Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comptes Rendus Mathématique

We study a simpliﬁed model of the representation of colors in the primate primary cortical visual areaV1.ThemodelisdescribedbyaninitialvalueproblemrelatedtoaHammersteinequation. Thesolutions to this problem represent the variation of the activity of populations of neurons in V1 as a function of space and color. The two space variables describe the spatial extent of the cortex while the two color variables describe the hue and the saturation represented at every location in the cortex. We prove the well-posedness of the initial value problem. We focus on its stationary, i.e. independent of time, and periodic in space solutions. We show that the model equation is equivariant with respect to the direct product G of the group of the Euclidean transformations of the planar lattice determined by the spatial periodicity and the group of color transformations, isomorphic to O (2), and study the equivariant bifurcations of its stationary solutions when some parameters in the model vary. Their variations may be caused by the consumption of drugs and the bifurcated solutions may represent visual hallucinations in space and color. Some of the bifurcated solutions can be determined by applying the Equivariant Branching Lemma (EBL) by determining the axial subgroups of G . These deﬁne bifurcated solutions which are invariant under the action of the corresponding axial subgroup. We compute analytically these solutions and illustrate them as color images. Using advanced methods of numerical bifurcation analysis we then explore the persistence and stability of these solutions when varying some parameters in the model. We conjecture that we can rely on the EBL to predict the existence of patterns that survive in large parameter domains but not to predict their stability. On our way we discover the existence of spatially localized stable patterns through the phenomenon of “snaking”.
Contribution of mass-dependent fractionation to the oxygen isotope anomaly of atmospheric nitrous oxide

[1] Similar to other oxygen-bearing atmospheric compounds, lower-stratospheric and tropospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) show an oxygen isotope anomaly. This anomaly can be explained by in situ atmospheric chemical sources that transfer the well-known oxygen isotope anomaly of ozone to N2O. The isotope anomaly of ozone, in turn, is caused by non-mass-dependent fractionation during its formation. Nevertheless, recent work claimed that photodissociation of stratospheric N2O could account for up to half of the observed anomaly in N2O without having to invoke chemical N2O sources. It is shown that this prediction is due to the choice of inadequate parameters in the specific underlying physicochemical model of isotopic fractionation in N2O photolysis. Budget calculations based on experimentally measured fractionation factors at stratospherically relevant wavelengths show only negligible contributions of N2O photolysis to the observed oxygen isotope anomaly. However, biological sources at the Earth's surface, which are usually considered to produce mass-dependently fractionated N2O, may actually be responsible for part of the observed anomaly. This is as a consequence of slight variations in the mass-dependent relationships between 17O and 18O isotope effects and the relationship assumed in the definition of the oxygen isotope anomaly. Up to 44% of the observed anomaly might be explained by this “numerical source” that was not recognized previously. As a prerequisite to understand this possibly surprising result, the existing definitions of isotope anomalies and their practical consequences are analyzed. An accurate terminology will also benefit future generations of researchers in the rapidly growing fields of atmospheric isotope chemistry and physics.
Characterization of Obesity Phenotypes in Psammomys Obesus (Israeli Sand Rats)

Psammomys obesus (the Israeli sand rat) has been well studied as an animal model of Type 2 diabetes. However, obesity phenotypes in these animals have not been fully characterized. We analyzed phenotypic data including body weight, percentage body fat, blood glucose and plasma insulin concentration for over 600 animals from the Psammomys obesus colony at Deakin University to investigate the relationships between body fat, body weight and Type 2 diabetes using regression analysis and general linear modelling. The body weight distribution in Psammomys obesus approximates a normal distribution and closely resembles that observed in human populations. Animals above the 75th percentile for body weight had increased body fat content and a greater risk of developing diabetes. Increased visceral fat content . was also associated with elevated blood glucose and plasma insulin concentrations in these animals. A familial effect was also demonstrated in Psammomys obesus, and accounted for 51% of the variation in body weight, and 23–26% of the variation in blood glucose and plasma insulin concentrations in these animals. Psammomys obesus represents an excellent animal model of.obesity and Type 2 diabetes that exhibits a phenotypic pattern closely resembling that observed in human population studies. The obesity described in these animals was familial in nature and was significantly associated with Type 2 diabetes.
Managerial Capital and Business R&D as Enablers of Productivity Convergence

This paper explores the role of managerial capital and business research and development (R&D) in fostering multifactor productivity (MFP) convergence in a panel of 42 countries. The OECD long-term growth model is augmented to show that, in addition to trade openness, an economy’s speed of convergence to its long-run steady state level of MFP is an increasing function of the quality of its managerial capital and the size of its domestic R&D sector. The economic importance of these two enabling factors are examined in the context of a scenario, whereby MFP growth at the technological frontier is ½ percentage point higher (than in the baseline projection) per annum until 2060. This exercise shows that some countries benefit significantly more from higher frontier growth than could be expected based on their trade openness alone. In turn, evidence on the policy determinants of managerial capital and business R&D is reviewed, which highlights the importance of structural reforms and carefully-designed innovation policies. Capital managerial et R-D des entreprises, moteurs de la convergence de la productivite Ce document analyse le role que jouent le capital managerial et les activites de recherche et de developpement (R-D) menees par les entreprises pour renforcer la convergence de la productivite multifactorielle (PMF) dans un groupe de 42 pays. Le modele de croissance a long terme de l’OCDE est elargi pour montrer que, outre l’ouverture aux echanges, la vitesse de convergence d’une economie vers son niveau de stabilite de la PMF a long terme est une fonction croissante de la qualite de son capital managerial et de la taille de son secteur national de la R-D. L’importance economique de ces deux facteurs determinants est examinee dans le contexte d’un scenario dans lequel la croissance de la PMF a la frontiere technologique est superieure de ½ point de pourcentage (a celle retenue dans la projection de reference) par an jusqu’en 2060. Cet exercice montre que certains pays qui ont atteint la frontiere beneficient d’une croissance beaucoup plus forte que ce a quoi on pourrait s’attendre en se basant uniquement sur leur ouverture aux echanges. Cette etude examine ensuite les elements de l’action publique qui determinent le capital managerial et la R-D des entreprises, revelant l’importance des reformes structurelles et de politiques soigneusement concues en faveur de l’innovation.
Organic carbon stocks in New Zealand's terrestrial ecosystems

The organic carbon in New Zealand's vegetation and soils has been estimated for 1992 from updated national databases of vegetative cover and soil carbon. These databases were augmented by inclusion of vegetation and soils information for Stewart Island, and addition of carbon estimates for upland and high‐country soils of South Island. Plant biomass estimates from literature were combined with the Vegetative Cover Map of New Zealand to give an estimate of 2420 Mt carbon for vegetation carbon above and below ground, including litter and humus. More than 80% of this carbon occurs in indigenous forested ecosystems on less than 26% of the land area, with only about 5% in planted forests. Soil organic carbon estimates for two depth ranges (0–0.25 m, 0–1 m) were derived from the N.Z. Land Resource Inventory, the Soil Map of Stewart Island, and the National Soils Database. Totals were 2500 ± 77 Mt and 4260 ± 190 Mt C respectively. Yellow‐brown earths made the largest contribution, with 727 Mt C in North Island a.
Fate of the subducted Farallon plate inferred from eclogite xenoliths in the Colorado Plateau

We present the first finding of the high-pressure mineral coesite in lawsonite-bearing eclogite xenoliths from the Colorado Plateau, United States. The presence of coesite in these xenoliths supports the hypothesis that the eclogite formed in a low-temperature–high-pressure environment such as envisaged inside subducted oceanic lithosphere. Ion-microprobe U-Pb dating of micrometer-scale zircons in the eclogites yields ages ranging from 81 Ma to 33 Ma, the two extremes in age likely indicating the age of crystallization during subduction-related metamorphism and the age of recrystallization by the host magmatic event, respectively. These observations conclusively demonstrate that certain eclogite xenoliths from the Colorado Plateau originated as fragments of the subducted Farallon plate, which had been residing in the upper mantle since the Late Cretaceous. This is the first conclusive evidence that any eclogite xenoliths can be directly linked to a known subducted plate.
Impoverishment of YOY‐fish assemblages by intense commercial navigation in a large Lowland river

Navigation‐induced physical forces have been suggested to modify the structure of riverine fish assemblages by impeding especially the recruitment of littoral bound species. To investigate the effect of vessel frequency on fish, we compared the composition and seasonal succession of young‐of‐the‐year (YOY) fish assemblages in three similarly degraded river reaches differing in average vessel passages (2, 6 and 41 per day). Fish were caught by electrofishing biweekly between May and September.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Dolichopus galeatus Loew, 1871 (Diptera: Dolichopodidae)

Abstract The long-legged fly Dolichopus galeatus Loew, 1871 belongs to the subfamily Dolichopodinae (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). This work presents the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of D. galeatus for the first time. The mitogenome has a total length of 15,268 bp, 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs) that make up the genome. All genes have comparable positions and strands to those found in earlier reported fly mitogenomes. The nucleotide composition is tilted toward A and T, which account for 75.1% of the total. Phylogenetic approach shows that Lichtwardtia is the sister group of Dolichopus and that the Dolichopodidae are monophyletic.
Analysis of the Effect of Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Security, and Trust on Intention to Use E-Wallet Gopay (Survey of Gopay Users in DKI Jakarta)

Thisresearchinvestigatesthefactorsinﬂuencingtheintentiontousethe Gopay E-Wallet in DKI Jakarta. This study uses Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Security, and Trust as independent variables and Intention to Use as the dependent variable. The investigation was conducted on consumers of the DKI Jakarta Gopay E-Wallet. As many as one hundred respondents were sampled. Using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 and multiple linear regression analysis techniques, the analysis was conducted to test the extended TAM Model. According to the results, Gopay’s Intention to Use an E-Wallet is signiﬁcantly inﬂuenced by Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and Trust. However, Perceived Security has no signiﬁcant effect on Gopay’s Intention to Use an E-Wallet.
Planktonic foraminiferal distribution record productivity cycles: evidence from the Aptian‐Albian Piobbico core (central Italy)

The Aptian-Albian ‘Scisti a Fucoidi’ varicoloured pelagic sediments in central Italy, show a ‘couplet’ alternation of carbonate-rich/carbonate-poor layers, which are interpreted as the sedimentary expression of precession (frequency 19–23 kyr). Carbonate content, chromatic variation, and planktonic foraminiferal abundance were analysed at a 1-cm spacing for a 10-m interval of the Piobbico core, specifically drilled through this formation. Spectral analysis of these parameters shows a prominent signal equated to the c. 100 kyr cycle of orbital eccentricity at a sedimentation rate of 5 mm kyr−1. The coherency of the spectral response of each parameter suggests that a single mechanism controlled the whole sedimentary record. Detailed study of planktonic foraminiferal distribution of the same section at 1-mm scale resolves the Milankovitch frequencies of 41 kyr and 18 to 23 kyr, equated with the obliquity and precessional cycles. But foraminiferal abundance is not in phase with carbonate content, which was largely controlled by calcareous nannofossils, but peaked at intermediate carbonate values. The proposed model for explaining the discrepancy at the precessional level is that foraminifera thrived at intermediate values of the precession index, when the environment was only moderately fertile but stable, while during highs of the precession index, mixing of the water column increased fertility and caused calcareous nannofossil blooms and restriction of planktonic foraminifera to few and tolerant species. The resulting bimodality of foraminiferal abundance per precessional cycle appears to be recorded in the spectrum by peaks at the 11 and 14 kyr levels. Cross correlation of foraminiferal abundances with the calcium carbonate curve over 1–2 Myr intervals produces discrepant results (apparent phase lags) which we attribute to differences in the response to the fundamental eccentricity cycles.
Bearing response of skirted foundation on nonhomogeneous soil

Circular skirted offshore foundations on nonhomogeneous soil have been studied numerically, analytically, and physically, with the offshore sediment simulated as a cohesive soil with strength increasing linearly with depth. In the numerical analysis, the h-adaptive finite element method (FEM) is adopted to provide an optimal mesh, in which a strain-superconvergent patch recovery error estimator and mesh refinement with subdivision concept are used. This paper presents two main studies of circular skirted foundations on nonhomogeneous soil, consisting of a bearing-capacity study and a large penetration study. The bearing capacity of the foundations is studied with the degree of nonhomogeneity of soil up to 30, different skirt roughness, and skirt depth up to five times the foundation diameter, using an h-adaptive FEM and extended upper-bound method. The bearing-capacity values and soil flow mechanisms are discussed. In the foundation large penetration study, circular skirted foundations penetrating into normally consolidated and overconsolidated soils are tested physically in the centrifuge and analyzed numerically using the h-adaptive remeshing and interpolation technique with small strain method for soil large deformation analysis. The load-displacement responses from centrifuge test data and finite-element results are compared.
Truncated wave-ripple laminae

A common but seldom identified sedimentary structure which occurs in a variety of nearshore deposits is truncated wave-ripple laminae. This structure consists of sets of parallel laminae that were deposited conformably with the original wave-rippled surfaces but were partly eroded prior to deposition of the next set of wave-ripple laminae. Ripple wavelengths vary from 10 cm to 10 m and ripple indices from 4 to 17. Small-scale truncated wave-ripple laminae differ from the large-scale form only in size. A satisfactory mechanism for formation of the large-scale wave ripples is unknown.
The effectiveness of UK protected areas in preventing local extinctions

Protected areas (PAs) are a core component in global efforts to prevent further declines in biodiversity. We examine whether the United Kingdom's PA portfolio has reduced local extinctions of breeding birds and consider how the characteristics of different PA designations may have affected conservation outcomes. We use breeding bird atlas data to calculate the proportion of species in each 10 × 10‐km grid cell confirmed as breeding in 1988–1991 but not in 2008–2011. We find that the protection offered by PAs is little to no different from that of the wider landscape and, depending on the type of PA, attribute this to PAs being either too small or not managed for biodiversity outcomes. To meet the ambitious new global targets for expanding PA coverage set at the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference, all countries need to monitor and ensure PA effectiveness; high PA coverage does not guarantee that biodiversity is protected.
Processes of crevasse formation and the dynamics of calving glaciers : a study at Breiđamerkurjökull

A new model proposed by Benn et al. (2006, 2007) explains the dynamics of calving glaciers based on a new sliding law and a calving criterion modified from a crevasse depth model. In this thesis three key elements of this model are tested: 1) the role of longitudinal stretching as a result of velocity gradients, which pre-conditions ice at the glacier terminus for calving failure; 2) the accurate prediction of crevasse depths from strain rates, for inclusion within a calving model as a calving criterion; 3) the role of dynamically induced thinning (as a result of longitudinal stretching at an accelerating glacier) in causing further acceleration and calving retreat and the onset of a dynamic thinning feedback through reduced basal pressure. Field results show that longitudinal strain rates are important controls on calving glaciers, controlling both dynamic thinning and crevasse depths. Crevasse-depth models proposed by Van der Veen (1998a, 1998b) and Nye (1957) work well in predicting crevasse depths based on measured strain rates. The latter in particular is suitable for inclusion as a calving criterion when modified with a yield criterion. The importance of water in enhancing propagation of crevasses is demonstrated through modelling studies, and is implicitly included in the calving model. Measured rates of dynamic thinning at Breiðamerkurjökull, a glacier in South East Iceland, confirm the importance of this process within a calving model and results from a simple 1-D model show that the new sliding law not only predicts velocities effectively, but can also predict the position of a calving terminus based on strain rates and the calving criterion. Suggestions are made for further more detailed modelling, including time evolution and longitudinal stress gradients, to apply the model to a range of glaciers and to predict the response of calving glaciers to climatic and environmental changes.
Fate of zinc applied to calcareous soils using Zn‐65 as a tracer: I. Fractionation with time

Abstract Fractionation of zinc was studied in eight alluvial calcareous soils representing a wide range of physical and chemical properties. 65Zinc was applied as a carrier‐free and carrier to soil samples incubated for 1, 15, and 30 d. Results indicated that for the one‐day incubation of the sandy loam soil, the amounts of Zn associated with CaCO3 were 60 percent in the carrier‐free treatment increased to 90 percent in the carrier treatment. Comparable values were obtained for the other soils studied of different properties suggesting the importance of CaCO3 in retaining the majority of trace application of Zn and the limited capacity of soil constituents other than the CaCO3 in retaining Zn in the macro application. Clay minerals appeared as second important soil constituents in Zn retention. Its importance increased when Zn was applied in trace amounts. Diffusion of Zn continued during the incubation periods mainly by fixation by clay minerals and resulted in the reduction of Zn associated with soil CaCO3.
Diurnal variability of low clouds in the Southeast Pacific simulated by a multiscale modeling framework model

This study analyzes the diurnal variations of austral‐spring stratocumulus clouds in the Southeast Pacific and their physical mechanisms from a global multiscale modeling framework (MMF) simulation. This MMF contains an advanced third‐order turbulence closure in its cloud‐resolving model component, helping it to realistically simulate boundary layer turbulence and low‐level clouds. The main finding is that the MMF simulation can reproduce the spatial pattern of the diurnal variations of low clouds within the region, with the day‐night cloud fraction (CF) differences ranging from 0.10 at 30° off the shore to 0.40 near the shore. The diurnal phases and ranges of simulated liquid water path, CF, and surface cloud radiative effects agree well with available observations. The maximum CF occurs in the early morning and the minimum in the late afternoon over the open ocean. However, near the shore, the maximum/minimum CF anomalies are more variable. The spatial variability of the diurnal variations is attributed to the modulation of solar‐forced variation by the orographically induced circulation. The solar radiation makes the lower cloud layer dissipated during the day, and clouds recover first there in the early evening, with the upper cloud layer changing relatively less in cloudiness. The southwestward propagating upsidence wave that is related to the orographical forcing modulates the CF anomalies near the shore. The orographically induced subsidence, however, extends too deeply into the boundary layer because of the model's unrealistically smooth topography, and it dissipates rather than enhances the stratocumulus near the shore between the late night and the following noon.
The Epidemiology of Hospital-Acquired Urinary Tract Infections in Intensive Care Units in Kermanshah Hospitals (Iran)

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the highest incidence of hospital-acquired infection (HAI), and hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (HAUTI) are a common problem of critical illness. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the epidemiology of HAUTIs in medical intensive care units (ICUs) and hospitals in Kermanshah, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive/analytical study was conducted in the ICUs of hospitals in Kermanshah from March 2018 to 2019. All the recognized HAUTIs were recorded in the Iranian National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as t-tests and chi-square were used for data interpretation. Results: A total of 1136 patients were admitted to the two ICUs (61 missed out of 1197 patients). The number of patients with UTI was 51, and the overall HAI rate was 4.5%. The results showed a significant relationship between sex and HAUTI (P = 0.038), so women tended to have more HAUTIs than men (6.3 and 3.6%, respectively). A significant relationship was observed between age, date (different seasons of the year), and HAUTI (P = 0.588, 0.115, respectively). Conclusions: There are few studies on HAUTIs, especially on intensive care unit-acquired infections, and more studies are required to describe the epidemiology and management of these problems. Improving conditions for expanding any strategy to reduce infections associated with HAUTIs in ICUs is recommended.