Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of Municipal Solid Waste Dumpsite on Soil Influence of Municipal Solid Waste Dumpsite on Soil Physicochemical Properties and Vertical Distribution of Heavy Physicochemical Properties and Vertical Distribution of Heavy Metals Metals

The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) through open dumping or open burning has been a very common practice in Nigeria. The work investigated the impact of these practices on soil physicochemical properties and the vertical distribution of heavy metals at two dumpsites at Obollo-Afor and Nsukka in Southeastern Nigeria. Soil samples were collected at 10 m apart at depths of 0-20, 20-40, 40-60 cm from the dumpsite and at 100 m away from the dumpsite for the determination of soil physicochemical properties. A profile pit was dug at the centre of each dumpsite while soil sample collection was done from 0-100 cm for heavy metal determination. Soil chemical properties (TN, Av. P, OM, TEB, CEC, H + , Al 3+ , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + , K + ) and some soil physical properties e.g. aggregate stability (AS) and available water capacity (AWC) differed significantly (P < 0.05) across locations and depths. Municipal solid wastes significantly (P < 0.05) influence all soil chemical and some physical properties such as mean weight diameter (MWD), AS, clay, and sand contents. The impact of MSW was more pronounced at the surface soil (0-20 cm) and decreased with increasing depth. In addition, significant (P < 0.05) interaction effects of MSW on soil chemical and physical properties were recorded across locations and depth zones. In both locations, heavy metal concentrations were higher in MSW dumpsites relative to the control. However, the heavy metal concentrations were too low to cause any ecological or health risk when compared to the heavy metal permissible limit in agricultural soils as recommended by WHO.
Sequence-to-Sequence Predictive models: from Prosody to Communicative Gestures

Communicative gestures and speech prosody are tightly linked. Our aim is to predict when gestures are performed based on prosody. We develop a model based on a seq2seq recurrent neural network with attention mechanism. The model is trained on a corpus of natural dyadic interaction where the speech prosody and the gestures have been annotated. Because the output of the model is a sequence, we use a sequence comparison technique to evaluate the model performance. We find that the model can predict certain gesture classes. In our experiment, we also replace some input features with random values to find which prosody features are pertinent. We find that the F0 is pertinent. Lastly, we also train the model on one speaker and test it with the other speaker to find whether the model is generalisable. We find that the models which we train on one speaker also works for another speaker of the same conversation.
Managing Land Use Transformation and Land Surface Temperature Change in Anyigba Town, Kogi State, Nigeria

The uncontrolled urban growth in cities comes with unattending alteration in the urban environmental system. This alteration as land use types change is most responsible for some of the problems witnessed in urban town such as the variation in land surface temperatures over time. This study used Remote sensing and GIS techniques to identify, mark and measure the extent of the various land uses from the Landsat TM image of 1995 and Landsat ETM+ image of 2006. The study revealed that the spatial and temporal changes in the land uses have greatly influenced the increase in the land surface temperature of each of the identified land uses. As vacant land and built-up area increased by 3.28 ha/yr and 78.34 ha/yr so did their land surface temperature increased by 0.083 o C/yr. While vegetation and water and wetland vegetation decreased, their respective land surface temperature increased by 0.075 o C/yr and 0.083 o C/yr. This increase in land surface temperature of the study area within the period of study suggest that the rise in temperature of the various land uses may encourage environmental problems associated with local climate change as heat waves and mosquito infestations which can cause human discomfort as its been witnessed today in Anyigba. Proper checks on the development and conversion of land uses, urban forestry and adequate planning if employed may help in managing this occurence from agravating other environmental problems associated with land uses change and climate change.
Središnja medicinska knjižnica

Purpose: The aim of the study was to quantify the total coronary atherosclerotic burden in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) defined by coronary computed tomography adapted Leaman score (CT-LeSc) and to estimate its cut-off level for high coronary atherosclerotic burden. Methods: We enrolled 434 consecutive patients referred to coronary computed tomography angiography, of which 261 patients fulfilled the study inclusion criteria. Demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as CAD risk factors were obtained. CAD pre-test probabilities were estimated by the Diamond-Forrester model and Morise score. The coronary atherosclerotic burden was estimated using CT-LeSc. As a cut-off for a high coronary atherosclerotic burden, we used 3rd tercile (Tc3) (CT-LeSc≥5.52). We evaluated the association of clinical characteristics and risk factors with Tc3 in univariate and multivariate analysis. Results : There were 60.9% males and 39.1% females, 81% of patients had above-normal weight, 68.2% hypertension, 54.0% dyslipidemia, 15.3% diabetes mellitus, 12.3% positive smoking history and 11.9% had a family history of CAD. According to the Diamond-Forrester model and Morise score the majority of patients had intermediate risk, 59.7% and 52.8%, followed by the high-risk group, 36.0% and 34.4%, respectively. Age, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and pre-test risk scores in the univariate analysis significantly predicted Tc3. In the multivariate analysis, male sex (p=0.004), dyslipidaemia (p=0.002) and coronary calcium score (<0.001) were identified as predictors of Tc3. Conclusion: CT-LeSc quantified the total coronary atherosclerotic burden and showed an association of risk factors and pre-test probabilities with Tc3.
A review of the photochemistry of selected nightglow emissions from the mesopause

The substantial research activity of recent years on the photochemistry of the hydrogen-oxygen family has improved our understanding of the production of nightglow emissions in the mesopause region of the atmosphere between 80 and 100 km; this work is reviewed with specific attention paid to the emissions of OH, the 557.7-nm emission of O, and the atmospheric bands of O2(b 1Sg). These emissions are closely related to the O atom concentration profile and would provide a wealth of useful photochemical data in studies of noctilucent cloud displays. Ground-based and rocket measurements of the OH nightglow show that the kinetics are well represented by the combination of the production reaction, H + O3 → OH(v′) + O2, with significant collisional deactivation by N2 and O2 for the higher vibrational levels of OH. In contrast, the perhydroxyl radical, HO2, plays a negligible role in the vibrational excitation of OH and the production of OH optical emission in the mesopause region. Atomic oxygen quenching is important for the lower vibrational states of OH(v′). Improved experimental determination of the electric dipole moment function of OH has resulted in a new set of transition probabilities that agrees well with the theoretical set published by Mies for low v rovibrational transitions of OH. The Mies values for the higher overtone transitions do not agree well with the empirical results derived from airglow intensities. Recent papers on the results of the sounding rocket campaign called Energy Transfer in the Oxygen Nightglow (ETON) have demonstrated the substantial progress made once the consequences of mesospheric dynamics are decoupled from the photochemistry of the mesopause region by in situ measurements of the atomic oxygen concentration. The work of recent years utilizing this approach has produced strong evidence for the deduction that the major source of several important oxygen metastable energy states is an intermediate metastable state formed in the first step of a two step reaction chain (known as the Barth process). Energy transfer and quenching reactions involving these metastable states complicate the analysis of the measurements. Continued progress requires laboratory experiments designed to explore the relationship of energy transfer processes to the vibrational development of the precursor species. The production of global maps of atomic oxygen concentration profiles becomes feasible once the details of the mesopause photochemical processes are fully understood.
Assessing and improving the representativeness of monitoring networks: The European flux tower network example

It is estimated that more than 500 eddy covariance sites are operated globally, providing unique information about carbon and energy exchanges between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. These sites are often organized in regional networks like CarboEurope-IP, which has evolved over the last 15 years without following a predefined network design. Data collected by these networks are used for a wide range of applications. In this context, the representativeness of the current network is an important aspect to consider in order to correctly interpret the results and to quantify uncertainty. This paper proposes a cluster-based tool for quantitative network design, which was developed in order to suggest the best network for a defined number of sites or to assess the representativeness of an existing network to address the scientific question of interest. The paper illustrates how the tool can be used to assess the performance of the current CarboEurope-IP network and to improve its design. The tool was tested and validated with modeled European GPP data as the target variable and by using an empirical upscaling method (Artificial Neural Network (ANN)) to assess the improvements in the ANN prediction with different design scenarios and for different scientific questions, ranging from a simple average GPP of Europe to spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal variability. The results show how quantitative network design could improve the predictive capacity of the ANN. However, the analysis also reveals a fundamental shortcoming of optimized networks, namely their poor capacity to represent the spatial variability of the fluxes.
Solar cycle dependence of substorm occurrence and duration: Implications for onset

Magnetospheric substorms represent a major energy release process in Earth's magnetosphere. Their duration and intensity are coupled to solar wind input, but the precise way the solar wind energy is stored and then released is a matter of considerable debate. Part of the observational difficulty has been the gaps in the auroral electrojet index traditionally used to study substorm properties. In this study, we created a midlatitude positive bay (MPB) index to measure the strength of the substorm current wedge. Because this index is based on midlatitude magnetometer data that are available continuously over several decades, we can assemble a database of substorm onsets lasting 31 years (1982–2012). We confirmed that the MPB onsets have a good agreement (±2 min) with auroral onsets as determined by optical means on board the IMAGE mission and that the MPB signature of substorms is robust and independent of the stations' position relative to ionospheric currents. Using the MPB onset, expansion, and recovery as a proxy of the respective substorm quantities, we found that the solar cycle variation of substorm occurrence depends on solar wind conditions and has a most probable value of 80 min. In contrast, the durations of substorm expansion and recovery phases do not change with the solar cycle. This suggests that the frequency of energy unloading in the magnetosphere is controlled by solar wind conditions through dayside reconnection, but the unloading process related to flux pileup in the near‐Earth region is controlled by the magnetosphere and independent of external driving.
Fragments of quartz monzodiorite and felsite in Apollo 14 soil particles

Samples of 'evolved' lithologies, felsite, quartz monzodiorite (QMD), and whitlockite-rich quartz monzodiorite, were identified compositionally and petrographically among 2-4-mm soil particles from Apollo 14. Fragments of QMD were found to be extremely rare in the Apollo 14 samples. Felsite is similar to previously reported samples. QMD 14161,7069 is similar to 15405 QMD and has ITE concentrations in KREEP-like concentration ratios of about twice the ITE concentrations of average high-K KREEP. QMD cumulate has the highest measured REE concentrations of any lunar sample to date with the exception of individual whitlockite grains. Felsite and whitlockite-rich lithologies appear to be petrogenetically related and have complementary compositions representing separated fractions of the QMD or KREEP-like parental melt. Felsite is a silica-rich fraction of the residual liquid or it is a derivative of the silica-rich fraction. Felsite or lunar granite of this type results from residual liquid separation following crystal-liquid separation of a QMD-like parent melt with concentration ratios of ITEs similar to those of KREEP.
Mapping land-use and land-cover change along Bolivia's Corredor Bioceánico with CBERS and the Landsat series: 1975–2008

This study uses a combination of Landsat series data (Multispectral Scanner or MSS, Thematic Mapper or TM and Enhanced Thematic Mapper or ETM+) to map land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) from 1975 to 2001. It extends the land change record to 2008 using Chinese–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS)-2 and CBERS-2B data on a multi-scene level. It also establishes a methodology to correct for systematic distortion inherent in CBERS imagery without the loss of information present in Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery post-2003. Image analysis focuses on a 63 000 km2 strip of land along a main highway and railroad in southeastern Bolivia named the Corredor Bioceánico. This strip of land is one of the most important agriculturally driven deforestation hotspots in Latin America. It is also located in one of the most poorly understood forest biomes in the world in terms of LULCC – Southern Hemisphere seasonally dry tropical forests – which have very high conservation values globally. Over the 33-year study period, approximately 12 000 km2 of forest was lost among the three sub-regions – which is an area nearly the size of Connecticut. Evidence suggests that agriculture-driven deforestation is pushing into sensitive areas threatening globally important ecosystems such as those in the Chaco, Chiquitano and Pantanal as well as noteworthy protected areas. The results also show that imagery of CBERS-2 and CBERS-2B can help to fill the imagery gap created by Landsat ETM's Scan Line Corrector (SLC) failure in 2003. They can help to extend the land change record forward in time.
Assessment of the relative importance of major sediment transport mechanisms in the central Great Barrier Reef lagoon

The delivery, flux and fate of terrigenous sediment entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon has been a focus of recent studies and represents an ongoing environmental concern. Wave‐induced bed stress is the most significant mechanism of sediment resuspension in the Great Barrier Reef, and field data and mathematical modelling indicates that the combined effects of short‐period wind waves, longer period swell waves, and tidal and wind‐driven currents can often exceed the critical bed stress for resuspension. Suspended‐sediment concentrations at 20 m water depth indicate resuspension seldom occurs on the middle shelf under normal wave conditions. Non‐cyclonic turbidity events are generally confined to the inner shelf. The wave climate in the southern sector of the central Great Barrier Reef lagoon is the most erosive, and resuspension of outer shelf sediments was hindcast for recorded cyclones. Wind‐driven, longshore currents are fundamental to the northward movement of sediment, and the annual northward mas.
Procedures, advantages and constraints of staggered targeted control programmes on cotton in West Africa

In the last decade, two main types of staggered targeted control (STC) have been designed by CIRAD in francophone Africa in collaboration with national research institutions. In the first in Benin, Cameroon and Guinea, spray calendars are used with five or six applications at fortnightly intervals. Formulations and doses depend on the pests present during scouting on the day before spraying. -In the second in Burkina Faso pre-1996, Mali and Togo, the basic calendar programme is applied with a pyrethroid-organophosphate mixture at half the usual dosage and scouting six days after spraying. Further spraying is performed on the next day if a threshold is passed. Special procedures depend on the country (phytosanitary ecoregions, risk of a particular pest related to the growing season, sampling procedure, plant organs or pests observed). Decision-making procedures, spraying thresholds and products and doses may vary according to these features, and STC programmes match country pest conditions. Ecological and economic benefits include a 40-50% reduction in chemical control, lowering costs by CFAF 10, 000 to 15, 000 per ha. Better knowledge of pest biology and damage and better crop monitoring give 100-200 kg/ha seed-cotton where STC is applied. Many identified constraints remain, including problems of the status and payment of specialized scouts among growers. The real cost of products may form a serious constraintfor single active substance formulations. (Resume d'auteur)
Implications of changes in seasonal and annual extreme rainfall

Future projections from climate models and recent observations show a worldwide increase in both the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall, coinciding with widespread flooding and landslides in Europe. It is estimated, using regional frequency analysis, that the magnitude of extreme rainfall has increased two‐fold over parts of the UK since the 1960s. Intensities previously experienced, on average, every 25 years now occur at 6 year intervals; a consequence of both increased event frequency and changes in seasonality. These climatic changes may be explained by persistent atmospheric circulation anomalies and have huge economic and social implications in terms of increased flooding.
antidopaminergic medication in healthy subjects provokes subjective and objective mental impairments tightly correlated with perturbation of biogenic monoamine metabolism and prolactin secretion

Objectives: Off-label prescription of antipsychotics to patients without psychotic symptoms has become a routine matter for many psychiatrists and also some general practitioners. Nonethe-less, little is known about the possibly detrimental effects of antidopaminergic medications on general psychopathology, subjective mental state, or a possible association with physiological parameters in nonpsychotic individuals. Methods: In this randomized, single-blinded study, groups of healthy volunteers (n = 18) received low doses of reserpine, aripiprazole, haloperidol, or placebo on 7 successive days. Relevant physiological parameters (plasma prolactin, concentrations of catecholamine metabolites in plasma, and 24-hour urine) and each subject’s mental state (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, visual analogue scale, Beck Depression Inventory II) were assessed at the start and end of the trial. Results: Of the three active treatments, only reserpine caused a significant increase in some plasma- and urine-catecholamine metabolites, but all three medications evoked objective and subjective changes in general psychopathology scores, which correlated with individual increases in plasma homovanillic acid concentrations. Both objective and subjective impairments were significantly more pronounced in the subgroup with greatest increase of plasma prolactin. Subjects experiencing the most pronounced side effects under haloperidol, which compelled them to drop out, showed significantly higher prolactin concentration increases than those who tolerated haloperidol well. Conclusion: We found consistent associations between altered markers of dopamine transmission and several objective and subjective mental impairments in healthy volunteers after 1 week’s treatment with antidopaminergic medications. These findings should draw attention to a more intensive risk–benefit evaluation in cases of off-label prescription of antipsychotic medications.
Tectonic analysis of fault slip data sets

Using data that include the direction and the sense of motion on individual fault surfaces determined by slickenside lineations, it is possible to reconstruct reduced stress tensors that correspond to the orientation of stress axes and to the ratio ϕ = (σ2−σ3)/(σ1−σ3) between principal stress values (σ1≥σ2≥σ3, compression being positive). No assumption is made concerning the orientation of fault planes relative to stress axes, so that reactived faults are taken into account as well as newly created ones. Qualitative and quantitative methods for analysis of fault slip data were developed during the last 10 years. The practical limitation of the methods and the necessity for critical field observations are emphasized. These methods can be applied to focal mechanisms of earthquakes. A more complex analysis of heterogeneous data sets, involving an iterative separation of different stress systems, is also discussed. This analysis enables one to distinguish successive faulting events. Careful qualitative study in the field is in all cases essential.
New Insights on the Most Primitive Desmostylian from a Partial Skeleton of Behemotops (Desmostylia, Mammalia) from Vancouver Island, British Columbia

ABSTRACT A partial articulated skeleton of a desmostylian was found in siltstone of the Sooke Formation in the streambed at the mouth of the Sombrio River in Juan De Fuca Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Another exposure of the Sooke Formation southeast of the locality has been dated to Chron C6Cr age, 24.1–24.8 Ma. This specimen includes the left side of the skull, two molars, a premolar, canines, partial scapula, nearly complete humerus, and numerous vertebrae and ribs. Molar characteristics are the same as material of Behemotops proteus from the Pysht Formation of Washington State, which is near the type locality of Behemotops proteus of the upper Oligocene Pysht Formation, Washington State. Previous specimens of B. proteus were limited to lower jaws and portions of the upper and lower postcanine dentitions. The slightly smaller Behemotops katsuiei from Japan is known from more elements, yet its cranial material is limited to the posterior portion of the cranium and a small portion of the zygomatic arch. This new material allows us to see that Behemotops cf. B. proteus had cranial features much like those seen in Cornwallius sookensis of North America. These include a postorbital process of the jugal, with the zygomatic process of the squamosal not dorsally expanded, a concave hard palate, enlarged canine tusks that point ventrally, and a narrow, curved incisor arcade on a narrow rostrum. This is different from specimens previously referred to as Behemotops emlongi and then synonymized with B. proteus, which have a broad symphysis with large tusks. These specimens formerly known as B. emlongi are now referred to a new genus.