Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seedbed Ecology of Winterfat: Cautions in Diaspore bracts in their effect on germination and early plant growth.

Winterfat [Eurorio lanatal (Pursh) Moq. ; Ceratoides hata (Pursh) J.T. Howell] is a low, Chenopod shrub of western North America. Its diaspore is 2 united, subtending bracts enclosing a pubescentcovered utricle (Booth 1988). White haii, 2 to 8 mm long, cover the bracts. The seed has a thin testa and a welldeveloped embryo. The diaspore disarticulate9 below the bracts, and bracts and utricle function as a unit in dispersal (Hilton 1941) and in seedling establishment (Booth 1982, Booth and Schuman 1983). Seedlings from diaspores establish and survive better than those from threshed seed. This is partly due to the anchoring function of bract hairs (Strickler 1956, Booth and Schuman 1983); however, diaspore seedlings also have greater hypocotyl elongation than that of seedlings from threshed seed (Booth and Schuman 1983). The transfer of growth substances from bracts into embryos, during imbibition, was identified as a possible reason for this growth difference. Booth (1985) presented evidence that transferred substances are, at least partially, cationic. Therefore it was postulated that cations in diaspore bracts move into the embryo during imbibition and enhance germination and growth. Three questions were posed as a test of this postulation. First, is there a concentration gradient to indicate potential cation movement from bracts to seed? Second, are there significant increases of seed cations after diaspore imbibition? Third, is germination or seedling elongation improved if cations move into seeds during imbibition?
On achieving zero aliasing for modeled faults

Methods for test-data compression ensuring zero aliasing in logic circuits are described. Aliasing occurs when due to loss of information during compression of the output response, a faulty circuit appears to be fault free. Zero aliasing is guaranteed for a given set of target faults, detected by the test set applied to the circuit. The inability of probabilistic analysis of aliasing to predict coverage of target faults is thus alleviated. Experimental results are presented to support the practicality of the methods proposed in ensuring zero aliasing. <<ETX>>
TMIXT: A process flow for Transcribing MIXed handwritten and machine-printed Text

Handling large corpuses of documents is of significant importance in many fields, no more so than in the areas of crime investigation and defence, where an organisation may be presented with a large volume of scanned documents which need to be processed in a finite time. However, this problem is exacerbated both by the volume, in terms of scanned documents and the complexity of the pages, which need to be processed. Often containing many different elements, which each need to be processed and understood. Text recognition, which is a primary task of this process, is usually dependent upon the type of text, being either handwritten or machine-printed. Accordingly, the recognition involves prior classification of the text category, before deciding on the recognition method to be applied. This poses a more challenging task if a document contains both handwritten and machine-printed text. In this work, we present a generic process flow for text recognition in scanned documents containing mixed handwritten and machine-printed text without the need to classify text in advance. We realize the proposed process flow using several open-source image processing and text recognition packages. The evaluation is performed using a specially developed variant, presented in this work, of the IAM handwriting database, where we achieve an average transcription accuracy of nearly 80% for pages containing both printed and handwritten text.
Intercomparison of a Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift-based extinction monitor (CAPS PMex) with an integrating nephelometer and a filter-based absorption monitor

Abstract. An evaluation of the Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift particle light extinction monitor (CAPS PMex) using a combination of a 3-wavelength Integrating Nephelometer (NEPH) and a 3-wavelength filter-based Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP) was carried out using both laboratory-generated test particles and ambient aerosols. An accurate determination of a fixed pathlength correction for the CAPS PMex was made by comparing extinction measurements using monodisperse PSL spheres in combination with Mie scattering calculations to account for the presence of PSL conglomerates. These studies yielded a linear instrument response over the investigated dynamical range from 20 to 450 Mm−1 (10−6 m−1) with a linear correlation coefficient of R2 > 0.98. The adjustment factor was determined to be 1.05 times that previously reported. Correlating CAPS extinction to extinction measured by the NEPH + PSAP combination using laboratory-generated polydisperse mixtures of purely scattering ammonium sulfate and highly absorbing black carbon provided a linear regression line with slope m = 1.00 (R2 = 0.994) for single-scattering albedo values (λ = 630 nm) ranging from 0.35 (black carbon) to 1.00 (ammonium sulfate). For ambient aerosol, light extinction measured by CAPS was highly correlated (R2 = 0.995) to extinction measured by the NEPH + PSAP combination with slope m = 0.95.
Regional competitiveness in the context of “New industrial policy” – the case of Croatia

The purpose of this paper is to do research on regional conditions that are most conducive to maximising the positive effects of the implementation of “New industrial policy” (policy based on Smart specialisation strategy) to regional competitiveness in Croatia. Rather than using the standard but fragmented system of counties, this small post-transition economy is first mapped into five regions following the concept of regional innovation systems (RISs). Essentially, RIS concept rests on an idea that interactions among regional agents lead to the creation of optimal innovation output, while policy based on Smart specialisation strategy in Croatia is a national policy that promotes creation of innovative products and services in five promising domains and 13 sub- thematic areas. Analysis is carried out in two steps, firstly using a data-driven approach employed in a multidimensional framework for assessing regional accessibility, absorptive capacity and diffusion of knowledge in the context of Smart specialisation strategy (S3) implementation. In the second step, the assumption of post-transition reliance on the external knowledge and technology in producing innovation output is examined via regional presence of high-technology firms, GDP per capita and international trade and investment variables and patents per 100.000 inhabitants using cluster analysis (Ward method). The results show that highly internationalised regions with higher density of hightechnology firms already produce relatively more innovation output per capita. With already favourable conditions in place, these progressive regions are most likely to reinforce their competitive advantages through the transformation of their economic structures enabled by implementation of S3.
Channel selection using neural network posterior probability for speech recognition with distributed microphone arrays in everyday environments

This paper presents an automatic speech recognition (ASR) sys-tem for the 5 th CHiME Speech Separation and Recognition Challenge for transcribing continuous conversations recorded in everyday environments with distributed microphone arrays. The main contribution of the proposed system is the investigation of an effective real-time channel selection scheme to pick up reliable microphones/array for target speakers. It is shown that the proposed channel selection method produces better ASR performance than the reference channel provided by the baseline system, as well as comparable results to a reference-required selection approach based on speech intelligibility test as the oracle case. Instead of including all available data for training data augmentation, channel selection can be also applied to the training data selection to minimize the training-test-mismatch. Further, complementary knowledge can be obtained when the best two channels are selected specially in periods of overlapping speech. The ﬁnal ASR system, which additionally incorporates improved acoustic modeling and system combination, achieves absolute word error rate reductions of 9 . 2% and 7 . 0% with development and evaluation test set, respectively, compared to the baseline in the context of multiple-array track.
Solar Demon – an approach to detecting flares, dimmings, and EUV waves on SDO/AIA images

Flares, dimmings, and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) waves are three types of eruptive phenomena on the Sun, which are main drivers of space weather. Fast and reliable detection of these phenomena helps augment space weather predictions. In the current paper, we introduce Solar Demon, the first software that detects all three phenomena, using a modular design to exploit synergies. While Solar Demon runs in near real-time on SDO/AIA synoptic quick-look images to provide fast detections of flares, dimmings, and EUV waves for space weather purposes, it also processes new Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) synoptic science images on a regular basis to build dedicated science quality catalogs. An overview of Solar Demon is given, with a focus on the algorithms for EUV wave detection and characterization. Several first results, such as flare and dimming butterfly diagrams for the rising part of Solar Cycle 24, are presented. The main advantages, challenges, and future prospects for Solar Demon are outlined in the Section 5.
Anti-candidal activity and effect on relative cell surface hydrophobicity of Pongamia pinnata

Pongamia pinnata is used in Sri Lankan traditional medicinal systems to cure diseases including microbial infections. Different parts of this plant were investigated for in vitro anti-candidal activity. Extracts of bark, roots and leaves of P. pinnata were examined for their activity on different Candida spp. using well diffusion assay. The extract with best activity was evaluated for its minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) using agar dilution method. Its effects on germ tube formation, germ tube elongation and relative cell surface hydrophobicity were determined. The best activity was shown by the root extract of P. pinnata. Neither bark nor leaf showed positive activity. MICs of the root extracts ranged from 1.6 to 12.8 mg/ml. The treatment with root extract of P. pinnata inhibited the germ tube formation, germ tube elongation and relative cell surface hydrophobicity in a dose dependent manner. The results reveal the significant anti-candidal activity of root extracts of P. pinnata.
Tumor Suppressor p53 Slides on DNA with Low Friction and High Stability

The p53 protein, a transcription factor of key importance in tumorigenesis, is suggested to diffuse one-dimensionally along DNA via its C-terminal domain, a process that is proposed to regulate gene activation both positively and negatively. There has been no direct observation of p53 moving along DNA, however, and little is known about the mechanism and rate of its translocation. Here, we use single-molecule techniques to visualize, in real time, the one-dimensional diffusion of p53 along DNA. The one-dimensional diffusion coefﬁcient is measured to be close to the theoretical limit, indicative of movement along a free energy landscape with low activation barriers. We further investigate the mechanism of translocation and determine that p53 is capable of sliding—moving along DNA while in continuous contact with the duplex, rather than through a series of hops between nearby bases.
Does herding affect volatility? Implications for the Spanish stock market

According to rational expectation models, uninformed or liquidity trading make market price volatility rise. This paper sets out to analyse the impact of herding, which may be interpreted as one of the components of uninformed trading, on the volatility of the Spanish stock market. Herding is examined at the intraday level, considered the most reliable sampling frequency for detecting this type of investor behavior, and measured using the Patterson and Sharma (Working Paper, University of Michigan–Dearborn, 2006) herding intensity measure. Different volatility measures (historical, realized and implied) are employed. The results confirm that herding has a direct linear impact on volatility for all of the volatility measures considered, although the corresponding intensity is not always the same. In fact, herding variables seem to be useful in volatility forecasting and therefore in decision making when volatility is considered a key factor.
Driven thermal waves and determination of the thermal conductivity in a magnetized plasma

Results are presented from a basic heat transport experiment using a magnetized electron temperature filament that behaves as a thermal resonator. A small, crystal cathode injects low-energy electrons along the magnetic field into the afterglow of a large preexisting plasma forming a hot electron filament embedded in a colder plasma. A series of low amplitude, sinusoidal perturbations are added to the cathode discharge bias that create an oscillating heat source capable of driving thermal waves. Langmuir probe measurements demonstrate driven thermal oscillations and allow for the determination of the amplitude and parallel phase velocity of the thermal waves over a range of driver frequencies. The results conclusively show the presence of a thermal resonance and are used to verify the parallel thermal wave dispersion relation based on classical transport theory. A nonlinear transport code is used to verify the analysis procedure. This technique provides an alternative measure of the density normalized thermal conductivity, independent of the electron temperature.
Effect of island geological age on the arthropod species richness of Azorean pastures

Abstract Species richness of six pasture arthropod assemblages (total arthropod species, total herbivore species, sucking and chewing herbivores, total predatory species and spiders) were regressed against several geographical variables (area, distance from the nearest mainland, maximum elevation and geological age of the islands) of three Azorean islands (S. Maria, Terceira and Pico). The species were sampled by the fixed-quadrat size sampling method and the results obtained are consistent with the geological age hypothesis, i.e. the species richness of the six indigenous arthropod assemblages increases with the geological age of the islands, both at local and regional scales. Higher values of indigenous and endemic species richness were consistently found on the older island (S. Maria), and the lowest values on the most recent island (Pico). Moreover, when considering the age of Faial (an older island probably once connected with Pico) as a estimate of the age of Pico, correlations between species richness and island age were improved, thereby strengthening the relationship. The older island (S. Maria) has more specialized herbivores and a greater proportion of herbivores in relation to predatory arthropods. Ecological and biogeographical studies in the Azores should take into account the effects of the time each island has been available for colonization and evolution.
Evaluation of Environmental Conditions in Two Cities of East Siberia Using Bio-indication Methods (Fluctuating Asymmetry Value and Mutagenic Activity of Soils)

Bioindicational evaluation of environmental quality on the territory of Yakutsk and Mirny (East Siberia, Yakutia) has been performed. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) value of leaves of the Japanese White Birch Betula platyphylla Sukacz. was examined and soil condition was assessed by occurrence of Mitosis Pathologies (MP) in germinating Japanese leek Allium fistulosum L. cultivated on samples of lawn soils. About 18,000 leaves and 37 soil samples (over 20,000 anaphase and telophase cells) was examined. In most samples from city territories statistically significant increase in FA and MP in comparison to unimpaired habitats was registered. Positive correlation between FA value and traffic load as well as total content of heavy metals in soil was found. On the territory of the administrative center (Yakutsk), motor transport was found to be the main source of the pollution. Consequently major streets, especially in the immediate vicinity of roadways, and crossroads with heavy traffic load suffer from pollution most. On the territory of the industrial center (Mirny) pollution spreads from technogenically impaired areas to the residential area. Developmental stability abnormalities and total mutagenic background indicate deterioration of environmental conditions as a consequence of combined impact of negative factors arising from anthropogenically transformed environment.
Incentive Compatible Referenda and the Valuation of Environmental Goods

Recent attempts to test the validity of the contingent valuation method have relied on laboratory-type experiments. In these experiments, willingness to pay responses in hypothetical choice experiments are compared with responses from choice experiments requiring actual payments. Often evidence of hypothetical bias is found. Critical for these experimental tests of hypothetical surveys is that the methodology used to elicit willingness to pay from subjects in the real-payment experiment be demand revealing. If it is not, then differences in responses to hypothetical and real valuation questions could be due to free-riding in the real-payment survey and not due to hypothetical bias in the hypothetical survey. This paper reports on experiments that implement a theoretically incentive-compatible revelation mechanism (a closed referendum) to elicit responses to valuation questions in both hypothetical and real experiments. As in earlier studies, evidence of an upward hypothetical bias is found.
Steel fibre reinforced concrete for elements failing in bending and in shear

Discrete steel fibres can increase significantly the bending and the shear resistance of concrete structural elements when Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) is designed in such a way that fibre reinforcing mechanisms are optimized. To assess the fibre reinforcement effectiveness in shallow structural elements failing in bending and in shear, experimental and numerical research were performed. Uniaxial compression and bending tests were executed to derive the constitutive laws of the developed SFRC. Using a cross-section layered model and the material constitutive laws, the deformational behaviour of structural elements failing in bending was predicted from the moment-curvature relationship of the representative cross sections. To evaluate the influence of the percentage of fibres on the shear resistance of shallow structures, three point bending tests with shallow beams were performed. The applicability of the formulation proposed by RILEM TC 162-TDF for the prediction of the shear resistance of SFRC elements was evaluated. Inverse analysis was adopted to determine indirectly the values of the fracture mode I parameters of the developed SFRC. With these values, and using a softening diagram for modelling the crack shear softening behaviour, the response of the SFRC beams failing in shear was predicted.
Variable reactivity of particulate organic matter in a global ocean biogeochemical model

Abstract. The marine biological carbon pump is dominated by the vertical transfer of particulate organic carbon (POC) from the surface ocean to its interior. The efficiency of this transfer plays an important role in controlling the amount of atmospheric carbon that is sequestered in the ocean. Furthermore, the abundance and composition of POC is critical for the removal of numerous trace elements by scavenging, a number of which, such as iron, are essential for the growth of marine organisms, including phytoplankton. Observations and laboratory experiments have shown that POC is composed of numerous organic compounds that can have very different reactivities. However, this variable reactivity of POC has never been extensively considered, especially in modelling studies. Here, we introduced in the global ocean biogeochemical model NEMO-PISCES a description of the variable composition of POC based on the theoretical reactivity continuum model proposed by Boudreau and Ruddick (1991). Our model experiments show that accounting for a variable lability of POC increases POC concentrations in the ocean's interior by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. This increase is mainly the consequence of a better preservation of small particles that sink slowly from the surface. Comparison with observations is significantly improved both in abundance and in size distribution. Furthermore, the amount of carbon that reaches the sediments is increased by more than a factor of 2, which is in better agreement with global estimates of the sediment oxygen demand. The impact on the major macronutrients (nitrate and phosphate) remains modest. However, iron (Fe) distribution is strongly altered, especially in the upper mesopelagic zone as a result of more intense scavenging: vertical gradients in Fe are milder in the upper ocean, which appears to be closer to observations. Thus, our study shows that the variable lability of POC can play a critical role in the marine biogeochemical cycles which advocates for more dedicated in situ and laboratory experiments.
Tail Conditional Variance for Elliptically Contoured Distributions

The tail conditional expectation, TCE for short, provides a measure of the riskiness of the tail of a distribution and is an index that has gained popularity over the years. On the other hand, the tail conditional variance, TCV for short, is lesser known but provides a measure of the variability of the risk along the tail of its distribution. Landsman and Valdez (2003) derive explicit formulas for computing tail conditional expectations for elliptical distributions, a family of symmetric distributions which includes the more familiar Normal and Studentt distributions. In this paper, we are able to similarly exploit the properties of the elliptical distributions to derive similar explicit forms in computing the tail conditional variance. In particular, the tail generator defi ned in the paper plays an important role in the process of developing these explicit forms. We further investigate these results in the multivariate case especially when the addition of several risks is concerned.
Trends in Summer Rainfall over China Associated with the Tibetan Plateau Sensible Heat Source during 1980–2008

AbstractThe impacts of the thermal forcing over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) in spring on changes in summer rainfall in China are investigated using historical records from the period between 1980 and 2008. The spring sensible heat (SH) flux and snow depth over the TP both decreased over this time period, although the trend in SH was more significant than that in snow depth. The similarity between patterns of precipitation trends over China and corresponding patterns of regression coefficients on the leading mode of spring SH change over the TP demonstrates the distinct contribution of changes in TP SH during spring. Enhanced precipitation in southern China was accompanied by increases in heavy rainfall, precipitation intensity, and the frequency of precipitation events, while reduced precipitation in northern China and northeastern China was primarily associated with decreases in the frequency of precipitation events. Further analysis using observational data and numerical simulations reveals that the reduct.