Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The smoother extension of the nonlinear ensemble transform filter

Abstract The recently-proposed nonlinear ensemble transform filter (NETF) is extended to a fixed-lag smoother. The NETF approximates Bayes’ theorem by applying a square root update. The smoother (NETS) is derived and formulated in a joint framework with the filter. The new smoother method is evaluated using the low-dimensional, highly nonlinear Lorenz-96 model and a square-box configuration of the NEMO ocean model, which is nonlinear and has a higher dimensionality. The new smoother is evaluated within the same assimilation framework against the local error subspace transform Kalman filter (LESTKF) and its smoother extension (LESTKS), which are state-of-the-art ensemble square-root Kalman techniques. In the case of the Lorenz-96 model, both the filter NETF and its smoother extension NETS provide lower errors than the LESTKF and LESTKS for sufficiently large ensembles. In addition, the NETS shows a distinct dependence on the smoother lag, which results in a stronger error increase beyond the optimal lag of minimum error. For the experiment using NEMO, the smoothing in the NETS effectively reduces the errors in the state estimates, compared to the filter. For different state variables very similar optimal smoothing lags are found, which allows for a simultaneous tuning of the lag. In comparison to the LESTKS, the smoothing with the NETS yields a smaller relative error reduction with respect to the filter result, and the optimal lag of the NETS is shorter in both experiments. This is explained by the distinct update mechanisms of both filters. The comparison of both experiments shows that the NETS can provide better state estimates with similar smoother lags if the model exhibits a sufficiently high degree of nonlinearity or if the observations are not restricted to be Gaussian with a linear observation operator.
Causes of Cost Overrun in Federal Road Projects of Ethiopia in Case of Southern District

One of the problems has been broadly published in different literature related to construction project management is project cost overrun. To fill this gap, the study on causes of cost overrun was conducted. It was conducted on 18 road construction projects with eight case studies which is found under the southern district of Ethiopian Road Authority. Based on a comprehensive literature review and archives, 40 factors linked to project cost performance were acknowledged for analysis. Based on the percentage of maximum score rank of 40 identified factors, six top rated factors were identified. These are material price fluctuation, cost underestimation, delay in supply of raw materials, inadequate review of contract documents, lack of coordination at the design phase and lack of cost planning during pre- and post- contract stage have the highest impacts on the performance of project costs from the client’s, consultants’ and contractors’ perspective. This study has been done through survey and case study to generate raw data. The questionnaires were distributed to 54 practitioners to evaluate the significance of the factors that causes the project cost overrun. In addition, case studies were used to find the magnitude of cost overrun on selected projects by an in-depth analysis of an archive of each project. The magnitude of cost overrun among selected project extended from 4.16% to 83.2%. While the average magnitude of cost overrun was nearly 21.52%, this is a significant amount when it compared with the number of projects.
Host stage preference, juvenile mortality and functional response of Trioxys pallidus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Aphidiinae)

,Y. ,Hoststage preference, juvenile mortality and functional response of Trioxys pal-lidus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Aphidiinae). Biologia, Bratislava, 59: 197|203, 2004; ISSN 0006-3088.Host stage preference, juvenile mortality and functional response of the walnutaphid parasitoid wasp, Trioxys pallidus were studied in laboratory constantconditions (26 2 C, 60 5% relative humidity, 16 L:8 D photoperiod). Populations of the walnut aphid, Chromaphis juglandicola and its parasitoidwere collected from the eld and reared on walnut seedlings in a growthchamber. Juvenile mortality of the parasitoid was 53.46, 8.01, 2.27 and 6.72%for the 1
THE ω-ENUMERATION DEGREES

In the present paper we initiate the study of the partial ordering of the ω-enumeration degrees. This ordering is a semi-lattice which extends the semi-lattice of the enumeration degrees. The main results include a jump inversion theorem, a density theorem for the ω-enumeration degrees below the first jump of the least degree and the lack of minimal ω-enumeration degrees.
Disturbance effects on aquatic vegetation in regulated and unregulated lakes in northern Minnesota

WILCOX, D. A. , and MEEKER, J. E. 1991. Disturbance effects on aquatic vegetation in regulated and unregulated lakes in northern Minnesota. Can. J. Bot. 69: 1542-1551. The effects of water-level regulation on aquatic macrophyte communities were investigated by comparing two regulated lakes in northern Minnesota with a nearby unregQlated lake. Natural annual fluctuations of about 1.8 m were replaced with fluctuations of 1.1 m and 2. 7 m in the regulated lakes, and the timing of water-level changes was also altered. Quadrats were sampled along transects that followed depth contours representing different plant habitats in the unregulated lake. Ordinations showed that the macrophyte communities at all sampled depths of the regulated lakes differed from those in the unregulated lake. The unregulated lake supported structurally diverse plant communities at all depths. In the lake with reduced fluctuations, only four taxa were present along transects that were never dewatered; all were erect aquatics that extended through the entire water column. In the lake with increased fluctuations, rosette and mat-forming species dominated transects where drawdown occurred in early winter and disturbance resulted from ice formation in the sediments. The natural hydrologic regime at the unregulated lake resulted in intermediate disturbance and high diversity. There was either too little or too much disturbance from water-level fluctuations in the regulated lakes, both resulting in reduced structural diversity.
Total quality management: origins and evolution of the term

The focus of this paper is to trace the origins of the term TQM and clarify the different definitions employed by academics and practitioners. Feigenbaum and Ishikawa are perhaps the greatest contributors to the development of the term. The other recognised quality management gurus such as Crosby, Deming and Juran have shaped the dimensions, practices and mechanism which underpin the concept, but it is noted that none of these three actually uses the TQM term. TQM started to be used in the mid‐1980s and only became a recognised part of the quality‐related language in the late 1980s. The paper also analyses the key dimensions of TQM and traces their origins.
Emissions of ammonia, nitrous oxide, methane, carbon dioxide and water vapor in the raising of weaned pigs on straw-based and sawdust-based deep litters

Five successive batches of 40 weaned pigs were raised on deep litter of sawdust or straw without changing the litter in between batches. The quantity of litter dry matter utilized in the two cases was 5 kg per pig. The concentrations of gases were measured 8 times, at about one-month inter- vals, for 6 consecutive days and the ventilation flow was recorded continuously. Pig raising on saw- dust-based litter differed from that with straw by an emission of 2.6 times less ammonia (0.46 vs. 1.21 g per pig per day), 2.1 times less methane (0.77 vs. 1.58 g per pig per day), 3.9 times more N2O (1.39 vs. 0.36 g per pig per day), 4% more CO2 (481 vs. 463 g per pig per day) and 21% more H2O (1126 vs. 933 g per pig per day). All differences were significant. About 58% of the nitrogen excreted by the pigs was recovered in the gas form and for the two litters, about 79% in the form of N2. weaned pig / ammonia / nitrous oxide / methane / carbon dioxide
Some segmental structural features of the aortic wall of domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus)

A estrutura segmentar da parede aortica foi estudada em galo domestico, em niveis toracico e abdominal, nas dimensoes de microscopias optica e eletronica de varredura. Seccoes histologicas selecionadas foram submetidas a estudos histomorfometricos usando metodos de analises de imagens. As variaveis analisadas foram as espessuras das tunicas da parede aortica em tres segmentos investigados, compreendendo as porcoes ascendente toracica; descendente toracica e abdominal, bem como os diâmetros tubulares, em cada porcao, e o numero medio de lamelas elasticas na tunica media de cada segmento analisado. A parede aortica do galo domestico apresenta estrutura predominantemente elastica nas porcoes toracicas, cujo numero relativo de lamelas elasticas decresce gradualmente para a parte abdominal da aorta, onde celulas musculares lisas predominam. Os diâmetros aorticos decrescem tambem gradualmente, e progressivamente, da porcao toracica ascendente para a porcao toracica descendente, e desta para a porcao abdominal da aorta.
Zonal Fluxes in the Deep Water Layers of the Western South Atlantic Ocean

Zonal transports of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in the South Atlantic are determined. For this purpose the circulation of intermediate and deep water masses is established on the basis of hydrographic sections from the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) and some pre-WOCE sections, using temperature, salinity, nutrients, and anthropogenic tracers. Multiple linear regression is applied to infer missing parameters in the bottle dataset. A linear box-inverse model is used for a set of closed boxes given by sections and continental boundaries. After performing a detailed analysis of water mass distribution, 11 layers are prescribed. Neutral density surfaces are selected as layer interfaces, thus improving the description of water mass distribution in the transition between the subtropical and subpolar latitudes. Constraints for the inverse model include integral meridional salt and phosphorus transports, overall salt and silica conservation, and transports from moored current meter observations. Inferred transport numbers for the mean meridional thermohaline overturning are given. Persistent zonal NADW transport bands are found in the western South Atlantic, in particular eastward flow of relatively new NADW between 20° and 25°S and westward flow of older NADW to the north of this latitude range. The axis of the eastward transport band corresponds to the core of property distributions in this region, suggesting Wustian flow. Part of the eastward flow appears to cross the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the Rio de Janeiro Fracture Zone. Results are compared qualitatively with deep float observations and results from general circulation models
Approaching Law through Conflicts

In this article the author presents Latour’s negative analysis of modernity and his positive ethnographical studies of the modes of existence of our modern world. I will discuss the merits and disadvantages of his specific approach on law – an insti‐ tutional ethnography of the French Conseil d’Etat – within this framework. The analysis will be supplemented with the results of a conflict-based approach to a case study in patent law at a law firm.
Stability and bifurcation in a simplified four-neuron BAM neural network with multiple delays

We first study the distribution of the zeros of a fourth-degree exponential polynomial. Then we apply the obtained results to a simplified bidirectional associated memory (BAM) neural network with four neurons and multiple time delays. By taking the sum of the delays as the bifurcation parameter, it is shown that under certain assumptions the steady state is absolutely stable. Under another set of conditions, there are some critical values of the delay, when the delay crosses these critical values, the Hopf bifurcation occurs. Furthermore, some explicit formulae determining the stability and the direction of periodic solutions bifurcating from Hopf bifurcations are obtained by applying the normal form theory and center manifold reduction. Numerical simulations supporting the theoretical analysis are also included.
A graphical sensitivity analysis for statistical climate models: application to Indian monsoon rainfall prediction by artificial neural networks and multiple linear regression models

A form of sensitivity analysis is described that illustrates the effects that inputs have on outputs of statistical models. The strength and sign of relationships, the types of nonlinearity, and the presence of interactions between inputs can be diagnosed using this technique. Intended for interpreting flexible nonlinear models, the graphical sensitivity analysis is applied to artificial neural networks (ANNs) in this study. As ANNs are increasingly being used for climate prediction, the discussion focuses on specific problems associated with their use in this context. The technique is illustrated using a real‐world, long‐range climate prediction example. Principal components (PCs) of circulation fields prior to the Indian summer monsoon are related to rainfall during monsoon months for the 1958–98 period. The skill of multiple linear regression and ensemble ANNs are compared using a resampling procedure. Interpretation of the models is then conducted using traditional diagnostic tools and graphical sensitivity analysis. This provides an improved investigation of precursor circulation field–summer monsoon rainfall relationships identified in a previous modelling study. The relatively stable, linear relationship identified between the May 200 hPa geopotential height field and summer monsoon rainfall is confirmed. Correlations previously identified between 850 hPa geopotential heights during January and rainfall by ANNs are shown to be the result of a weakly nonlinear, interactive relationship involving the first and second PCs of this field. An analysis of out‐of‐sample model predictions suggests that this relationship does not persist over the entire study period. This may result from a modulation of the strength of the circulation–rainfall relationship by El Niño–southern oscillation. Stratification of the results also reveals a relatively strong, nearly linear relationship with monsoon strength during years exhibiting positive scores of the second PC. On extending the analysis to longer lead‐times, the surface pressure and 850 hPa geopotential height fields during November show relatively strong, persistent precursor relationships with summer monsoon rainfall. Sensitivity analyses suggest a mildly nonlinear relationship that is common to both fields. Copyright © 2002 Environment Canada. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Changes in parasite aggregation with age: a discrete infection model

SUMMARY We present a discrete time model for age-related changes in the mean and variance of the number of helminth parasites per host. We assess the degree of aggregation as the negative binomial parameter, k, and use the model to examine the influence of various factors on changes in aggregation with host age: discrete versus continuous infection; the degree of predisposition to infection; infection rate; parasite survival rate; and the variance in exposure to infective stages. The model can produce both increases and decreases in k with host age. However, with parameter values typical of many human helminth infections, a monotonic increase in k (decrease in aggregation) with age is predicted. With an age-dependent infection rate, convex relationships between k and age are possible. These predictions are consistent with data from field studies, but differ from those of previous models which have suggested that k is independent of host age in the absence of density dependence in parasite population dynamics. Differences between the models, and some difficulties in the interpretation of field data, are discussed.
The Relationship between Intangible Assets and the Market Value; Metals Industry of Tehran Stock Exchange Case Study

In today's highly competitive economic, intangible assets are creating value for productive companies, but challenges faces accounting standards about measuring and reporting these assets. Present study aims to analyze the intangible assets and market value relationship in Metals industry of Tehran Stock Exchange. Therefore, financial information of mentioned test case companies collected from year 2001 to 2011. Pooled/Panel regression method and F-Limer, Hausman and Levin Lin Chu tests used to analyze data. Test results showed that reported intangible assets have significant positive relation with market value in Tehran Stock Exchange as in Metals industry of Tehran Stock Exchange. It seems an increase in intangible assets leads to an increase in market value of company in this industry. Also, result shows that there is positive and meaningful relation between abnormal earnings and market value in Metals industry of Tehran Stock Exchange.
The evolution of the near-infrared galaxy luminosity function and colour bimodality up to z = 2 from the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey Early Data Release

We present new results on the cosmological evolution of the near-infrared (near-IR) galaxy luminosity function (LF), derived from the analysis of a new sample of ∼22 000 KAB≤ 22.5 galaxies selected over an area of 0.6 deg2 from the Early Data Release of the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey (UDS). Our study has exploited the multiwavelength coverage of the UDS field provided by the new UKIDSS WFCAM K- and J-band imaging, the Subaru/XMM–Newton Deep Survey and the Spitzer Wide-Area Infrared Extragalactic survey. The unique combination of large area and depth provided by this new survey minimizes the complicating effect of cosmic variance and has allowed us, for the first time, to trace the evolution of the brightest sources out to z≃ 2 with good statistical accuracy. In agreement with previous studies, we find that the characteristic luminosity of the near-IR LF brightens by ≃1 mag between z= 0 and z≃ 2, while the total density decreases by a factor of ≃2. Using the rest-frame (U−B) colour to split the sample into red and blue galaxies, we confirm the classic luminosity-dependent colour bimodality at z≲ 1. However, the strength of the colour bimodality is found to be a decreasing function of redshift, and seems to disappear by z≳ 1.5. Due to the large size of our sample, we are able to investigate the differing cosmological evolution of the red and blue galaxy populations. It is found that the space density of the brightest red galaxies (MK≤− 23) stays approximately constant with redshift, and that these sources dominate the bright end of the LF at redshifts z≲ 1. In contrast, the brightening of the characteristic luminosity and mild decrease in space density displayed by the blue galaxy population leads them to dominate the bright end of the LF at redshifts
Evolution of fluid expulsion and concentrated hydrate zones across the southern Hikurangi subduction margin, New Zealand: An analysis from depth migrated seismic data

Identification of methane sources controlling hydrate distribution and concentrations in continental margins remains a major challenge in gas hydrate research. Lack of deep fluid samples and high quality regional scale seismic reflection data may lead to underestimation of the significance of fluid escape from subducting and compacting sediments in the global inventory of methane reaching the hydrate zone, the water column and the atmosphere. The distribution of concentrated hydrate zones in relation to focused fluid flow across the southern Hikurangi subduction margin was investigated using high quality, long offset (10 km streamer), pre‐stack depth migrated multichannel seismic data. Analysis of low P wave velocity zones, bright‐reverse polarity reflections and dim‐amplitude anomalies reveals pathways for gas escape and zones of gas accumulation. The study shows the structural and stratigraphic settings of three main areas of concentrated hydrates: (1) the Opouawe Bank, dominated by focused periodic fluid input along thrust faults sustaining dynamic hydrate concentrations and gas chimneys development; (2) the frontal anticline, with a basal set of proto‐thrusts controlling permeability for fluids from deeply buried and subducted sediments sustaining hydrate concentrations at the crest of the anticline; and (3) the Hikurangi Channel, with buried sand dominated channels hosting significant amounts of gas beneath the base of the hydrate zone. In sand dominated channels gas injection into the hydrate zone favors highly concentrated hydrate accumulations. The evolution of fluid expulsion controlling hydrate formation offshore southern Hikurangi is described in stages during which different methane sources (in situ, buried and thermogenic) have been dominant.
Evaluation of the vibrations transmitted to the hand-arm system in the use of portable harvesters for olives.

The use of portable harvesters in olives harvesting is becoming increasingly, especially in Sicily, south Italy, both to reduce the costs of production and to assure the olive oil quality. Nevertheless, it’s well known that the use of such tools may involve risk of exposure to hand-transmitted vibration that is a potential cause of muscular/skeletal pains in hand–arm system, and specific pathologies such as Hand–Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), Vibration-Induced White Finger (VWF) and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). The aim of this study was to assess the level of exposure to hand-arm vibration of the operators during the use of portable shakers for olives harvesting. Two different commonly used types of tools were evaluated performing both laboratory and field tests. One was a hook type harvester provided with an internal combustion engine; the other an electric portable shaker consisting of a bar ending with a comb, equipped with an electric motor. Accelerations were measured by using the portable vibrometer HD2070 (Delta OHM, Italy). The daily action value established by the European Directive 2002/44/EC was always considerably exceeded by the two harvesters for both hands both in the laboratory and in the field tests; however, the electric comb showed A(8) values about halved respect to the hook type.
Variability in efficiency of particulate organic carbon export: A model study

The flux of organic carbon from the surface ocean to mesopelagic depths is a key component of the global carbon cycle and is ultimately derived from primary production (PP) by phytoplankton. Only a small fraction of organic carbon produced by PP is exported from the upper ocean, referred to as the export efficiency (herein e‐ratio). Limited observations of the e‐ratio are available, and there is thus considerable interest in using remotely sensed parameters such as sea surface temperature to extrapolate local estimates to global annual export flux. Currently, there are large discrepancies between export estimates derived in this way; one possible explanation is spatial or temporal sampling bias in the observations. Here we examine global patterns in the spatial and seasonal variability in e‐ratio and the subsequent effect on export estimates using a high‐resolution global biogeochemical model. The model used here represents export as separate slow‐ and fast‐sinking detrital material whose remineralization is respectively temperature dependent and a function of ballasting minerals. We find that both temperature and the fraction of export carried by slow‐sinking particles are factors in determining e‐ratio, suggesting that current empirical algorithms for e‐ratio that only consider temperature are overly simple. We quantify the temporal lag between PP and export, which is greatest in regions of strong variability in PP where seasonal decoupling can result in large e‐ratio variability. Extrapolating global export estimates from instantaneous measurements of e‐ratio is strongly affected by seasonal variability and can result in errors in estimated export of up to ±60%.