Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rainfall Estimation from C-Band Polarimetric Radar in Okinawa, Japan: Comparisons with 2D-Video Disdrometer and 400 MHz Wind Profiler

This paper presents an inter-comparison of rainfall parameters (median volume diameter and rain rate) using C-band polarimetric radar, a 2D-video disdrometer and a 400 MHz profiler for the Baiu front event of 8-9 June 2005 in Okinawa, Japan. These instruments are part of the Okinawa Sub-Tropical Environment Remote Sensing Center, operated by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). The 2D-video disdrometer is used to derive the mean axis ratio of raindrops versus drop diameter, as well as the drop size distribution for the Baiu event. The data are then used to simulate various relations between polarimetric scattering parameters such as: specific attenuation (Ah), and specific differential attenuation (Adp), versus specific differential phase (Kdp) which are required to correct the measured reflectivity at horizontal polarization (Zh), and the differential reflectivity (Zdr) for rain attenuation. The 2D-video disdrometer data are also used to arrive at retrieval formulas for median volume diameter (D0) from radar Zdr and rain rate from radar Kdp.The intense Baiu event of 8-9 June 2005 was composed of heavy convective rain cells embedded in large areas of stratiform rain. The inter-comparison of D0 and rain rate (R) between instruments was conducted for 12 hours (03:00-07:00, 11:00-19:00 UTC on 8th June 2004). The C-band radar retrievals were found to be in excellent agreement with the 2D-video disdrometer for the entire period. The 400 MHz profiler retrievals of D0 and R were in good agreement with 2D-video disdrometer during the more steady rain periods, with more scatter observed during the heavier convective rain periods. These inter-comparisons demonstrate the accuracy of C-band polarimetric radar to retrieve important rainfall parameters, as well as the accurate correction for rain attenuation using differential propagation phase.
CARDIOPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF GEMMOTHERAPEUTICALLY TREATED WITHANIA SOMNIFERA AGAINST CHEMICALLY INDUCE

The present study was designed to evaluate the preventive and curative cardioprotective potential of native and gemmotherapeutically treated on the basis of biochemical, histopathological and antioxidant parameters in the salbutamol (albuterol) induced myocardial necrosis in rabbits. Gemmotherapy is a newly emerging way of treatment and no work so far has been done on evaluation of curative cardioprotective potential of Withania somnifera. Rabbits were divided into eight main groups: Normal, Ischemia, WS Gemmo-baseline, WS Native-baseline, WS Gemmopreventive, WS Native-preventive, WS Gemmo-curative and WS Native-curative groups. Gemmo and native-baseline groups were treated with gemmo and native W. somnifera (50 mg/kg) for 20 days. Native and Gemmo-preventive groups were pre-treated with native and gemmotherapeutically treated W. somnifera at a dose 50 mg/kg for 3 weeks. On 20 th and 21 st day animals of all groups except normal and baseline groups were given Salbutamol (50mg/ kg), orally at an interval of 24 h. The Native-curative and Gemmo-curative groups were then treated with native and gemmotherapeutically treated W. somnifera at a dose 50 mg/ kg for 5 days, subsequent to the treatment with Salbutamol. Rabbits were subsequently sacrificed for gross pathological studies and hearts were removed for antioxidant assay. Administeration of Salbutamol significantly increased (p<0.05) the serum level of CK-MB, LDH, SGOT and SGPT in ischemia group as compared to Normal. However, pre- and post-treatment with Native and Gemmo extracts of W. somnifera significantly restored and reduced (p<0.05) the elevated serum levels of these cardiac markers. Also Native and Gemmo extracts of W. somnifera significantly increased (p<0.05) antioxidant enzymes; superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase. No significant change was observed in the activity of cardiac enzymes in baseline groups. Protective actions of W. somnifera on heart have also been confirmed by gross pathology.
Continental sources, transoceanic transport, and interhemispheric exchange of carbon

The Pacific Exploratory Mission to the Tropics phase B (PEM-Tropics B) aircraft campaign in March-April 1999 surveyed the chemical composition of the Pacific atmosphere from 35oN to 35oS and up to 12 km altitude. We use these observations in combination with a global three-dimensional model driven by assimilated meteorological observations to investigate the transport of northern hemispheric pollutants over the Pacific. We focus on carbon monoxide (CO) and tag it in the model by its region of origin. The model reproduces the observed largescale latitudinal, longitudinal, and vertical gradients of CO concentrations over the Pacific. Biomass burning in Southeast Asia, which was particularly intense in spring 1999, contributed most of the CO enhancements observed in the free troposphere over the northern tropical Pacific but played only a minor role in the boundary layer. Fossil fuel combustion in Europe and Asia contributed most of the observed CO enhancements in the boundary layer over the North Pacific; the European influence dominated over Asian influence north of 35oN. European influence over the Pacific is particularly strong in spring because of wintertime accumulation of CO at high latitudes. North American pollution made little contribution to CO anywhere over the Pacific. Circulation of Eurasian industrial pollution around the Pacific High and into the trade winds produced a tropical "river of pollution" flowing in the lower troposphere from the northeastern to the western equatorial Pacific and in the vicinity of the South Pacific Convergence Zone. This pathway, however, made little contribution to interhemispheric exchange. Elevated concentrations observed for CO and other northern hemispheric tracers in the upper troposphere over the southeastern Pacific provide evidence for efficient interhemispheric exchange through a narrow region of upper tropospheric westerlies in the eastern equatorial Pacific (the "westerly duct"). We find that this westerly duct was the most important pathway for global interhemispheric exchange during PEM-Tropics B. It was particularly well developed because of the La Nina conditions.
Polar Lipids in Methanogen Taxonomy

Summary: Polar lipid patterns of representative methanogens were recorded by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography. Phenotypically similar Methanobacterium spp. , Methanobrevibacter spp. and Methanomicrobium spp. could readily be distinguished from each other. Similarly, Methanogenium spp. and phenotypically similar Methanococcus spp. had different polar lipid patterns. Single examples from the monospecific genera Methanospirillum, Methanoplanus and Methanothermus had distinctive polar lipid patterns, but Methanolobus tindarius had a similar pattern to Methanosarcina spp. The isopranoid ether lipid cores from the polar lipids were identical for those species within any one genus. Novel core lipids were identified in examples from the genera Methanomicrobium, Methanosarcina and Methanolobus.
Investigations of planetary boundary layer processes and particle formation in the atmosphere of planet Mars

The planet Mars is the Earth’s neighbour in the Solar System. Planetary research stems from a fundamental need to explore our surroundings, typical for mankind. Manned missions to Mars are already being planned, and understanding the environment to which the astronauts would be exposed is of utmost importance for a successful mission. Information of the Martian environment given by models is already now used in designing the landers and orbiters sent to the red planet. In particular, studies of the Martian atmosphere are crucial for instrument design, entry, descent and landing system design, landing site selection, and aerobraking calculations. Research of planetary atmospheres can also contribute to atmospheric studies of the Earth via model testing and development of parameterizations: even after decades of modeling the Earth’s atmosphere, we are still far from perfect weather predictions. On a global level, Mars has also been experiencing climate change. The aerosol effect is one of the largest unknowns in the present terrestrial climate change studies, and the role of aerosol particles in any climate is fundamental: studies of climate variations on another planet can help us better understand our own global change. In this thesis I have used an atmospheric column model for Mars to study the behaviour of the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the planetary boundary layer (PBL), and I have developed nucleation (particle formation) models for Martian conditions. The models were also coupled to study, for example, fog formation in the PBL. The PBL is perhaps the most significant part of the atmosphere for landers and humans, since we live in it and experience its state, for example, as gusty winds, nightfrost, and fogs. However, PBL modelling in weather prediction models is still a difficult task. Mars hosts a variety of cloud types, mainly composed of water ice particles, but also CO2 ice clouds form in the very cold polar night and at high altitudes elsewhere. Nucleation is the first step in particle formation, and always includes a phase transition. Cloud crystals on Mars form from vapour to ice on ubiquitous, suspended dust particles. Clouds on Mars have a small radiative effect in the present climate, but it may have been more important in the past. This thesis represents an attempt to model the Martian atmosphere at the smallest scales with high resolution. The models used and developed during the course of the research are useful tools for developing and testing parameterizations for larger-scale models all the way up to global climate models, since the small-scale models can describe processes that in the large-scale models are reduced to subgrid (not explicitly resolved) scale.
Stability of African pastoral ecosystems: alternate paradigms and implications for development

JIM ELLIS took undergraduate work in animal husbandry at the University of Missouri and also obtained his Master of Science degree there studying wildlife biology. In 1970, he received his Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of California at Davis, where he was a National Institute of Health trainee in systems ecology. Shortly thereafter, he held a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Bristol working on systems analysis of mammalian social systems. He joined the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory of Colorado State University as a Research Ecologist in 1971. He is currently the Associate Director of the Laboratory. Jim has enjoyed immense success in developing research programs; during the last decade he directed or played a major role in 12 successful proposals, collectively exceeding three milliondollaninsuppott. He has publishedextensively, withmost of his work focussing on processes regulatinggrazing systems. Jim has served as a consultant to the U.S. Senate, as well as the govcmmcnt of Saudi Arabia and the Norwegian Agency for International Development. His must recent project uses a systems approach to understand the controls on stability and persistence of a pastoral ecosystem in East Africa.
Aggressive and Antisocial Girls: Research Update and Challenges

There is a growing recognition that a significant number of young women engage in highly aggressive and antisocial behaviors. This acknowledgement has created demands on both policy and program development. The response to these demands, however, has been delayed due to the fact that we still know relatively little about aggressive and antisocial behavior in girls. In this article, we briefly review trends in the rates of aggressive and antisocial acts among female youth, address the issue of gender specific forms of aggression, and discuss research on the role of risk and protective factors. We emphasize the importance of understanding female aggression and antisocial behavior through a dynamic developmental framework that recognizes the cumulative and transactional impact of risk and protective factors over time. Our review focuses on adolescent girls in keeping with research that suggests that the risk for aggressive and antisocial behavior in girls is most acute during this developmental period.
A Survey of Student Attitudes toward Distance Learning in Marketing Courses

At present the Central Washington University College of Business is delivering upper level accounting and business administration courses at the main campus in Ellensburg and five remote sites in the state of Washington. Most of these courses are delivered live using instruction from a professor present in the classroom. Approximating ten years ago (1994–1995) the COB began an experiment with distance learning whereby a few selected accounting and business administration courses were delivered electronically to remote sites via two way interactive television (ITV) in real time with the instructor physically present in a traditional classroom setting on the main campus. This approach to distance learning enabled the College of Business to cover multiple sections of a course with fewer teaching resources. The purpose of this study was to look at distance learning from the marketing student’s perspective and to determine whether students at live and remote sites are receiving similar perceived value with this mode of instruction. Research questions include differences in student expectations, as well as differences in comprehension, perfor­ mance, and student satisfaction between live instructional and remote sites. Specific questions dealt with such issues as quality of instruction (live vs. remote) from the marketing student’s perspective. A research instrument (questionnaire) was developed, pre-tested and administered to students in marketing courses, which were delivered live at the main campus and electronically via ITV in real time to remote sites. The results of the survey were then analyzed for these two different student groups (live vs. remote) providing insight from the student’s perspective of their distance learning experiences with implications for the electronic delivery of marketing courses through distance learning in the future.
The Post-Cost Profitability of Momentum Trading Strategies: Further Evidence from the UK

This paper examines the post-cost profitability of momentum trading strategies in the UK over the period 1988-2003 and provides direct evidence on stock concentration, turnover and trading cost associated with the strategy. We find that after factoring out transaction costs the profitability of the momentum strategy disappears for shorter horizons but remains for longer horizons. Indeed, for ranking and holding periods up to 6-months, profitable momentum returns would not be available to most average investors as the cost of implementation outweighs the possible returns. However, we find post-cost profitability for ranking and/or holding periods beyond 6 months as portfolio turnover and its associated cost reduces. We find similar results for a sub-sample of relatively large and liquid stocks.
Relationship of seed traits on initial progeny growth performance and divergence studies in Madhuca latifolia Macb. for further use in tree improvement

Evaluation of twenty-three genotypes of M. latifolia was carried out based on relationship of seed traits with initial progeny growth performance and divergence studies as a scope for further breeding programme. Variability studies revealed that, more than twelve accessions recorded above average for 100-seed weight (247.5 ± 49.2), oil content (43.8 ± 3.7) and volume index (346.0 ± 97.7). The maximum values observed in studied CPTs were as follows: seed length (39.1 mm) in CPT-15 genotype, seed breadth (19.2 mm) in CPT–8 and CPT–9, aspect ratio (2.2) in CPT-6 and CPT-15, 2D surface area (501.4 and 491.6 mm 2 ) in CPT-9 and CPT-3 respectively. CPT–16 recorded maximum for 100 seed weight (282.4 g) and oil content (51.2%). However, maximum volume index was recorded by CPT–3 (578.3 cm 3 ) followed by CPT–16 (496.0 cm 3 ). The phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variations are close to each other for all traits, except volume index that exhibited striking difference between PCV (40.0%) and GCV (19.9%) indicating that for most traits genetic control was quite high. Trait oil content and 100 seed weight expressed high heritability (93.5%, 93.0%) accompanied with moderate genetic advance (17.2%, 15.6%), indicating that, heritability is due to additive gene effects and selection may be effective. At genotypic level 100 seed weight registered positive significant correlation with height (0.73) and seed breadth, oil content with volume index (0.55, 0.71). Hence seeds with large breadth, high seed weight and oil content may be selected for producing better progenies. Since traits viz. 100 seed weight and oil content are under strong genetic control, improvement in these characters can bring improvement in volume index. On the basis of the divergence, the 23 genotypes studied were grouped into 5 clusters, indicating wide diversity. The clustering pattern shows that geographical diversity is not necessarily related to genetic diversity. The genotypes in cluster IV and V were most heterogeneous and can be best used for within group hybridization. Cluster means indicated crosses involving under cluster II and V and cluster II and I may result in substantial segregates and further selection for overall improvement of species.
ACCORD : an analytical cache contention model using reuse distances for modern multiprocessors

Simultaneous execution of multiple threads on multicores is necessary for good resource utilization. However, such utilization calls for accurate models to predict the impact on performance due to contention of shared resources, primarily the last level cache and memory. The major challenges in developing such a model for commercial multicore machines are the unavailability of cache implementation details and the scalability of the performance prediction model for multiple threads. In this paper we propose a cache contention model addressing both these challenges. We leverage observed cache behaviour and reuse distance profile of applications for this purpose. We implement our model on a Xeon Sandy Bridge multicore and observe an RMS error of less than 0.06, for single threaded and multi-threaded workloads. Further we compare the effectiveness of using ACCORD model against the popular LRU Model and find that ACCORD is upto 2.7 times more accurate.
Effects of perceived danger on flower choice by bees

Studies on animal‐flower interactions have mostly neglected the third trophic level of pollinators’ predators, even though antipredatory behaviour of pollinators may affect patterns of pollinator visitation, pollen transfer and floral traits. In three experiments, it was found that honeybees showed sensitivity to perceived danger at flowers by preferring apparently safe flowers over equally rewarding alternatives harbouring either a dead bee or a spider, and avoiding revisitation of a site where the bees had escaped a simulated predation attempt. These results suggest that bees, like other animals, take antipredatory measures, which may have far reaching effects on animal‐flower interactions.
Spectroscopic bulge-disc decomposition: a new method to study the evolution of lenticular galaxies

A new method for spectroscopic bulge–disc decomposition is presented, in which the spatial light profile in a two-dimensional spectrum is decomposed wavelength by wavelength into bulge and disc components, allowing separate one-dimensional spectra for each component to be constructed. This method has been applied to observations of a sample of nine lenticular galaxies (S0s) in the Fornax Cluster in order to obtain clean high-quality spectra of their individual bulge and disc components. So far this decomposition has only been fully successful when applied to galaxies with clean light profiles, without contamination from dust lanes, etc. This has consequently limited the number of galaxies that could be separated into bulge and disc components. The Lick index stellar population analysis of the component spectra reveals that in those galaxies where the bulge and disc could be distinguished, the bulges have systematically higher metallicities and younger stellar populations than the discs. This correlation is consistent with a picture in which S0 formation comprises the shutting down of star formation in the disc accompanied by a final burst of star formation in the bulge. Similarly, a trend was found to exist whereby galaxies with younger stellar populations have higher metallicities. The variation in spatial-fit parameters with wavelength also allows us to measure approximate colour gradients in the individual components. Such gradients were detected separately in both bulges and discs, in the sense that redder light is systematically more centrally concentrated in all components. However, a search for radial variations in the absorption line strengths determined for the individual components revealed that, although they can be sensitively detected where present, they are absent from the vast majority of S0 discs and bulges. The absence of gradients in line indices for most galaxies implies that the colour gradient cannot be attributed to age or metallicity variations and is therefore most likely associated with varying degrees of obscuration by dust.
Preparation and in vitro evaluation of suppositories of halofantrine hydrochloride

Halofantrine (HF) hydrochloride is commercially available only as oral dosage forms. Limitations of oral dosing of the drug coupled with non-availability of the safe parenteral preparations prompted the need to develop and evaluate suppository HF formulations, which may serve as a practical alternative. The effects of type of suppository base and incorporation of non ionic surfactants on in vitro release characteristics of HF from suppositories were investigated. The release rates were determined using a modification of the continuous flow bead-bed dissolution apparatus for suppositories. The results showed that the drug release from water-soluble base (polyethylene glycol) was significantly greater than that from lipophilic bases (Shea butter and Witepsol H15) (P surfactants (Tweens 20 and 80, Spans 20 and 60) at different concentrations did not improve the in vitro availability of the drug from composite polyethylene glycol base (1500:4000, 80:20, w/w) suppositories. The extent of drug release was very low (maximum of 2.3%) It is suggested that further studies are required for development of modalities to enhance the release of halofantrine from polyethylene glycol suppositories so as to optimize this dosage formulation of the drug.