Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Southern California Earthquake Center Geologic Vertical Motion Database

The Southern California Earthquake Center Geologic Vertical Motion Database (VMDB) integrates disparate sources of geologic uplift and subsidence data at 104‐ to 106‐year time scales into a single resource for investigations of crustal deformation in southern California. Over 1800 vertical deformation rate data points in southern California and northern Baja California populate the database. Four mature data sets are now represented: marine terraces, incised river terraces, thermochronologic ages, and stratigraphic surfaces. An innovative architecture and interface of the VMDB exposes distinct data sets and reference frames, permitting user exploration of this complex data set and allowing user control over the assumptions applied to convert geologic and geochronologic information into absolute uplift rates. Online exploration and download tools are available through all common web browsers, allowing the distribution of vertical motion results as HTML tables, tab‐delimited GIS‐compatible text files, or via a map interface through the Google Maps™ web service. The VMDB represents a mature product for research of fault activity and elastic deformation of southern California.
How to Automatically Document Data With the codebook Package to Facilitate Data Reuse

Data documentation in psychology lags behind not only many other disciplines, but also basic standards of usefulness. Psychological scientists often prefer to invest the time and effort that would be necessary to document existing data well in other duties, such as writing and collecting more data. Codebooks therefore tend to be unstandardized and stored in proprietary formats, and they are rarely properly indexed in search engines. This means that rich data sets are sometimes used only once—by their creators—and left to disappear into oblivion. Even if they can find an existing data set, researchers are unlikely to publish analyses based on it if they cannot be confident that they understand it well enough. My codebook package makes it easier to generate rich metadata in human- and machine-readable codebooks. It uses metadata from existing sources and automates some tedious tasks, such as documenting psychological scales and reliabilities, summarizing descriptive statistics, and identifying patterns of missingness. The codebook R package and Web app make it possible to generate a rich codebook in a few minutes and just three clicks. Over time, its use could lead to psychological data becoming findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, thereby reducing research waste and benefiting both its users and the scientific community as a whole.
Feeding Value of Whole Crop Rice Silage for Lactating Dairy Cows under High Ambient Temperature

Whole crop rice silage (WCRS) has recently attracted attention as forage for dairy cows. The nutritive value of WCRS (Forage rice cultivar: Nishiaoba) was examined by a balance trial (Experiment 1). The forage rice was harvested and ensiled in two ways (round-baled silage and container silage). On a dry basis, the contents of metabolizable energy, crude protein and neutral detergent fiber in WCRS were 1.7 Mcal/kg, 6.3% and 47.4%, respectively in round-baled silage, and 2.0 Mcal/kg, 7.4% and 46.6%, respectively in container silage. The feed value of Nishiaoba WCRS for lactating dairy cows under high ambient temperature was also investigated (Experiment 2). The daily milk yields of cows fed WCRS as part of their total mixed ration (rice TMR) and oats hay as part of their TMR (oats TMR) were 29.7 and 30.1 kg, respectively. The dry matter intakes (DMI) of cows when fed the rice TMR and oats TMR were 18.5 and 19.7 kg, respectively. There were no significant differences in DMI, milk yield and composition between cows fed the rice TMR and the oats TMR. The energy retention of the cows fed the rice TMR was significantly lower than that of the cows fed the oats TMR (P < 0.05). WCRS can be given, with other adequate roughages and concentrates, to dairy cows that produce 30 kg of milk daily, even under high ambient temperature.
The Value of Foresight in the Drybulk Freight Market

We analyze the value of foresight in the drybulk freight market when repositioning a vessel through space and time. In order to do that, we apply an optimization model on a network with dynamic regional freight rate differences and stochastic travel times. We evaluate the value of the geographical switching option for three cases: the upper bound based on having perfect foresight, the lower bound based on a "coin flip", and the case of perfect foresight but only for a limited horizon. By combining a neural network with optimization, we can assess the impact of varying foresight horizon on economic performance. In a simple but realistic two-region case, we show empirically that the upper bound for large vessels can be as high as 25% cumulative outperformance, and that a significant portion of this theoretical value can be captured with limited foresight of several weeks. Our research sheds light on the important issue of spatial efficiency in global ocean freight markets and provides a benchmark for the value of investing in predictive analysis.
An Eight-Direction Scanning Detection Algorithm for the Mapping Robot Pathfinding in Unknown Indoor Environment

Aiming at the problem of how to enable the mobile robot to navigate and traverse efficiently and safely in the unknown indoor environment and map the environment, an eight-direction scanning detection (eDSD) algorithm is proposed as a new pathfinding algorithm. Firstly, we use a laser-based SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm to perform simultaneous localization and mapping to acquire the environment information around the robot. Then, according to the proposed algorithm, the 8 certain areas around the 8 directions which are developed from the robot’s center point are analyzed in order to calculate the probabilistic path vector of each area. Considering the requirements of efficient traverse and obstacle avoidance in practical applications, the proposal can find the optimal local path in a short time. In addition to local pathfinding, the global pathfinding is also introduced for unknown environments of large-scale and complex structures to reduce the repeated traverse. The field experiments in three typical indoor environments demonstrate that deviation of the planned path from the ideal path can be kept to a low level in terms of the path length and total time consumption. It is confirmed that the proposed algorithm is highly adaptable and practical in various indoor environments.
Occurrence and phylogenetic analysis of ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ in wild felines from Paraná, Brazil

Hemoplasma infections are emerging and wild fauna can represent an important reservoir of these pathogens. However, there are very few epidemiological studies about the occurrence of hemoplasmas in wild cats around the world. The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) evaluate the occurrence and phylogeny of hemoplasmas in captive wild felines at a zoo in the state of Parana, Brazil, and (2) verify the correlation between subpopulations of these bacteria and the hematological and biochemical parameters of the animals. PCR was used to detect hemoplasmas in the blood of three cougars (Puma concolor), a jaguar (Panthera onca), a tiger (Panthera tigris) and a lion (Panthera leo), followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The cougars and jaguar were found to be hemoplasma-positive by PCR. The phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences enabled the identification of genotypes of ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ circulating in this zoo. The identified sequences were closely related to hemoplasma sequences originating from domestic cats and other wild cats, but the infected cougars and jaguar were healthy and showed no hematological or biochemical changes. It was concluded that P. concolor and P. onca are exposed to ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ in Parana, but further research is suggested to assess the resistance of wild cats to different hemoplasma subpopulations.
Density functional theory calculations on corrosion inhibitory action of five azlactones on mild steel

A theoretical study for five azlactones,i.e, 4-benzylidene-2-phenyl oxazol-5-one (AZ1), 4-(4-methoxy benzylidene)-2phenyl oxazol-5-one (AZ2), 4-(4 hydroxy -3methoxy benzylidene)2-phenyl oxazol-5-one (AZ3), 4-(2-hydroxy benzylidene)-2-phenyl oxazol-5-one (AZ4) and 4-(2-Nitro benzylidene)-2-phenyl oxazol-5-one (AZ5), was investigated using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) basis set level through the relationship between their molecular and electronic structure. The calculated quantum chemical parameters correlated to the inhibition efficiency such as EHOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital energy), ELUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy), energy gap (∆E), dipole moment (μ), absolute hardness (η), absolute softness (S), the absolute electronegativity (χ), the fractions of electrons transferred from the inhibitor molecule to the metallic atom(∆N) and the electrophilicity index (ω) were calculated. The local selectivity and reactivity has been analyzed through the Fukui function and local softness indices in order to compare the possible sites for nucleophilic and electrophilic attacks. The theoretical results are in well accordance with the experimental data reported.
Improved random-forest image classification using generative adversarial network

Mankind has always hoped to do better. Ensemble learning[12] is one of the techniques that help drastically improve results of machine learning algorithms. But these classifiers need a lot of data in order to perform really well. But even in today’s data driven world, it is not that easy to get hold of that magnitude of data. This is where the concept of synthetic data[2] comes into play. Synthetic data is not real, but boasts many characteristics of real data, and the latter can sometimes become indistinguishable from the former. This data can be put to good use, such as training our ensemble classifiers, so that we can get even better results. That is what this paper aims to illustrate. I’m using random-forest ensemble classifier for classifying MNIST handwritten digits dataset, and the Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) for generating the said synthetic data.
Effects of Lexical Density and Lexical Variety in Language Performance and Proficiency

The aim of the present study is to explore the effects of lexical density and lexical variety in language performance and proficiency of the written scripts of tenth class regional medium students. The exam scripts are collected as data, the learners aged between 14 and 16 years. The main purpose of the study is to establish the use of lexicon in the written scripts would exhibit language knowledge of the learners. The cognitive theory of learning used in the present study to ascertain the use of measures i.e. lexical density and variety would aid in the language learning. Brown’s (1973) observations showed that there was a predictable order of acquisition of certain morpheme in English. Jean Ure’s (1971) basic method of lexical density is used to analyze the data. Robinson’s (1995) measure of complexity is used to find out the lexical variety. This reliable and valid measure of lexical density and variety in the written scripts will be useful for determining the factors that affect the language performance and proficiency which is related lexicon.
Preparation and Study of CdO-CdO 2 Nanoparticles for Solar Cells Applications

In this study, CdO-CdO 2 thin films, which was prepared by chemical method and deposited by drop casting technique on glass and silicon substrates have been studied. The structural, optical and chemical analysis were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements reveal that the CdO-CdO 2 thin film was polycrystalline, cubic structure and there is no trace of the other material. UV-Vis measurements assure that the energy gap of CdO-CdO 2 thin film was found to be 2.5eV. I-V characterization of the solar cell under illumination at 40mW/cm² fluence was investigated. The open circuit voltage (V oc ) was 4.1V and short-circuit current density (I sc ) was 1.44 mA. These measurements show that the fill factor (FF) and the conversion efficiency (η), were 36.2% and 6.8% respectively.
Stress/Strain-Dependent Properties of Hydraulic Conductivity for Fractured Rocks

In the last two decades there has seen an increasing interest in the coupling analysis between fluid flow and stress/deformation in fractured rocks, mainly due to the modeling requirements for design and performance assessment of underground radioactive waste repositories, natural gas/oil recovery, seepage flow through dam foundations, reservoir induced earthquakes, etc. Characterization of hydraulic conductivity for fractured rock masses, however, is one of the most challenging problems that are faced by geotechnical engineers. This difficulty largely comes from the fact that rock is a heterogeneous geological material that contains various natural fractures of different scales (Jing, 2003). When engineering works are constructed on or in a rock mass, deformation of both the fractures and intact rock will usually occur as a result of the stress changes. Due to the stiffer rock matrix, most deformation occurs in the fractures, in the form of normal and shear displacement. As a result, the existing fractures may close, open, grow and new fractures may be induced, which in turn changes the structure of the rock mass concerned and alters its fluid flow behaviours and properties. Therefore, the fractures often play a dominant role in understanding the flow-stress/deformation coupling behavior of a rock system, and their mechanical and hydraulic properties have to be properly established (Jing, 2003). Traditionally, fluid flow through rock fractures has been described by the cubic law, which follows the assumption that the fractures consist of two smooth parallel plates. Real rock fractures, however, have rough walls, variable aperture and asperity areas where the two opposing surfaces of the fracture walls are in contact with each other (Olsson & Barton, 2001). To simplify the problem, a single, average value (or together with its stochastic characteristics) is commonly used to describe the mechanical aperture of an individual fracture. A great amount of work (Lomize, 1951; Louis, 1971; Patir & Cheng, 1978; Barton et al., 1985; Zhou & Xiong, 1996) has been done to find an equivalent, smooth wall hydraulic aperture out of the real mechanical aperture such that when Darcy’s law or its modified version is applied, the equivalent smooth fracture yields the same water conducting capacity with its original rough fracture. It is worth noting that clear distinction manifests between the geometrically measured mechanical aperture (denoted by b in the context) and the theoretical smooth wall hydraulic aperture (denoted by b*), and the former is usually larger in magnitude than the latter due to the roughness of and filling materials in rock fractures (Olsson & Barton, 2001).
Ambivalence Regarding Linguistic and Cultural Choices among Minority Language Speakers: A Case Study of the Khoesan Youth of Botswana

Due to their small numbers and historical domination by others, the Khoesan groups in the southern African region are among the most marginalized and endangered communities in Africa (Batibo, 1998; Chebanne & Nthapelelang, 2000; Smieja, 2003). This situation has also led to their linguistic and cultural domination and an associated dilemma: on the one hand, the speakers of these minority languages wish to use and safeguard their linguistic and cultural heritage and identity; on the other hand, they desire to use other languages to enable wider communication and socioeconomic advancement. This study examined this dilemma among Khoesan youth in three villages in the Central Kalahari and Ghanzi areas of western Botswana. The primary aim of the study was to determine the extent to which ambivalence regarding linguistic and cultural options has affected the use of, attitudes toward, and attachment to languages and identities. The study focused on two Khoesan languages: Naro, a Central Khoesan language spoken in the Ghanzi sub-district, and ! Xóõ, a Southern Khoesan language spoken in south Central Kalahari. This study found that, in general, the youth in these communities preferred to use other languages and even altered their cultural and autonymic identity for socioeconomic reasons.
Robust and fast sliding-mode control for a DC–DC current-source parallel-resonant converter

Modern DC-DC resonant converters are normally built around a voltage-source series-resonant converter. This study aims to facilitate the practical use of current-source parallel-resonant converters due to their outstanding properties. To this end, this study presents a sliding-mode control scheme, which provides the following features to the closed-loop system: (i) high robustness to external disturbances and parameter variations and (ii) fast transient response during large and abrupt load changes. In addition, a design procedure for determining the values of the control parameters is presented. The theoretical contributions of this study are experimentally validated by selected tests on a laboratory prototype.
Hair cortisol concentration in a population without hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis disorders.

BACKGROUND Measuring hair cortisol seems to be a good alternative to laboratory tests used thus far in routine endocrine diagnostics, primarily because it is independent of the circadian rhythm of cortisol. Due to the average hair growth of 1 cm per month, the results are related to the average blood cortisol levels over the previous weeks, months or years (depending on the length of the hair sample). OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is an attempt to apply hair cortisol concentration (HCC) measurements to clinical endocrine diagnostics, based on reference cortisol concentrations in the blood in a population without disorders of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). MATERIAL AND METHODS In the final selection process, 44 patients were enrolled in the study, all with negative interviews regarding disorders of the HPA and with reference levels of cortisol concentration obtained in routine laboratory tests. In the pre-analytic phase, we used 1 cm proximal hair strands cut from the posterior vertex area of the head, followed by the incubation of a 20 mg hair sample in methanol. The final cortisol measurement was done using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS The results of HCC ranged from 2 pg/mg up to 51.63 pg/mg. The diurnal decrease in cortisol levels was significantly lower in females than in males (p = 0.031), but we do not consider that difference to be clinically significant. The difference in the HCC between males and females was not statistically significant (p = 0.767). The linear regression coefficient for age was not statistically significant (p = 0.847). Neither the regression coefficients for gender nor the gender and age interactions were statistically significant (p = 0.815). CONCLUSIONS Hair cortisol concentration measurement, unlike other endocrinological tests, gives information about the cortisol concentration in the long-term perspective. The results obtained in this study may be used as a reference for further research aimed at determining normal values of HCC.
A critical reassessment of the fundamental properties of GJ 504: Chemical composition and age

The recent development of brand new observational techniques and theoretical models have greatly advanced the exoplanet research field. Despite significant achievements, which have allowed the detection of thousands extrasolar systems, a comprehensive understanding of planetary formation and evolution mechanisms is still desired. One relevant limitation is given by the accuracy in the measurements of planet-host star ages. The star GJ 504 has been found to host a substellar companion whose nature is strongly debated. There has been a recent difference of opinion in the literature owing to the uncertainty on the age of the system: a young age of $\sim$ 160 Myr would imply a giant planet as a companion, but a recent revision pointing to a solar age ($\sim$ 4 Gyr) instead suggests a brown dwarf. With the aim of shedding light on this debated topic, we have carried out a high-resolution spectroscopic study of GJ 504 to derive stellar parameters, metallicity, and abundances of both light and heavy elements, providing a full chemical characterisation. The main objective is to infer clues on the evolutionary stage (hence the age) of this system. We performed a strictly differential (line-by-line) analysis of GJ 504 with respect to two reference stars, that is the planet-host dwarf $\iota$ Hor and the subgiant HIP 84827. The former is crucial in this context because its stellar parameters (hence the evolutionary stage) is well constrained from asteroseismic observations. Regardless of the zero point offsets, our differential approach allows us to put tight constraints on the age of GJ 504 with respect to $\iota$ Hor, thereby minimising the internal uncertainties. We found that the surface gravity of GJ 504 is 0.2 $\pm$ 0.07 dex lower than that of the main-sequence star $\iota$ Hor, suggesting a past turn-off evolution[. ]
The Role of Microbial Community Function in Spatial and Temporal Variation of Nitrogen Trace Gas Emissions from California Perennial Cropping Systems

Global climatic change is known to be directly associated with increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG’s) such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). Increases in atmospheric temperatures caused by GHGs have been projected to seriously impact upon the natural resources, environment and agricultural economy of the state of California (Hayhoe et al., 2004). California is the 12 th major global emitter of GHG’s, emitting approximately 500 million metric tons of carbon equivalents per annum. Of the total GHG emissions released from the United States, approximately 84% of these emissions are from CO2, 7% and 6% from N2O and CH4 respectively Approximately 12% of the total emissions are released by agricultural activities of which nearly 47% is attributable to soil management, primarily the application of nitrogenous fertilizers [1,2]. The application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer results in acceleration of microbial transformations of nitrogen by nitrification and denitrification. These two microbial processes directly and indirectly produce N2O. The overarching objective of this project was to examine spatial heterogeneity in soil N2O production at the orchard and vineyard scale. We examined primarily almond orchards and vineyards because taken together, they comprise over 1,500,000 acres, over 60% of California perennial crops acreage, and utilize irrigation and fertigation methods (drip and microspray jet) common to all California perennial crops. The production of N2O in soils results from microbial mediated processes; most importantly denitrification, nitrification and nitrifier denitrification [3,2]. Despite this diversity of sources, denitrification is considered to be the dominant source of N2O and is the focus of this study [3,4].