Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Formation of authigenic Fe2+‐bearing smectite‐vermiculite during terrestrial diagenesis, southern New Zealand

Abstract Late Cretaceous to Quaternary terrestrial sediments derived from fault scarps and actively growing folds in schist and greywacke basement are locally preserved in Otago and South Canterbury, New Zealand. Sediments are immature, sparsely carbonaceous, and generally poorly sorted and have undergone little oxidation during rapid erosion and deposition cycles. Mild oxidative alteration of sediment clasts in some horizons has resulted in pseudomorphous replacement of detrital biotite and metamorphic chlorite in greywacke clasts, and chlorite in schistose clasts, by a green, interlayered, ferrous iron‐bearing smectite‐vermiculite mineral of variable composition. Smectite‐vermiculite compositions form a regular trend from low Si and Al, high Fe and Mg to moderate Si and Al, to low Fe and Mg. The Fe2+ smectite‐vermiculite also occurs as pools in the matrix and small veinlets, and as a cement intimately intergrown with fine‐grained clastic matrix. The smectite‐vermiculite is a diagenetic product formed pr.
Exploration for Multi-task Reinforcement Learning with Deep Generative Models

Exploration in multi-task reinforcement learning is critical in training agents to deduce the underlying MDP. Many of the existing exploration frameworks such as $E^3$, $R_{max}$, Thompson sampling assume a single stationary MDP and are not suitable for system identification in the multi-task setting. We present a novel method to facilitate exploration in multi-task reinforcement learning using deep generative models. We supplement our method with a low dimensional energy model to learn the underlying MDP distribution and provide a resilient and adaptive exploration signal to the agent. We evaluate our method on a new set of environments and provide intuitive interpretation of our results.
Relationship Between Academic Motivation and Mathematics Achievement Among Indian Adolescents in Canada and India

ABSTRACT This study examined the relationships between academic motivation—intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amotivation—and mathematics achievement among 363 Indian adolescents in India and 355 Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation were not statistically significantly related to mathematics achievement among Indian adolescents in India. In contrast, both intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation were statistically significantly related to mathematics achievement among Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada. While intrinsic motivation was a statistically significant positive predictor of mathematics achievement among Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada, extrinsic motivation was a statistically significant negative predictor of mathematics achievement among Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada. Amotivation was not statistically significantly related to mathematics achievement among Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada. Implications of the findings for pedagogy and practice are discussed.
A Limited Memory Algorithm for Bound Constrained Optimization

An algorithm for solving large nonlinear optimization problems with simple bounds is described. It is based on the gradient projection method and uses a limited memory BFGS matrix to approximate the Hessian of the objective function. It is shown how to take advantage of the form of the limited memory approximation to implement the algorithm efficiently. The results of numerical tests on a set of large problems are reported.
Responses of Macaque Perirhinal Neurons during and after Visual Stimulus Association Learning

Recent lesion studies have implicated the perirhinal cortex in learning that two objects are associated, i.e., visual association learning. In this experiment we tested whether neuronal responses to associated stimuli in perirhinal cortex are altered over the course of learning. Neurons were recorded from monkeys during performance of a visual discrimination task in which a predictor stimulus was followed, after a delay, by a GO or NO-GO choice stimulus. Association learning had two major influences on neuronal responses. First, responses to frequently paired predictor–choice stimuli were more similar to one another than was the case with infrequently paired stimuli. Second, the magnitude of activity during the delay was correlated with the magnitude of responses to both the predictor and choice stimuli. Both of these learning effects were found only for stimulus pairs that had been associated on at least 2 d of training. Early in training, the delay activity was correlated only with the response to the predictor stimuli. Thus, with long-term training, perirhinal neurons tend to link the representations of temporally associated stimuli.
Directional radiometric measurements of row-crop temperatures

Abstract Incomplete vegetation canopies are complex remote-sensing targets. The directional variability of sensor response when viewing a cotton row crop with 48 per cent ground cover was documented for the thermal infrared region. The geometric structure of the canopy was described and radiometric temperatures of four components, sunlit and shaded vegetation and soil, were measured. These data were used to validate and verify a geometric, row projection model. The model predicts the thermal infrared response of a sensor as a function of sensor view angle, component temperature and geometry structure of the canopy. The field data showed sensor response differentials as great as 16.2°C when going from a zenith view angle of 0° to one of 80° in a plane normal to the row direction. The root-mean-square deviation between the model prediction and measured sensor response for all measurement periods and view angles (n = 90) was 0.96°C. The model serves as a sound mathematical basis for interpreting remotely-sen.
Pollution of Lakes and Rivers: A Paleoenvironmental Perspective

Preface to the second edition. About the author. 1 There is no substitute for water. 2 How long is long? 3 Sediments: an ecosystem's memory. 4 Retrieving the sedimentary archive and establishing the geochronological clock: collecting and dating sediment cores. 5 Reading the records stored in sediments: the present is a key to the past. 6 The paleolimnologist's Rosetta Stone: calibrating indicators to environmental variables using surface-sediment training sets. 7 Acidification: finding the "smoking gun". 8 Metals, technological development, and the environment. 9 Persistent organic pollutants: industrially synthesized chemicals "hopping" across the planet. 10 Mercury - "the metal that slipped away". 11 Eutrophication: the environmental consequences of over-fertilization. 12 Erosion: tracking the accelerated movement of material from land to water. 13 Species invasions, biomanipulations, and extirpations. 14 Greenhouse gas emissions and a changing atmosphere: tracking the effects of climatic change on water resources. 15 Ozone depletion, acid rain, and climatic warming: the problems of multiple stressors. 16 New problems, new challenges. 17 Paleolimnology: a window on the past, a key to our future. Glossary. References. Index
Analysis of Scale Exaggeration on Seismic Profiles (1)

Seismic profiles have become an important medium for illustrating interpreted structural geometry and style. In areas of steep dip and complex geologic structure, however, these profiles often yield distorted structural views due to vertical or horizontal exaggeration. Geological misinterpretation may result if the effects of this exaggeration are not recognized. Seismic profiles from the central Rocky Mountain basins illustrate the geometrical distortion produced by significant scale exaggeration. To assist in analysis of these profiles, three nomograms have been constructed. The nomograms show graphically the relationships between exaggeration factors, exaggerated dips, unexaggerated dips, and correction factors which are derived from the ratio of exaggerated orthogonal thicknesses to true orthogonal thicknesses. With knowledge of the horizontal scale, the nomograms also can be used to estimate average velocities on exaggerated profiles in areas of steep dip and uniform stratigraphic thicknesses.
Arabidopsis PEN3/PDR8, an ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Contributes to Nonhost Resistance to Inappropriate Pathogens That Enter by Direct Penetration[W][OA]

Arabidopsis thaliana is a host to the powdery mildew Erysiphe cichoracearum and nonhost to Blumeria graminis f. sp hordei, the powdery mildew pathogenic on barley (Hordeum vulgare). Screening for Arabidopsis mutants deficient in resistance to barley powdery mildew identified PENETRATION3 (PEN3). pen3 plants permitted both increased invasion into epidermal cells and initiation of hyphae by B. g. hordei, suggesting that PEN3 contributes to defenses at the cell wall and intracellularly. pen3 mutants were compromised in resistance to the necrotroph Plectosphaerella cucumerina and to two additional inappropriate biotrophs, pea powdery mildew (Erysiphe pisi) and potato late blight (Phytophthora infestans). Unexpectedly, pen3 mutants were resistant to E. cichoracearum. This resistance was salicylic acid–dependent and correlated with chlorotic patches. Consistent with this observation, salicylic acid pathway genes were hyperinduced in pen3 relative to the wild type. The phenotypes conferred by pen3 result from the loss of function of PLEIOTROPIC DRUG RESISTANCE8 (PDR8), a highly expressed putative ATP binding cassette transporter. PEN3/PDR8 tagged with green fluorescent protein localized to the plasma membrane in uninfected cells. In infected leaves, the protein concentrated at infection sites. PEN3/PDR8 may be involved in exporting toxic materials to attempted invasion sites, and intracellular accumulation of these toxins in pen3 may secondarily activate the salicylic acid pathway.
Wear Analysis on Early Mesolithic Microliths from the Verrebroek Site, East Flanders, Belgium

Abstract This paper discusses the results of recent wear analysis on a series of 467 microliths excavated at the early Mesolithic (8410–7930 cal B.C.) site of Verrebroek in Belgium. Based on both macro-fractures (bending fractures and spin-offs) and traces of microscopic linear impact a distinction could be made between non-geometric microliths used as tips and geometric microliths mainly used as barbs. During the Pre-boreal the latter occur in large numbers and in various forms (triangles, crescents) that are used in mutually exclusive ways. At the transition from the Pre-boreal to the Boreal, almost simultaneously with the disappearance of bone and antler points from the Mesolithic tool kit there is a considerable increase in microlith tips. In this paper several possible explanations for this change are discussed.
The Advanced Computing Systems Association Mutual Authentication with Smart Cards Mutual Authentication with Smart Cards

The World Wide Web has become the de facto interface for consumer oriented electronic commerce. So far the interaction between consumers and merchants is mostly limited to providing information about products and credit card based payments for mail orders. This is largely due to the lack of security currently available for commercial transactions. At the moment the only security mechanism present in most browsers is the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) which is limited to authentication and encryption of the HTTP session. It does not aim to secure transactions. This report describes the design of a new three party authentication and key distribution protocol to serve as a foundation for WWW based transactions. Instead of having a radically new design it is derived from KryptoKnight protocol family developed at IBM. An important design consideration has been that it can be implemented with existing smart card technology. Specifically the Dutch Chipper and ChipKnip cards have been examined for their applicability. The result is an ABK(t) type protocol that runs with any card that supports either the ISO7816 internal authenticate command or the En726 read stamped or protected read instructions. Secondly a prototype has been implemented in Java that can run in either the Java Development Kit or the Netscape or HotJava browser. Though Java was not designed for implementing hardware drivers it has proven perfectly suitable for communication with smart cards. Also it has effectively demonstrated its cross platform capabilities over multiple operating systems: except for a small native library to talk to the RS232 port the same code runs on Win32, Linux and the NCD network computer.
Sorting of three secretory proteins to distinct secretory granules in acidophilic cells of cow anterior pituitary

The distribution of three proteins discharged by regulated exocytosis-- growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL), and secretogranin II (SgII)--was investigated by double immunolabeling of ultrathin frozen sections in the acidophilic cells of the bovine pituitary. In mammotrophs, heavy PRL labeling was observed over secretory granule matrices (including the immature matrices at the trans Golgi surface) and also over Golgi cisternae. In contrast, in somatotrophs heavy GH labeling was restricted to the granule matrices; vesicles and tubules at the trans Golgi region showed some and the Golgi cisternae only sparse labeling. All somatotrophs and mammotrophs were heavily positive for GH and PRL, respectively, and were found to contain small amounts of the other hormone as well, which, however, was almost completely absent from granules, and was more concentrated in the Golgi complex, admixed with the predominant hormone. Mixed somatomammotrophs (approximately 26% of the acidophilic cells) were heavily positive for both GH and PRL. Although admixed within Golgi cisternae, the two hormones were stored separately within distinct granule types. A third type of granule was found to contain SgII. Spillage of small amounts of each of the three secretory proteins into granules containing predominantly another protein was common, but true intermixing (i.e., coexistence within single granules of comparable amounts of two proteins) was very rare. It is concluded that in the regulated pathway of acidophilic pituitary, cell mechanisms exist that cause sorting of the three secretory proteins investigated. Such mechanisms operate beyond the Golgi cisternae, possibly at the sites where condensation of secretion products into granule matrices takes place.
D-Sotalol: death by the SWORD or deserving of further consideration for clinical use?

D-Sotalol is the dextro-rotatory isomer of sotalol and a class III anti-arrhythmic. D-Sotalol prolongs cardiac repolarisation by inhibiting the fast component of the delayed outward rectifying potassium channel. In animal studies, D-sotalol has been shown to be more effective in prolonging atrial, rather than ventricular, action potentials, suggesting that D-sotalol may be more effective against supra-ventricular than ventricular arrhythmias. Furthermore, in animal studies, D-sotalol induces after-depolarisations, which are predictors of pro-arrhythmic activity. D-Sotalol shows little or no reverse use dependence in animal and humans and has slow offset kinetics. This suggests that, in addition to being a preventative treatment for arrhythmias, D-sotalol may be effective at the start or during arrhythmia. As D-sotalol does not block the slow component of the delayed outward rectifying potassium channel, which is activated by the sympathetic nervous system, D-sotalol will not protect against sympathetic hyperactivity. D-Sotalol also has no effect on the KATP channel, which is activated in ischaemia to shorten the action potential. Thus D-sotalol is less effective in ischaemia. Anti-arrhythmic activity with D-sotalol has been demonstrated in dog models of ventricular tachycardia and sudden death. Arrhythmias with D-sotalol have been demonstrated in an ischaemic guinea-pig ventricle model in the absence of action potentials. D-Sotalol is a weak β-adrenoceptor antagonist and may also be a positive inotrope. In humans, D-sotalol has 100% systemic oral bioavailability, a terminal half-life of 7.2 h and is mainly excreted unchanged in the urine. Preliminary, mainly hospital-based, clinical trials showed that D-sotalol was effective in a variety of supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias. However, a large clinical trial of D-sotalol as a preventative treatment for arrhythmias and sudden death after myocardial infarction, the SWORD trial, was terminated early because of increased mortality with D-sotalol. The group at greatest risk was those with a remote myocardial infarction and relatively good left ventricular function, the group that showed the lowest mortality when untreated. It is assumed that excessive prolongation of the action potential leading to pro-arrhythmia with D-sotalol, underlies the increased risk of death. However, there is little objective evidence in the SWORD trial to support this. Obviously D-sotalol should not be used in humans with a remote myocardial infarction and relatively good left ventricular function. D-Sotalol could still be considered for short-term hospital use in resistant arrhythmias and for longer-term use to prevent atrial fibrillation in those with remote myocardial infarction and poor left ventricular function.
Hierarchical successive stream selection for heterogeneous network interference

This paper presents a hierarchical stream selection approach to deal with the interference in a heterogeneous network where different cell types are coexisting with each other to increase the sum capacity. Due to the variety of the transmit powers between the macro and small cells, interference levels are different. The proposed solution hierarchically selects the strongest streams of each cell with a contribution to the sum rate, while constructing the streams via singular value decomposition (SVD). In order to reduce the interference, the channel matrices of the remaining streams are projected orthogonally to the virtual transmit channel and virtual receive channel of the selected stream. The performance evaluations are obtained by considering different locations of small cells with respect to the macro cell. It is shown that the proposed method can dynamically select more streams in heterogeneous networks and achieve higher data rates compared to the existing algorithms.
Tree-Level Harvest Optimization for Structure-Based Forest Management Based on the Species Mingling Index

This novel research investigated the use of a heuristic process to inform tree-level harvest decisions guided by the need to maximize the interspersion of tree species across a forest. In the heuristic process, a species mingling value for each tree was computed using both (1) neighbors that were simply of a different species than the reference tree and (2) neighbors that were uniquely different species from both the reference tree and other neighbors of the reference tree. The tree-level species mingling value was averaged for the stand, which was then subject to a maximization process. Constraints included residual tree density levels and minimum tree volume harvest levels. In two case studies, results suggest that the species mingling index at the stand level can be significantly increased over randomly allocated harvest decisions using the heuristic process described. In the case studies, we illustrate how this type of process can inform management decisions by suggesting the distance between residual trees of similar species given the initial stand structure and the objectives and constraints. The work represents a unique tree-level optimization approach that one day may be of value as new technologies are developed to map the location of individual trees in a timely and efficient manner.
Cathasept Line Lock and Microbial Colonization of Tunneled Hemodialysis Catheters: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) cause morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Cathasept (tetra-sodium EDTA) solution has antimicrobial and anticoagulant activities. STUDY DESIGN Multicenter prospective randomized controlled study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS 117 maintenance HD patients with confirmed uncolonized tunneled HD catheters from 4 HD centers. INTERVENTION Patients were randomly assigned to receive Cathasept 4% locks (Cathasept group) or stayed with heparin 5,000 U/mL locks (heparin group), filled thrice weekly according to catheter lumen volume until the catheter was removed or for a maximum of 8 months. OUTCOMES Primary outcome was clinically significant microbial colonization of the catheter, defined as a through-catheter quantitative blood culture yielding ≥ 1,000 colony-forming units/mL of bacteria or yeast. Secondary outcomes included CRBSI rate, catheter patency, and biomarkers of inflammation and anemia. MEASUREMENTS Weekly through-catheter quantitative blood culture, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein fortnightly, and full blood count and ferritin monthly. RESULTS Incidence rates of catheter colonization were 0.14/1,000 catheter-days in the Cathasept group and 1.08/1,000 catheter-days in the heparin group (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.13; 95% CI, 0.003-0.94; P=0.02). CRBSI rates were 0.28/1,000 catheter-days in the Cathasept group and 0.68/1,000 catheter days in the heparin group (IRR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.08-2.09; P=0.3). The proportion of dialysis sessions with achieved prescribed blood flow rate was significantly lower in the Cathasept group (66.8% vs 75.3%; P<0.001), with more patients requiring thrombolytic locks or infusions to maintain catheter patency (22 vs 9; P=0.01). Mean high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 11.6±5.3 (SE) mg/L lower for patients in the heparin group (P=0.03). Anemia marker levels were similar in both groups. LIMITATIONS Study was underpowered to assess effect on CRBSI, terminated early due to slow recruitment, and not double blinded. CONCLUSIONS Cathasept significantly reduced tunneled hemodialysis catheter colonization, but the reduction in CRBSIs was not statistically significant, and it was associated with more thrombotic complications. Its safety profile was comparable to heparin lock solution.
Comparative assessment of landslide susceptibility. Case study: the Niraj river basin (Transylvania depression, Romania)

This study represents a comparison between two independent models used to evaluate landslide susceptibility in Romania: first, the model derived from the Romanian Governmental Decision no. 447/2003 (H.G. 447) and second, the bivariate statistical analysis. Considering the numerous objections to the first approach, which is also imposed by law, the accuracy of the results was analyzed using an alternative method which takes into consideration the reality from the field to a greater extent (the inventory of the existing landslides). The case study is focused on the Niraj catchment area (658 km2), a representative area for frequent landslide occurrence. The H.G. 447 model implies the estimation of the importance of eight factors involved in landslide occurrence: lithology, geomorphology, structure, hydro-climatic factors, hydrogeology, seismicity, forest cover and the anthropogenic factor. A thematic map was generated and analyzed for each one of the eight factors influencing slope instability and a specific coefficient was assigned. The statistical model, based on the bivariate probability analysis, was applied in order to predict the spatial distribution of the susceptibility classes. The probability of landslide occurrence was estimated based on the assumption that the prediction of the spatial distributions of landslides starts from the existing ones. In order to validate the model, the resulting maps were compared with the existing landslide maps: the relative landslide density index (R) and the relative operation curve (ROC) value were calculated, which indicate that the statistical model emphasizes a better correlation between the susceptibility classes and the active landslides (ROC value 0.972), the causative factors selected being relevant for the applied models.