Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling phase shifts in a rocky subtidal ecosystem

The rocky subtidal ecosystem of the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia is characterised by 2 community states, kelp beds and urchin barrens that alternate on a decadal time scale. While the shift from barrens to a kelp bed requires a large perturbation, namely a disease outbreak causing urchin mass mortality, the reverse shift is more gradual and mediated by the formation and propagation of destructive grazing aggregations (or fronts) of sea urchins Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. We have developed a spatial model for the re-establishment of kelp beds and the formation of a feeding front of urchins in order to describe transitions (phase shifts) between kelp bed and barrens states fol- lowing an urchin mass mortality event. Our model includes size-specific movement, growth, and sur- vival of urchins, as well as growth of kelp and grazing by urchins. The position of the kelp bed- barrens interface (or grazing front) predicted by our model is in general agreement with field obser- vations at 2 sites and for up to 7 yr after a mass mortality event. Elasticity analysis showed that daily foraging movements by individual urchins have the greatest effect on the position of the feeding front and the density of the urchins there. Survival and recruitment rates of urchins also have large effects on urchin density at the front. The density of urchin populations in deep-water thermal refuges (from a disease agent) and the distance between these source populations and remnant or emergent kelp beds have large effects on the time required for the re-formation of a feeding front after an event of urchin mass mortality. These findings suggest that site-specific characteristics should be taken into account in the development of sustainable harvesting strategies and habitat-based management of the urchin fishery.
Crop Yield Forecasting Using Artificial Neural Networks: A Comparison between Spatial and Temporal Models

Our recent study using historic data of wheat yield and associated plantation area, rainfall, and temperature has shown that incorporating statistics and artificial neural networks can produce highly satisfactory forecasting of wheat yield. However, no comparison has been made between the outcomes from the spatial neural network model and commonly used temporal neural network models in crop forecasting. This paper presents the latest research outcomes from using both the spatial and temporal neural network models in crop forecasting. Our simulation shows that the spatial NN model is able to predict the wheat yield with respect to a given plantation area with a high accuracy compared with the temporal NARNN and NARXNN models. However, the high accuracy of the spatial NN model in crop yield forecasting is limited to the forecasting of crop yield only within normal ranges. Users must be cautious when using either NARNN or NARXNN for crop yield forecasting due to their inconsistency between the results of training and forecasting.
Sources of inaccuracy when estimating economically optimum N fertilizer rates.

Nitrogen rate trials are often performed to determine the economically optimum N application rate. For this purpose, the yield is modeled as a function of the N application. The regression analysis provides an estimate of the modeled function and thus also an estimate of the economic optimum, Nopt. Obtaining the accuracy of such estimates by confidence intervals for Nopt is subject to the model assumptions. The dependence of these assumptions is a further source of inaccuracy. The Nopt estimate also strongly depends on the N level design, i.e., the area on which the model is fitted. A small area around the supposed Nopt diminishes the dependence of the model assumptions, but prolongs the confidence interval. The investigations of the impact of the mentioned sources on the inaccuracy of the Nopt estimate rely on N rate trials on the experimental field Sieblerfeld (Bavaria). The models applied are the quadratic and the linear-plus-plateau yield regression model.
Geographic variability in form, size and survival of Egregia menziesii around Point Conception, California

Intra-specific morphological variability is common among many species of plants, and is particularly common among marine algae. Populations of the kelp Egregia menziesii (Turner) Areschoug are known to be extremely variable in form, and variability in this species is well-corre- lated with geographical distribution. Populations north of Point Conception, California, are character- ized by individuals having thick, tough, wide stipes and small blades, whereas populations south of Point Conception are characterized by individuals having thin, smooth stipes and large blades. Point Conception (hereafter PC) is a well-known biogeographic boundary for many marine species. The re- gion north of PC is typified by cold, nutrient-rich water favorable to plant growth, but also by high wave exposure, increasing the likelihood of plant breakage or dislodgement. The region south of PC is characterized by warmer, oligotrophic water (less favorable for plant growth), but the potential for plant breakage or dislodgment is low due to the calm seas in this region. Using reciprocal transplant experiments, we examined the potential adaptive value of the morphologies of both populations (northern and southern) in the light of these physical gradients among sites north and south of PC, and the tradeoff between rapid growth and increased risk of breakage. We reciprocally transplanted northern- and southern-form E. menziesii among several sites north and south of PC and monitored size and survival of each individual over a 5 mo period. In general, both survival and growth of the northern form was greatest at the northern sites, and southern form survival and growth was greatest at the southern sites. Overall, growth was greatest at the northern sites, and the greatest increase in size was achieved by a southern-form individual at a northern site. These results indicate that region- ally specific morphological forms of E. menziesii seem to be uniquely adapted to maximize growth and survival under conditions typical of their native region. However, in the absence of breakage, south- ern-form E. menziesii have the potential to grow large under northern conditions. Northern-form E. menziesii have a reduced probability of breakage or dislodgment due to their high-strength, low-drag morphology. Southern-form E. menziesii have much lower breaking strengths and higher drag than northern forms, but have a higher surface area per unit of stipe, potentially advantageous for nutrient uptake in the low-nutrient environment south of Point Conception. Although these morphological forms appear to be advantageous within each of these regions, it remains to be explored whether their morphology can be altered at an early life stage or whether it is genetically fixed.
The impact of antioxidant supplementation on clinical outcomes in the critically ill: A meta-analysis

Background. Critical illness is associated with increased oxidative stress that can influence outcome. Many studies have investigated the effects of exogenous antioxidant supplementation, without showing significance owing to the small patient populations. Methodology. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the English literature was performed to determine the effect of antioxidant micronutrient supplementation on clinically important outcomes in the critically ill. Pubmed, Google Scholar and Science Direct electronic databases were searched for papers published between January 1990 and June 2010. Selection criteria. Randomised controlled trials were selected for inclusion if they investigated the effects of antioxidant supplementation in the critically ill and reported on clinically significant endpoints. Data collection and analysis. The data were analysed using a random effects model in Comprehensive Meta-analysis Version 2 (Biostat, USA) to obtain the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and statistical significance of p <0.05. Results. Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Selenium supplementation was associated with a trend towards decreased mortality (OR=0.717, p =0.106, CI 0.48 - 1.07). Mixed antioxidant supplementation was associated with reduced hospital length of stay (OR= 0.710, p =0.002, CI 0.57 - 0.83), reduced infectious complications (OR=0.494, p =0.024, CI 0.28 - 0.98) and reduced mechanical ventilation (OR=0.259, p =0.023, CI 0.08 - 0.83). Conclusion. A combination of antioxidant micronutrients might be associated with improved clinical outcome in the critically ill.
SPARSE PROBABILISTIC COLLOCATION FOR UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION IN RESERVOIR ENGINEERING

This paper presents an application of uncertainty quantification to numerical reser- voir simulation using the Sparse Probabilistic Collocation Method (SPCM). Reservoir simu- lation is used in several phases of the development and exploitation of a field, from the initial planning of the production strategy to sophisticated automated control schemes that schedule the operation of well controls on a daily basis in smart fields. It basically consists of solving numerically the complex nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) that models the fluid flow in porous media. The petrophysical properties of the rock matrix determine the coeffi- cients in the PDEs and associated algebraic system of equations. Due to technological and economic constraints, the available data to determine these properties is scarce and subject to human interpretation. This problem becomes even more important for offshore fields, where wells are kilometers apart, the reservoirs several kilometers underground, there are very few wells and there is very little or no production history. The petrophysical properties are there- fore very uncertain, and can be described only in a probabilistic manner. The simulation can no longer be considered deterministic, since uncertain inputs leads to uncertain results. Uncertainty propagation techniques become necessary tools for the robust and reliable appli- cation of numerical reservoir simulation. In the probabilistic collocation method, statistics of the uncertain output are computed directly through numerical integration, based on efficient quadrature rules like Gauss and Clenshaw-Curtis. However, this method is not suitable for dealing with high-dimensional models, because it suffers from the "curse of dimensionality". Sparse grid integration techniques can be used with the probabilistic collocation method to alleviate this problem, creating the sparse probabilistic collocation method. We present our implementation of the SPCM and apply it to estimate the statistics of uncertain variables such as the cumulative oil production and water breakthrough date, using a simple but realistic reservoir model. Comparisons of the efficiency of this technique against classical methods such as Monte Carlo are shown, as well as a discussion on the necessary computational re- sources for this kind of analysis and it's practical use.
The Transformation of Gender in English-Language Fiction

This essay explores the changing significance of gender in fiction, asking especially whether its prominence in characterization has varied from the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first. We have reached two conclusions, which may seem in tension with each other. The first is that gender divisions between characters have become less sharply marked over the last 170 years. In the middle of the nineteenth century, very different language is used to describe fictional men and women. But that difference weakens steadily as we move forward to the present; the actions and attributes of characters are less clearly sorted into gender categories. On the other hand, we haven't found the same progressive story in the history of authorship. In fact, there is an eye-opening, under-discussed decline in the proportion of fiction actually written by women, which drops by half (from roughly 50% of titles to roughly 25%) as we move from 1850 to 1950. The number of characters who are women or girls also drops. We are confronted with a paradoxical pattern. While gender roles were becoming more flexible, the space actually allotted to (real, and fictional) women on the shelves of libraries was contracting sharply. We explore the evidence for this paradox and suggest a few explanations.
Patient-Reported Factors Facilitating Participation in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV Programs in Kara, Togo, West Africa

Background: Despite efforts to expand prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in resource-limited settings, only 53% of women in sub-Saharan Africa receive adequate PMTCT services. Understanding factors that enable successful program completion are crucial to improving adherence rates to PMTCT programs in these settings. Using a positive deviance approach, we explored patient and provider’s perspectives on factors enabling women to successfully access and adhere to PMTCT services to identify areas of program improvement and further reduce HIV transmission. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 health care workers (HCWs) at two health centers in Kara, Togo and 34 women who had successfully completed the PMTCT program at those facilities. Women were identified using purposive sampling and content theme analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: Knowledge and belief in the potential to give birth to an HIV-negative child, supported by facilitating factors on the individual and community levels, was the cornerstone to women’s PMTCT program success. Effective program education and peer-to-peer interactions fostered the participants’ knowledge and belief in PMTCT, with the resulting internal motivation driving continued participation and adherence. The welcoming environment, availability of peer support groups and financial assistance from the health facility, further facilitated success, with women using this facility-based community to seek advice and support from HCWs and peers. Financial, physical, and emotional support from relatives was also important in ensuring unhindered access. Finally, the faith-based communities’ acceptance and support for HIV-positive women further encouraged participants to adhere to the program. Conclusion: Understanding and believing in the ability to have an HIV-negative baby was the most important facilitator for PMTCT program adherence. This led to internal motivation that was continually reinforced through facility and community supportive environments focused on addressing barriers. Efforts to improve PMTCT success should focus on all of these factors through a patient-centered approach.
Characterization of the Besov spaces via the commutator operator of Coifman, Rochberg and Weiss

Let Cf (g) = T (f · g)− f ·T (g) where T is the Calderón-Zygmund singular integral operator. It is a well known result of Coifman, Rochberg and Weiss that the boundedness of this operator on L(R) is equivalent to f being in the space BMO. In this paper we introduce a version of this operator which allows f to be in the Besov-Lipschitz class Λ̇β , with 0 < β < n. 0. Introduction. A well known result of Coifman, Rochberg and Weiss ([2], [6], [14]) states that the commutator operator Cf (g) = T (f · g)− f ·T (g) (where T is a Calderón-Zygmund singular integral operator) is bounded on some L(R), 1 < p < ∞, if and only if f ∈ BMO. There are other links between the boundedness properties of the operator Cf and the smoothness of f . A particular case of the result of Janson ([6]) states that Cf : L (R)→ L(R) is bounded, 1 < p < q <∞, if and only if f ∈ Lipβ, β = n(1/p− 1/q). Here, Lipβ is the homogeneous Lipschitz space determined by the first difference operator. In [14] Uchiyama showed that Cf is a compact operator on some L (R) if and only if f ∈ CMO, a subclass of BMO. A related type of commutator was introduced by Chanillo ([1]). Let I be the Riesz potential of order α, and define Cf (g) = I (f · g)− f · I(g). The result in [1] states that Cf : L (R)→ L(R) is bounded, 1 < p < q <∞, 1/p− 1/q = α/n, if and only if f ∈ BMO. For technical reasons, the “only if” part of the proof in [1] is only valid for α an even integer. 1 Indiana University Mathematics Journal c ©, Vol. 44, No. 1 (1995)
Measurements of precipitation in Dumont d'Urville, Adelie Land, East Antarctica

Abstract. The first results of a campaign of intensive observation of precipitation in Dumont d'Urville, Antarctica, are presented. Several instruments collected data from November 2015 to February 2016 or longer, including a polarimetric radar (MXPol), a Micro Rain Radar (MRR), a weighing gauge (Pluvio2), and a Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC). These instruments collected the first ground-based measurements of precipitation in the region of Adelie Land (Terre Adelie), including precipitation microphysics. Microphysical observations during the austral summer 2015/2016 showed that, close to the ground level, aggregates are the dominant hydrometeor type, together with small ice particles (mostly originating from blowing snow), and that riming is a recurring process. Eleven percent of the measured particles were fully developed graupel, and aggregates had a mean riming degree of about 30 %. Spurious precipitation in the Pluvio2 measurements in windy conditions, leading to phantom accumulations, is observed and partly removed through synergistic use of MRR data. The yearly accumulated precipitation of snow (300 m above ground), obtained by means of a local conversion relation of MRR data, trained on the Pluvio2 measurement of the summer period, is estimated to be 815 mm of water equivalent, with a confidence interval ranging between 739.5 and 989 mm. Data obtained in previous research from satellite-borne radars, and the ERA-Interim reanalysis of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) provide lower yearly totals: 655 mm for ERA-Interim and 679 mm for the climatological data over DDU. ERA-Interim overestimates the occurrence of low-intensity precipitation events especially in summer, but it compensates for them by underestimating the snowfall amounts carried by the most intense events. Overall, this paper provides insightful examples of the added values of precipitation monitoring in Antarctica with a synergistic use of in situ and remote sensing measurements.
Spectrophotometric Estimation of Ferulic Acid from Ferula asafoetida by Folin - Ciocalteuâs Reagent

A simple, sensitive and reproducible spectrophotometric method has been developed by means of Folin-ciocalteu’s reagent in 15 % sodium carbonate for quantitative estimation of ferulic acid from Ferula asafoetida. The blue coloured chromogen thus formed after the reaction was measured at wavelength of maximum absorption 718 nm for ferulic acid against the blank reagent. The chromogen obeyed linearity over the range of 1μg/ml - 8μg/ml. The method was further validated as per ICH guidelines by studying various parameters such as linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection and limit of quantification.
Exploring LoRa and LoRaWAN - A suitable protocol for IoT weather stations?

Svenska Sjöräddningssällskapet (SSRS) maintains a mobile-phone application that provides up-to-date weather information to seafarers in Sweden. In order to increase the granularity of the weather data that powers the application, they wish to place simple weather stations at popular sailing destinations in the archipelagos surrounding Sweden. In this thesis we examine a new radio protocol called LoRa and the accompanying low power wide area network protocol LoRaWAN. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate if and how these protocols can be used for the purpose of transmitting weather data from simple IoT weather stations. Furthermore, we wish to discuss and present a specification to extend the effective range of the network. The LoRa protocol is examined, along with the theory behind the chirp spread spectrum modulation, which LoRa exploits. The network layer protocol LoRaWAN and its structure is presented and shortly explained. We discuss how this structure can be utilized for testing of the protocol and for our use-case. Furthermore, packet error rate testing is performed between an RN2483 transceiver and a Kerlink gateway. Utilizing the results from this testing, we discuss and create a specification for network range extending intermediate-nodes. In addition to the specification, we provide insight into suitable placement of the IoT weather stations and intermediatenodes for good network coverage. The LoRa protocol and the accompanying LoRaWAN network protocol is found to be useful for the intended IoT weather stations. Furthermore, we find that our suggested network range extending specification is a good fit for the intended weather station network, but the intermediate-nodes introduce some limitations to the network when compared to gateways.
Enzyme-Catalyzed Ring-Opening Polymerization of ω-Pentadecalactone†

Lipase-catalyzed ring-opening bulk polymerizations of ω-pentadecalactone (PDL) were investigated. Screening of selected commercial lipases as catalysts for PDL polymerization at 80 °C was carried out. The results of this work showed that polymerizations catalyzed by lipases PS-30, AK, Lipozyme-IM and Novozym-435 gave % PDL conversions ranging from 80 to 100% for 24 h reactions (Mn = 15 000−34 400). Lipase PS-30 both physically immobilized onto Celite-521 (I-PS-30) and in the crude powder or nonimmobilized form (NI-PS-30) was selected for further study. Comparison of % conversion vs time for bulk PDL polymerizations at 70 °C catalyzed by NI- and I-PS-30 showed that for short reaction times, the immobilized catalyst gave % conversions that were more than 10 times greater. In fact, the % monomer conversion to poly(PDL) was nearly quantitative (>98%) for 8 h polymerizations catalyzed by I-PS-30. Furthermore, for reactions conducted at 70 °C with careful removal of water, substantially greater poly(PDL) molecu.
A Reduction for Efficient LDA Topic Reconstruction

We present a novel approach for LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) topic reconstruction. The main technical idea is to show that the distribution over the documents generated by LDA can be transformed into a distribution for a much simpler generative model in which documents are generated from {\em the same set of topics} but have a much simpler structure: documents are single topic and topics are chosen uniformly at random. Furthermore, this reduction is approximation preserving, in the sense that approximate distributions-- the only ones we can hope to compute in practice-- are mapped into approximate distribution in the simplified world. This opens up the possibility of efficiently reconstructing LDA topics in a roundabout way. Compute an approximate document distribution from the given corpus, transform it into an approximate distribution for the single-topic world, and run a reconstruction algorithm in the uniform, single topic world-- a much simpler task than direct LDA reconstruction. Indeed, we show the viability of the approach by giving very simple algorithms for a generalization of two notable cases that have been studied in the literature, $p$-separability and Gibbs sampling for matrix-like topics.