Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Different Weed Control Measures on Performance of Chickpea under Irrigated Condition

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important pulse crop of our country, in India area, production and productivity of chickpea are the 8.17 million hectares, 7.48 million tonnes and 915 kgha -1 , respectively and in Uttar Pradesh it is cultivated on an area of 0.62 million hectares with a production 0.51 million tonnes and productivity 824 kgha -1 . The area under chickpea crop has reduced to 0.60 million hectares in 2014-15 from 1.06 million hectares in 1966-67 (Anonymous 2016) due to slow initial growth and it suffers International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 05 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Precipitation instruments at Rothera Station, Antarctic Peninsula: a comparative study

ABSTRACT Direct measurement of precipitation in the Antarctic using ground-based instruments is important to validate the results from climate models, reanalyses and satellite observations. Quantifying precipitation in Antarctica faces many unique challenges such as wind and other technical difficulties due to the harsh environment. This study compares a variety of precipitation measurements in Antarctica, including satellite data and reanalysis fields atRothera Station, Antarctica Peninsula. The tipping bucket gauges (TBGs) were less sensitive than laser-based sensors (LBSs). The most sensitive LBS (Visibility and Present Weather Sensor, VPF-730) registered 276 precipitation days, while the most sensitive TBG (Universal Precipitation Gauge, UPG-1000) detected 152 precipitation days. Case studies of the precipitation and seasonal accumulation results show the VPF-730 to be the most reliable precipitation sensor of the evaluated instruments. The precipitation amounts given by the reanalyses were positively correlated with wind speed. The precipitation from the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis was most affected by wind speed. Case studies also show that during low wind periods, precipitation measurements from the instruments were very close to the precipitation measurement given by the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) 1-degree-daily (1DD) data. During strong wind events, the GPCP 1DD did not fully capture the effect of wind, accounting for the relatively small precipitation amount. The Laser Precipitation Monitor (LPM) and Campbell Scientific-700 (CS700H) experienced instrumental errors during the study, which caused the precipitation readings to become exceedingly high and low, respectively. Installing multiple LBSs in different locations (in close proximity) can help identify inconsistency in the readings.
EVIDENCE OF MANTLE INHERITANCE ON THE ULTRA-DISTAL WESTERN IBERIAN MARGIN FROM TRANSFORMED TOTAL MAGNETIC ANOMALY

ABSTRACT. Inheritance on continental lithosphere is considered as an important aspect on passive margins, since they may control magmatic budget and strain evolution during rifting and lithospheric breakup. On the distal Western Iberian margin, the transition to a steady state oceanic crust was little sampled and less investigated, in comparison to the more proximal parts near to the continental edge. In this work, we use marine magnetic data to analyze some aspects of the transition between the zone of exhumed continental mantle (ZECM) and the unequivocal oceanic crust, using transformed magnetic data. We observe that the end of the ZECM presents some straight magnetic features, especially at the eastern limit of the J anomaly. These magnetic lineaments are consistent with Early Cretaceous flow lines of the Iberian Plate. Straight structures are not expected in a newly formed oceanic lithosphere. Instead, it seems to be controlled by mantle inheritance. These straight magnetic features may indicate basement inheritance controlling magmatic insertions at the beginning of the oceanic crust formation.Keywords: Iberia, Magnetometry, Ocean-Continent Transition, Inherited Structures, Magma-Poor Margin. RESUMO. Estruturas herdadas na litosfera continental são um aspecto importante em margens passivas, pois poderão condicionar a entrada de magma e a evolução da deformação durante o rifteamento e quebra litosférica. Na porção distal da Margem Ibérica Ocidental, a transição da crosta continental até a crosta oceânica bem estabelecida possui menos dados e é menos investigada em comparação com a porção junto do limite de crosta continental. Neste trabalho, usamos dados magnéticos marinhos para analisar alguns aspectos entre a zona de exumação mantélica e a crosta oceânica inequívoca, através de dados magnéticos transformados. Observa-se que o final da zona de exumação mantélica apresenta algumas feições retilíneas, especialmente no limite leste da Anomalia J. Estes lineamentos magnéticos estão em conformidade com linhas de fluxo mesozoicas da Placa Ibérica. Feições retilíneas não são esperadas em uma litosfera oceânica neoformada. Ao contrário, estas aparentam ser um controle dado por estruturas pretéritas do manto. Portanto, estas feições magnéticas retilíneas sugerem uma herança do embasamento continental controlando as intrusões magmáticas no início da formação da crosta oceânica. Palavras-chave: Ibéria, Magnetometria, Transição Continente-Oceano, Estruturas Herdadas, Margem Pobre em Magma.
A Tutorial on Hidden Markov Models and Selected Applications

The fabric comprises a novel type of netting which will have particular utility in screening out mosquitoes and like insects and pests. The fabric is defined of voids having depth as well as width and length. The fabric is usable as a material from which to form clothing for wear, or bed coverings, or sleeping bags, etc., besides use simply as a netting.
GPNMB Modulates Autophagy to Enhance Functional Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Spinal cord injury (SCI) severely affects the quality of life and autonomy of patients, and effective treatments are currently lacking. Autophagy, an essential cellular metabolic process, plays a crucial role in neuroprotection and repair after SCI. Glycoprotein non-metastatic melanoma protein B (GPNMB) has been shown to promote neural regeneration and synapse reconstruction, potentially through the facilitation of autophagy. However, the specific role of GPNMB in autophagy after SCI is still unclear. In this study, we utilized the spinal cord transection method to establish SCI rats model and overexpressed GPNMB using adenoviral vectors. We assessed tissue damage using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Nissl staining, and observed cell apoptosis using TUNEL staining. We evaluated the inflammatory response by measuring inflammatory factors using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In addition, we measured reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels using 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA), and assessed oxidative stress levels by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) using ELISA. To evaluate autophagy levels, we performed immunofluorescence staining for the autophagy marker Beclin-1 and conducted Western blot analysis for autophagy-related proteins. We also assessed limb recovery through functional evaluation. Meanwhile, we induced cell injury using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and added an autophagy inhibitor to verify the impact of GPNMB on SCI through autophagy modulation. The results demonstrated that GPNMB alleviated the inflammatory response, reduced oxidative stress levels, inhibited cell apoptosis, and promoted autophagy following SCI. Inhibiting autophagy reversed the effects of GPNMB. These findings suggest that GPNMB promotes neural injury repair after SCI, potentially through attenuating the inflammatory response, reducing oxidative stress, and inhibiting cell apoptosis.
Deep Reinforcement Learning for Coordination in Traffic Light Control

The cost of traffic congestion in the EU is large, estimated to be 1% of the EU’s GDP, and good solutions for traffic light control may reduce traffic congestion, saving time and money and reducing environmental pollution. To find optimal traffic light control policies, reinforcement learning uses reward signals from the environment to learn how to make optimal decisions. This approach can be deployed in traffic light control to learn optimal traffic light policies to reduce traffic congestion. However, earlier reinforcement learning approaches to traffic light control relied on simplifying assumptions over the state and manual feature extraction, so that potentially vital information about the state is lost. Techniques from the field of deep learning can be used in deep reinforcement learning to enable the use of more information over the state and to potentially find better traffic light policies. This thesis builds upon the Deep Q-learning algorithm and applies it to the problem of traffic light control. The contribution of this thesis is twofold: first, it extends earlier research on applying Deep Q-learning to the problem of controlling traffic lights on intersections with the goal of achieving optimal traffic throughput, and shows that, although Deep Q-learning can find very good policies for the traffic control problem without manual feature extraction, stability is not a guarantee. Second, it combines the Deep Q-learning algorithm with an existing multi-agent coordination algorithm to achieve cooperation between traffic lights and improves upon earlier work related to coordination for traffic light control. This thesis is the first work to combine transfer planning and deep reinforcement learning, an approach that is empirically shown to be promising.
Seeing the park for the trees: New York’s “Million Trees” campaign vs. the deep roots of environmental inequality

Trees provide many environmental benefits, but low-income communities of color tend to have fewer of them. New York City attempted to correct this disparity by planting a million trees via public–private partnership between 2007 and 2015. This paper examines MillionTreesNYC’s environmental justice goals and planting strategies via program documents and interviews with program partners, and assesses equity outcomes via regression analysis of new trees planted, existing tree canopy, park space, and sociodemographic characteristics measured at the level of the census block group. Ultimately, MillionTreesNYC did not prioritize low-income communities of color to a measurable degree, and planted more trees in areas with greater existing tree canopy. Despite public–private partnerships’ reputation for prioritizing profit over equity, the problem was not a lack of commitment to environmental justice. Instead, MillionTreesNYC’s focus on parks, which are themselves inequitably distributed, frustrated the city’s efforts to equalize the urban forest. This paper therefore exposes the deep historical roots of environmental injustice, which are difficult to eradicate without careful attention to both past and present socio-spatial inequities.
Assessing the climate change vulnerability of ecosystem types of the Southwestern U.S

Climate change is challenging scientists and decision-makers to understand the complexities of climate change and to predict the related effects at scales relevant to environmental policy and the management of ecosystem services. Extraordinary change in climate, and the ensuing impacts to ecosystem services, are widely anticipated for the southwestern United States. Predicting the vulnerability of Southwest ecosystems and their components has been a priority of natural resource organizations over the past decade. Supplementing vulnerability assessments in the region with geospatial inputs of high thematic and spatial detail has become vital for supporting local analyses, planning, and decisions. In this context has come the opportunity to build upon a framework of major ecosystem types of the Southwest and to assess vulnerability to climate change for each type. Herein are presented three studies that set the backdrop for vulnerability assessment, detail a novel correlative modeling procedure to predict the location and the magnitude of vulnerability to familiar vegetation patterns, and then explore applications of the resulting geospatial vulnerability surface: 1) considerations for evaluating or designing a vulnerability assessment; 2) an overview of the vegetation and climate of
Measurements of stratospheric volcanic aerosol optical depth from NOAA TIROS Observational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) observations

[1] We show that the infrared optical depth of stratospheric volcanic aerosols produced by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991 may be retrieved from the observations of the High-Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS-2) on board the polar meteorological satellites of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Evolution of the concentration in time and in space, in particular the migration of the aerosols from the tropics to the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, is found to be consistent with our knowledge of the consequences of this eruption. The method relies on the analysis of the differences between the satellite observations and simulations from an aerosol-free radiative transfer model using collocated radiosonde data as the prime input. Thus aerosol optical depths are retrieved directly without making assumptions about the aerosol size distribution or absorption coefficient. The aerosol optical depths reached a maximum in August 1991 in the tropical zone (0.055 at 8.3 μm, 0.03 at 4.0 μm, and 0.02 at 11.1 μm). The peak occurred in November 1991 in the southern midlatitudes and in March/April 1992 in the northern midlatitudes. A reanalysis of the almost 25 year archive of NOAA TIROS-N Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) observations holds considerable promise for improved knowledge of the atmosphere loading in volcanic aerosols.
Biodiversity in fragmented key resource areas : persistence of plant diversity and productivity in an intensely grazed key resource area

Socio-economic developments in African savannas have resulted to drastic land use/land cover (LULC) conversions with consequent impacts on diverse ecosystem properties. These conversions are more pronounced on agropastoral landscapes surrounding wetlands in the dry lands as availability of water attracts agricultural developments. This study uses a cascade modelling approach to investigate how the socio-economic drivers of LULC change cascade through the ecosystem to affect its hydrology and biodiversity. The ungulate biomass in the downstream catchment of Lake Naivasha basin is used as an example. Results revealed a steady increase in ungulate biomass during the study period. It also revealed a sequential high correlation between flower export volume, downstream population and LULC change. The LULC change was significantly correlated with the ungulate biomass. Increased LULC conversions led to aggregation of high ungulate biomass in wildlife friendly ranches along the riparian zone that offer active protection against poaching. This study demonstrates that a cascade modelling approach can improve understanding of how a series of interlinked processes affect biodiversity pattern in an ecosystem.
Sr and 87Sr/86Sr in rivers draining the Deccan Traps (India): Implications to weathering, Sr fluxes, and the marine 87Sr/86Sr record around K/T

The concentration of dissolved Sr and its 87Sr/86Sr has been measured in the headwaters of the Krishna River System and west flowing Western Ghat rivers, all of which have their drainage almost entirely in the Deccan Traps. The Sr concentration follows that of Ca and Mg with Sr/Ca and Sr/Mg ratios similar to that of Deccan basalts, suggesting that all these alkaline earths are released to waters nearly congruently from the Deccan basalts during chemical weathering. The 87Sr/86Sr range from 0.70614 to 0.70986, within that reported for the Deccan basalts. The dissolved Sr flux from the Deccan calculated from the measured data is ∼1.35 × 108 moles yr−1, ∼0.4% of the global riverine flux, which is nearly the same as the proportion of area covered by Deccan basalts relative to the global drainage. The flux, however, is a factor of ∼3 lower than that reported for the Narmada‐Tapti‐Wainganga (NTW) rivers draining the northern Deccan. This difference in Sr flux among rivers draining the various regions of Deccan could be natural spatial/temporal variations and/or due to supply of Sr to NTW rivers from nonbasaltic sources. Model calculations on the role of emplacement and weathering of Deccan on marine Sr isotope evolution around KTB and late Tertiary show that Deccan basalts can be an important contributor to the decline in 87Sr/86Sr during these periods. It is shown that to account for the pre‐KTB dip in 87Sr/86Sr, the flux requirement from Deccan at that time would have to be several times the contemporary flux with 87Sr/86Sr of 0.705–0.708. Considering that the area of Deccan at KTB was about thrice the present area and that the weathering rate of Deccan basalts may have been much higher in early stages following eruption, such high fluxes at about KTB seem feasible. The disproportionately higher flux requirement for Sr is similar to that invoked to explain the pre‐KTB decrease in 187Os/188Os. The calculations also show that the supply of unradiogenic Sr from basalts can have significant control on the long‐term, ∼66 to ∼55 Ma, decline of marine 87Sr/86Sr.
Getting the big picture: Landscape‐scale occupancy patterns of two Annamite endemics among multiple protected areas

The Annamite mountains of Vietnam and Laos are a global biodiversity hotspot harboring several threatened endemic species. Conservation efforts to protect these endemics are hampered by a lack of knowledge on their ecology and distribution. We conducted landscape scale camera‐trapping across six study areas in the Annamites to assess distribution patterns of two endemics: the Annamite dark muntjac species complex Muntiacus rooseveltorum/ truongsonensis and the Annamite striped rabbit Nesolagus timminsi. We used a Bayesian single‐species occupancy framework to estimate occupancy as a function of ecological and anthropogenic factors. Our study showed that Annamite dark muntjac was predominantly found at higher elevations (>1000 m) and in areas that were more inaccessible to people and had lower surrounding village density. Annamite striped rabbit exhibited both positive and negative responses to elevation among study areas, with no clear response to the anthropogenic covariates. Our results showed that covariate responses varied among the study areas when random effects were included on study areas. We discuss the application of random effects to investigate species occupancies across large spatial scales, and the risk of not accounting for variation among study areas. Our prediction maps provide the first comprehensive overview of the distribution of these endemic species across a substantial part of their range and can be used to help stakeholders focus conservation efforts on priority areas.
Random Convex Programs *

Random convex programs (RCPs) are convex optimization problems subject to a finite number N of random constraints. The optimal objective value J∗ of an RCP is thus a random variable. We study the probability with which J∗ is no longer optimal if a further random constraint is added to the problem (violation probability, V ∗). It turns out that this probability rapidly concentrates near zero as N increases. We first develop a theory for RCPs, leading to explicit bounds on the upper tail probability of V ∗. Then we extend the setup to the case of RCPs with r a posteriori violated constraints (RCPVs): a paradigm that permits us to improve the optimal objective value while maintaining the violation probability under control. Explicit and nonasymptotic bounds are derived also in this case: the upper tail probability of V ∗ is upper bounded by a multiple of a beta distribution, irrespective of the distribution on the random constraints. All results are derived under no feasibility assumptions on the problem. Further, the relation between RCPVs and chanceconstrained problems (CCP) is explored, showing that the optimal objective J∗ of an RCPV with the generic constraint removal rule provides, with arbitrarily high probability, an upper bound on the optimal objective of a corresponding CCP. Moreover, whenever an optimal constraint removal rule is used in the RCPVs, then appropriate choices of N and r exist such that J∗ approximates arbitrarily well the objective of the CCP.
Optimal Reference Region to Measure Longitudinal Amyloid-β Change with 18F-Florbetaben PET

Accurate measurement of changes in amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition over time is important in longitudinal studies, particularly in anti-Aβ therapeutic trials. To achieve this, the optimal reference region (RR) must be selected to reduce variance of Aβ PET measurements, allowing early detection of treatment efficacy. The aim of this study was to determine the RR that allows earlier detection of subtle Aβ changes using 18F-florbetaben PET. Methods: Forty-five patients with mild cognitive impairment (mean age ± SD, 72.69 ± 6.54 y; 29 men/16 women) who underwent up to 3 18F-florbetaben scans were included. Baseline scans were visually classified as high (Aβ+) or low (Aβ−) amyloid. Six cortical regions were quantified using a standardized region-of-interest atlas applied to the spatially normalized gray matter image obtained from segmentation of the baseline T1-weighted volumetric MRI. Four RRs (cerebellar gray matter [CGM], whole cerebellum [WCER], pons, and subcortical white matter [SWM]) were studied. The SUV ratio (SUVR) for each RR was calculated by dividing cortex activity by RR activity, with a composite SUVR averaged over 6 cortical regions. SUVR increase from baseline to 1 and 2 y, and percentage Aβ deposition per year, were assessed across Aβ+ and Aβ− groups. Results: SUVs for any RR were not significantly different over time. Percentage Aβ accumulation per year derived from composite SUVR was 0.10 ± 1.72 (Aβ−) and 1.36 ± 1.98 (Aβ+) (P = 0.02) for CGM and 0.13 ± 1.47 and 1.32 ± 1.75 (P = 0.01), respectively, for WCER. Compared with baseline, the composite SUVR increase in Aβ+ scans was significantly larger than in Aβ− scans at 1 y (P = 0.04 [CGM]; P = 0.03 [WCER]) and 2 y (P = 0.02 [CGM]; P = 0.01 [WCER]) using these 2 RRs. Significant SUVR changes using the pons as the RR were detected only at 2 y (P = 0.46 [1 y], P = 0.001 [2 y]). SUVR using the SWM as the RR showed no significant differences at either follow-up (P = 0.39 [1 y], P = 0.09 [2 y]). Conclusion: RR selection influences reliable early measurement of Aβ changes over time. Compared with SWM and pons, which do not fulfil the RR requirements and have limited sensitivity to detect Aβ changes, cerebellar RRs are recommended for 18F-florbetaben PET because they allow earlier detection of Aβ accumulation.
Do Open Source Developers Respond to Competition?: The (La)Tex Case Study

This paper traces the history of TEX, the open source typesetting program. TEX was an early and very successful open source project that imposed its standards in a particularly competitive environment and inspired many advances in the typesetting industry. Developed over three decades, TEX came into competition with a variety of open source and proprietary alternatives. I argue from this case study that open source developers derive direct and indirect network externalities from the use of their software by others and must therefore consider non-developers' needs to make their software more attractive to a broader audience and more competitive with proprietary alternatives.