Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Compatibility of different measurement techniques. Long-term global solar radiation observations at Izaña Observatory

A 1-year intercomparison of classical and modern radiation and sunshine duration instruments has been performed at Izaña Atmospheric Observatory (IZO) located in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) starting on July 17, 2014. We compare global solar radiation (GSR) records measured with a CM-21 pyranometer Kipp & Zonen, taken in the framework of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network, with those measured with a Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR), and a bimetallic pyranometer (PYR), and GSR estimated from sunshine duration performed by a Campbell-Stokes sunshine 5 recorder (CS) and a Kipp & Zonen sunshine duration sensor (CSD). Given the GSR BSRN records are subject of strict quality controls (based on principles of physical limits and comparison with the LibRadtran model), they have been used as reference in the intercomparison study. We obtain an overall root mean square error (RMSE) of ∼0.9 MJm2 (4%) for GSR PYR and GSR MFRSR, 1.9 MJm2 (7%) and 1.2 MJm2 (5%) for GSR CS and GSR CSD, respectively. Factors such as temperature, fraction of the clear sky, relative humidity and the solar zenith angle have shown to moderately affect the GSR observations. 10 As application of the methodology developed in this work, we have re-evaluated the GSR time series between 1977 and 1991 obtained with two PYRs at IZO. By comparing with coincident GSR estimates from SD observations, we probe the high consistency of those measurements and their temporal stability. These results demonstrate that 1) the continuous-basis intercomparison of different GSR techniques offers important diagnostics for identifying inconsistencies between GSR data records, and 2) the GSR measurements performed with classical and more simple instruments are consistent with more modern 15 techniques and, thus, valid to recover GSR time series and complete worldwide distributed GSR data. The intercomparison and quality assessment of these different techniques have allowed to obtain a complete and consistent long-term global solar radiation series (1977-2015) at Izaña.
The Diurnal Cycle in the Tropics

A global archive of high-resolution (3-hourly, 0.58 latitude‐longitude grid) window (11‐12 mm) brightness temperature (Tb) data from multiple satellites is being developed by the European Union Cloud Archive User Service (CLAUS) project. It has been used to construct a climatology of the diurnal cycle in convection, cloudiness, and surface temperature for all regions of the Tropics. An example of the application of the climatology to the evaluation of the climate version of the U.K. Met. Office Unified Model (UM), version HadAM3, is presented. The characteristics of the diurnal cycle described by the CLAUS data agree with previous observational studies, demonstrating the universality of the characteristics of the diurnal cycle for land versus ocean, clear sky versus convective regimes. It is shown that oceanic deep convection tends to reach its maximum in the early morning. Continental convection generally peaks in the evening, although there are interesting regional variations, indicative of the effects of complex land‐sea and mountain‐valley breezes, as well as the life cycle of mesoscale convective systems. A striking result from the analysis of the CLAUS data has been the extent to which the strong diurnal signal over land is spread out over the adjacent oceans, probably through gravity waves of varying depths. These coherent signals can be seen for several hundred kilometers and in some instances, such as over the Bay of Bengal, can lead to substantial diurnal variations in convection and precipitation. The example of the use of the CLAUS data in the evaluation of the Met. Office UM has demonstrated that the model has considerable difficulty in capturing the observed phase of the diurnal cycle in convection, which suggests some fundamental difficulties in the model’s physical parameterizations. Analysis of the diurnal cycle represents a powerful tool for identifying and correcting model deficiencies.
BQP-completeness of Scattering in Scalar Quantum Field Theory

Recent work has shown that quantum computers can compute scattering probabilities in massive quantum field theories, with a run time that is polynomial in the number of particles, their energy, and the desired precision. Here we study a closely related quantum field-theoretical problem: estimating the vacuum-to-vacuum transition amplitude, in the presence of spacetime-dependent classical sources, for a massive scalar field theory in (1+1) dimensions. We show that this problem is BQP-hard; in other words, its solution enables one to solve any problem that is solvable in polynomial time by a quantum computer. Hence, the vacuum-to-vacuum amplitude cannot be accurately estimated by any efficient classical algorithm, even if the field theory is very weakly coupled, unless BQP=BPP. Furthermore, the corresponding decision problem can be solved by a quantum computer in a time scaling polynomially with the number of bits needed to specify the classical source fields, and this problem is therefore BQP-complete. Our construction can be regarded as an idealized architecture for a universal quantum computer in a laboratory system described by massive phi^4 theory coupled to classical spacetime-dependent sources.
Incentives for environmental R & D Mads Greaker Statistics Norway

Since governments can inuence the demand for a new and cleaner technology through their environmental policy, they may be able to expropriate the innovations in new abatement technology ex post. This suggests than incentives for environmental R&D may be lower than the incentives for market goods R&D. This in turn may be used as an argument for environmental R&D getting a larger share of public R&D spending. In this paper we systematically compare the incentives for environmental R&D with the incentives for market goods R&D. We nd that the relationship might be the opposite: When the innovator is able to commit to a licence fee before environmental policy is resolved, incentives are always higher for environmental R&D than for market goods R&D. When the governmnet sets its policy before or simultaneously with the innovators choice of licence fee, incnetives for environemtal R&D may be higher or lower than for market goods R&D. Keywords: R&D, environmental R&D, innovations, endogenous technological change JEL classi cation: H23, O30, Q55, Q58 The support of the Research Council of Norway, under the Frienergi programme, is gratefully acknowledged. yP.O. Box 8131 Dep. NO-0033 Oslo, Norway; e-mail: mads.greaker@ssb.no zDepartment of Economics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1095, Blindern, NO-0317 Oslo, Norway; e-mail: m.o. hoel@econ.uio. no
The Effect of Large-Scale Flow on Low-Level Frontal Structure and Evolution in Midlatitude Cyclones

Abstract Observational and modeling studies documented in the literature indicate that the large-scale flow has an important effect on the structure and evolution of low-level fronts in midlatitude cyclones. The purpose of this paper is to address the role of the large-scale flow on low-level cyclone/frontal structure and evolution through a combined observational and idealized modeling approach. Analyses of two observed cyclone cases embedded in large-scale diffluence and confluence, respectively, are presented to illustrate two possible cyclone/frontal structures and evolutions. Specifically, the cyclone moving into a diffluent, high-amplitude ridge becomes meridionally elongated and possesses a strong meridionally oriented cold front and a weak warm front. The cold front rotates into the warm front, forming an occluded front in the manner of the Norwegian cyclone model, as indicated by the narrowing of the thermal ridge connecting the warm sector to the cyclone center. In contrast, the cyclone moving i.
On the birational geometry of the universal Picard variety

We compute the Kodaira dimension of the univer- sal Picard variety Pd,g parameterizing line bundles of degree d on curves of genus g under the assumption that (d−g+1,2g−2) = 1. We also give partial results for arbitrary degrees d and we investi- gate for which degrees the universal Picard varieties are birational.
INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AND NEUROPEPTIDES CHARACTERISTIC OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE AND THEIR RESPONSE TO VISUALIZATION AND SUGGESTION BASED MIND-BODY THERAPY

Progress in elucidating neuroimmune connections has created new opportunities for improving the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). In recent years, mind-body therapies have been shown to have positive effects on the immune and nervous systems, but interactions at the molecular level have not been tested. Thus, the main aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of therapy based on visualization and suggestion on the concentrations of IL-6, CRP, DA, BDNF, CoQ10, and TAC in patients with advanced PD. Eight patients with PD and 8 elderly healthy men (control group) were enrolled in the study. The therapy lasted 19 days and consisted of three parts: individual sessions with the therapist, mixed (therapist and audio-file), and self-training (audio-file). Blood samples were taken before training and at the end of each part. The expected changes in the investigated markers was observed during therapy: the serum concentration of IL-6 and CRP decreas ed, whereas DA and BDNF increased, however, this change was observed only after the first part of intervention when the therapy was conducted by the therapist. In the subsequent stages, the levels returned to the baseline. Noteworthy, after the therapy, we observed a significant increase in the motor and intellectual skills of the PD patients. No such changes were observed in the control group. Mind-body therapy based on visualization and suggestions aimed at changing the concentrations of signaling molecules, which are crucial in the development or treatment of PD, may be an effective element in supporting pharmacological therapy.
Living with Invasive Plants in the Anthropocene: The Importance of Understanding Practice and Experience

The role of humans in facilitating the rapid spread of plants at a scale that is considered invasive is one manifestation of the Anthropocene, now framed as a geological period in which humans are the dominant force in landscape transformation. Invasive plant management faces intensified challenges, and can no longer be viewed in terms of 'eradication' or 'restoration of original landscapes'. In this perspectives piece, we focus on the practice and experience of people engaged in invasive plant management, using examples from Australia and Canada. We show how managers 1) face several pragmatic trade-offs; 2) must reconcile diverse views, even within stakeholder groups; 3) must balance competing temporal scales; 4) encounter tensions with policy; and 5) face critical and under-acknowledged labour challenges. These themes show the variety of considerations based on which invasive plant managers make complex decisions about when, where, and how to intervene. Their widespread pragmatic acceptance of small, situated gains (as well as losses) combines with impressive long-term commitments to the task of invasives management. We suggest that the actual practice of weed management challenges those academic perspectives that still aspire to attain pristine nature.
What Do Young Intellectuals Look For in a Bank? An Empirical Analysis of Attribute Importance in Retail Bank Selection

Normal 0 21 false false false MS X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This study attempts to quantify the selection criteria used by university students in the process of selecting a bank to patronize. A quantitative methodology, using responses given by 482 Malaysia’s undergraduates, is employed in the analysis. Friedman’s nonparametric test for rank position and significance was performed to determine respondent’s preferences and to see if the differences were significant. Results of the study suggest that students appear to be very concerned about the security aspects, ATM service and financial benefits when selecting a bank. Factors such as locational convenience and recommendation, which proved to be influential in previous studies, are no longer given with such importance.
High‐precision relocation of long‐period events beneath the summit region of Kı̄lauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, from 1986 to 2009

Long‐period (0.5–5 Hz, LP) seismicity has been recorded for decades in the summit region of Kı̄lauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, and is postulated as linked with the magma transport and shallow hydrothermal systems. To better characterize its spatiotemporal occurrence, we perform a systematic analysis of 49,030 seismic events occurring in the Kı̄lauea summit region from January 1986 to March 2009 recorded by the ∼50‐station Hawaiian Volcano Observatory permanent network. We estimate 215,437 P wave spectra, considering all events on all stations, and use a station‐averaged spectral metric to consistently classify LP and non‐LP seismicity. We compute high‐precision relative relocations for 5327 LP events (43% of all classified LP events) using waveform cross correlation and cluster analysis with 6.4 million event pairs, combined with the source‐specific station term method. The majority of intermediate‐depth (5–15 km) LPs collapse to a compact volume, with remarkable source location stability over 23 years indicating a source process controlled by geological or conduit structure.
An Empirical Investigation of Liquidity and Stock Returns Relationship in Vietnam Stock Markets during Financial Crisis

This paper investigates the relationship between liquidity and stock returns in the Vietnam stock market during financial crisis using a data set ranging from 2006 to 2010. Employing a rich and detailed dataset of characteristics of firm listed in Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, the results from the analysis indicate that liquidity positively affects stock returns. Our results contradict previous results that liquidity is negatively correlated with stock returns as investors required a premium to compensate for illiquid stocks in developed markets
The Determinants of Capital Buffer in the Turkish Banking System

The purpose of this study is to analyze the determinants of capital buffer in the Turkish Banking system and to estimate the cyclicality of capital buffer using a panel data of 87 banks covering the period 1988-2009. The data is based on the reports published by the Banks Association of Turkey. Two-step Generalized Method of Moments is implemented by using Arellano–Bond linear dynamic panel-data estimator. The study is focused on: i)economic growth, ii) asset size, iii) return on equity and iv) non-performing loans as the determinants of capital buffer. It is observed that commercial banks, including the banks under the control of Savings Deposit and Insurance Fund, move procyclically, where commercial banks, excluding the banks under Savings Deposit and Insurance Fund, fluctuate countercyclically. This finding is noteworthy since it is parallel to BASEL III, where structuring a countercyclical capital framework is emphasized.
Relationship between physical self-perceptions and body composition following a 10 week exercise program for previously sedentary participants

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether body composition and engagement in an exercise program influenced participants’ physical self-perceptions. The study consisted of 92 participants, 40 males and 52 females; with an average age of 31.9 ± 9.37 years. The Physical Self-Perception Profile was used to assess physical self-perceptions (PSPP; Fox & Corbin, 1989). Body fat percentage was measured using a bioelectrical impedance analyser (RJL systems, Detroit). In addition, height, weight, BMI and WHR was assessed. The study consisted of an exercise intervention group (N = 72) and a control group (N = 20). Participants in the intervention group attended public gyms in North-west London. Measurements were taken at the induction session and after a 10 week intervention period. All participants were provided with an individual training program which followed the ACSM guidelines. Adherence was assessed by means of an electronic entry card to the gym facilities and a self-report measure. For statistical analysis the participants in the exercise group were categorised as either adherers (> 30 sessions; N = 35), and non-adherers (< 30 sessions; N = 26). Repeated measures analysis of variance [3 (adherers, non-adherers, control) x 2 (pre-, post-test)] and follow-up post-hoc comparisons showed that the adherers had a significant decrease in % body fat and BMI and a significant increase on the body, condition and strength subscales of the PSPP from pre- to the post-test. Additionally, correlational analysis for the change in the dependent variables from pre- to post-test showed only significant correlations for the adherers. The participants who adhered to the exercise program showed significant changes in their body composition in terms of a decrease in % body fat and BMI and this change was associated with perceiving oneself in better physical condition, and stronger. They were also more satisfied with their physique. These findings partially support Fox’s (1997) intervention hypothesis in that engaging in regular physical exercise and its associated physical changes can positively alter participants’ physical self-perceptions.
Systematic Palaeontology (Vertebrate Palaeontology) The 'Giant of Ksour', a Middle Jurassic sauropod dinosaur from Algeria

Continental strata of Early and Middle Jurassic age are seldom-exposed, and little is known of the history of sauropod dinosaurs prior to the neosauropod radiation of the end of the Middle Jurassic. Here, we report, in the Middle Jurassic of the Occidental Saharan Atlas (Algerian High Atlas), the discovery of a skeleton, including cranial material, of a new cetiosaurid sauropod. Chebsaurus algeriensis n. g. , n. sp. represents the most complete Algerian sauropod available to date, only few
Diversity of algal viruses in various North American freshwater environments

To examine algal virus (Phycodnaviridae) genetic diversity in freshwater environments, gene fragments were cloned and sequenced from a river and a reservoir in Colorado, USA, and 2 different lakes in Ontario, Canada using PCR methods that target a diverse subset of known Phycodnaviridae DNA polymerase genes. Numerous phycodnavirus gene sequences were obtained from every sample, and rarefaction analysis of the sequence libraries demonstrated that virus richness was variable among different sample locations, and among samples collected from the same location at different times. Phylogenetic analysis of the unique sequences from each sample indicated that most sequences from the same geographic region (i.e. Colorado or Ontario) clustered together, but several exceptions were also observed. Phylogenetic analysis also demonstrated that the sequences obtained were more closely related to sequences from cultivated marine phycodnaviruses belonging to the genus Prasinovirus than to those from cultivated freshwater phycodnaviruses from the genus Chlorovirus. Overall, phycodnavirus sequences originating from cultivated marine viruses and marine clone libraries were not genetically distinct from the freshwater phycodnavirus sequences reported in this study.
The Effect of Temperature and Thermal Acclimation on Locomotor Performance in Xantusia vigilis, the Desert Night Lizard

The influence of body temperature (12.5°-37° C) and thermal acclimation (20° and 30° C) on sprint speed in a thigmothermic lizard, Xantusia vigilis, was measured. Body temperature has a profound influence on sprint speed, which is maximal at 33°-34° C and declines exponentially at lower body temperatures. Neither sprint speed nor its thermal dependence was modified by thermal acclimation over the body temperature range of 15.0°-34° C. In contrast, acclimation temperature did affect sprint speed at more extreme temperatures: 20° C-acclimated lizards ran faster at 12.5° and slower at 37°C than did 30°C-acclimated animals. Acclimation also affected preferred body temperatures and critical thermal minima and maxima: all were significantly lower in the 20°C-acclimated group (31.1°, 4.5°, and 40.5°C, respectively) than in the 30°C-acclimated group (33.0°, 9.4°, 43.0°). Ac-climation may therefore shift critical thermal variables without affecting locomotor performance at intermediate temperatures.
Stratified Kelvin–Helmholtz turbulence of compressible shear flows

Abstract. We study scaling laws of stratified shear flows by performing high-resolution numerical simulations of inviscid compressible turbulence induced by Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. An implicit large eddy simulation approach is adapted to solve our conservation laws for both two-dimensional (with a spatial resolution of 16 3842) and three-dimensional (with a spatial resolution of 5123) configurations utilizing different compressibility characteristics such as shocks. For three-dimensional turbulence, we find that both the kinetic energy and density-weighted energy spectra follow the classical Kolmogorov k-5/3 inertial scaling. This phenomenon is observed due to the fact that the power density spectrum of three-dimensional turbulence yields the same k-5/3 scaling. However, we demonstrate that there is a significant difference between these two spectra in two-dimensional turbulence since the power density spectrum yields a k-5/3 scaling. This difference may be assumed to be a reason for the k-7/3 scaling observed in the two-dimensional density-weight kinetic every spectra for high compressibility as compared to the k−3 scaling traditionally assumed with incompressible flows. Further inquiries are made to validate the statistical behavior of the various configurations studied through the use of the Helmholtz decomposition of both the kinetic velocity and density-weighted velocity fields. We observe that the scaling results are invariant with respect to the compressibility parameter when the density-weighted definition is used. Our two-dimensional results also confirm that a large inertial range of the solenoidal component with the k−3 scaling can be obtained when we simulate with a lower compressibility parameter; however, the compressive spectrum converges to k−2 for a larger compressibility parameter.