communities had the highest diversity measured by the Shannon-Wiener index (2.47±0.07), while summer communities had the lowest diversity (0.46±0.09). Both winter and spring communities were dominated by diatoms (90.4±1.7%), while cyanobacteria dominated in summer communities during our sampling period. In spring and summer, however, the three surface communities characterized by high biomass were most similar to each other, indicating that vertical variation was significantly higher than horizontal differences. Furthermore, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii accounted for over 96% of the total phytoplankton biomass in the summer surface water. The redundancy analysis (RDA) illustrated that the temporal factor (summer), the spatial factor (depth), and nutrients (nitrite and nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, phosphate phosphorus) were significant variables affecting the dynamics of phytoplankton communities. High temperature with stable thermal stratification might have been the cause of C. raciborskii dominance in Dongzhen Reservoir in summer. Regular and long-term monitoring of dominant species is urgently needed for water quality protection and sustainable reservoir management. Copyright© of Dept. of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, Poland
About being an “influencer” or how to exploit the tool of the oppressor for our own expression

Surveillance is at the core of today’s monitored society. Privacy is becoming a fluid regulatory process the values and expectations of which are being actively rewritten, deconstructed, reconstructed and negotiated as new technologies open up novel forms of social relations and identity construction opportunities. Our proposal is based on using our bodies as tools for identity expression and personal proclamation, seeking to pervert surveillance and its embodied data as a site for opportunity, disruption and resistance. We asked XXX, a writer and journalist, to work with us on a design exploration, to understand new implications of what being an “influencer” means by shaping identities through technologies in an extreme way. After analyzing some of the most commonly employed surveillance technologies worldwide and the main biometric parameters used to monitor the human body, we came up with a series of prostheses and garments in order to exploit XXX’s algorithmic presence.
Threshold velocities for input of soil particles into the air by desert soils

Desert soils mostly from the Mojave Desert were tested for threshold friction velocity (the friction velocity above which soil erosion takes place) with an open-bottomed portable wind tunnel. Several geomorphological settings were chosen to be representative of much of the surface of the Mojave Desert, for example, playas, alluvial fans, and aeolian features. Variables which increase threshold velocity are decreasing proportion of sand, increasing size of dry aggregates of the soil, and increasing fraction of the soil mass larger than 1 mm. Threshold velocity increases with different types of soil surfaces in the following order: disturbed soils (except disturbed heavy clay soils), sand dunes, alluvial and aeolian sand deposits, disturbed playa soils, skirts of playas, playa centers, and desert pavement (alluvial deposits). 21 references, 5 figures, 6 tables.
WINDOWS ON THE EVOLUTION OF PICRODUS (PLESIADAPIFORMES: PRIMATES): MORPHOLOGY AND RELATIONSHIPS OF A SPECIES COMPLEX FROM THE PALEOCENE OF ALBERTA

Abstract Since 1908, the peculiar North American primate Picrodus Douglass, 1908 (Picrodontidae; Plesiadapiformes) has been thought to contain only a single species, P. silberlingi Douglass, 1908, of late Paleocene age. However, new collections from the Paskapoo Formation, Alberta, Canada, reveal that instead a rich complex of Picrodus species lived during the Paleocene. Three of these, Picrodus calgariensis, P. canpacius, and P. lepidus, are described herein as new. Others, represented by more fragmentary specimens from Canada and the United States, are included in this paper, but are not named. P. calgariensis, from Who Nose? (late Torrejonian), Calgary, is the most primitive known species of Picrodus, having molars with little crenulation of the enamel. P. canpacius, from Cochrane 2 (earliest Tiffanian), northwest of Calgary, most resembles P. silberlingi sensu stricto, but differs in P4 structure, denser enamel crenulation, and weaker molar cusps. P. lepidus, from DW-2 (middle Tiffanian), near Red Deer, is the most advanced, having, for example, a two-rooted P4, tiny p3, and single-rooted p4. At least two of these species also occur in the United States, documented by fossils referred to P. silberlingi by previous workers. Dental evolution within Picrodus seems marked by several trends, including increase in size of i1, simplification of P4, reduction of molar cusps and crests, enlargement of the horizontal occlusal surfaces of the molars, and greater crenulation of enamel. From present knowledge, Zanycteris paleocenus Matthew, 1917 is dentally more primitive than Picrodus, Draconodus Tomida, 1982 is a valid genus, and picrodontids probably originated from “purgatoriid-grade” plesiadapiforms in earliest Paleocene time.
Models of the upper mantle beneath the central North Island, New Zealand, from speeds and anisotropy of subhorizontal P waves (Pn)

The central North Island of New Zealand shows significant variations in Pn wave speeds over small distances, ranging from 8.5 ± 0.2 km/s to 7.4 ± 0.1 km/s over a distance of 150 km. A combination of national network seismometers, local volcanic seismic monitoring networks, and temporary deployments are used to collect arrival times from local events, during the period of 1990–2006. The data set consists of approximately 11,200 Pn observations from 3000 local earthquakes at 91 seismograph sites. We have created a method that allows us to model the predominant wavelength features of P wave speeds in the uppermost mantle, as well as estimating values of mantle anisotropy and irregularities in the crust beneath stations, using least squares collocation. The resulting model shows distinct variations in uppermost mantle Pn velocities. Velocities of less than 7.5 km/s are found beneath the back‐arc extension region of the Central Volcanic Region, and under the Taranaki Volcanic Region, indicating the presence of water and partial melt. The region to the east shows extremely high velocities of 8.3–8.5 km/s, where the P waves are traveling within the subducting Pacific slab. Slightly lower than normal mantle velocities of 7.8–8.1 km/s are found in the western North Island, suggesting a soft mantle. Pn anisotropy estimates throughout the North Island show predominately trench‐parallel fast directions, ceasing to nulls in the west. Anisotropy measurements indicate the strain history of the mantle. Null anisotropy measurements suggest an undisturbed mantle, suggesting that mantle beneath the western North Island is young.
Direct observation of the oceanic CO2 increase

The increase in atmospheric CO2 of approximately 50 ppm from the mid-nineteenth century to 1972 has led to a corresponding increase in the pCO2 of sea water. The record of this increase is present in the oceanic water masses, though the signal is obscured. By observing the alkalinity and total CO2 concentration within a water mass, and stripping off the perturbations of the CO2 system due to respiration, carbonate dissolution and nitrate addition, the original atmospheric equilibration signal may be recovered. The application of these calculations to GEOSECS (1972) data from the core of the Antarctic Intermediate water reveals propagation of the atmospheric CO2 signal northwards.
Do anthropogenic aerosols enhance or suppress the surface cloud forcing in the Arctic

[1] Earlier studies suggest that aerosol-cloud interactions may have contributed to the increase in surface air temperature recently observed in the Arctic. While those studies focused on longwave effects of strong pollution events around Barrow, Alaska, we use a global climate model (CAM-Oslo) to study the annual and seasonal net radiative effect of aerosol-cloud interactions over the entire Arctic region. The model is validated against and adjusted to match observations from the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean campaign along with measuring stations within the Arctic region. Several sensitivity experiments were conducted which included changes in both cloud properties and aerosol concentrations. Results show that the longwave indirect effect at the surface lies between 0.10 and 0.85 W/m2 averaged annually north of 71°N, while the shortwave indirect effect lies between −1.29 W/m2 and −0.52 W/m2. Due to longwave dominance in winter, 6 of 11 simulations give a positive change in net cloud forcing between October and May (−0.16 to 0.29 W/m2), while the change in forcing averaged over the summer months is negative for all model simulations (from −2.63 to −0.23 W/m2). The annually averaged change in net cloud forcing at the surface is negative in 10 of 11 simulations, lying between −0.98 and 0.12 W/m2. In conclusion, our results point to a small decrease in the surface radiative flux due to the aerosol indirect effect in the Arctic, but these estimates are subject to uncertainties in the frequency of thin clouds and biases in the estimated cloud cover.