Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential responses of shrubs and herbs present at the Upper Minjiang River basin ( Tibetan Plateau ) to several soil variables

Vertical structure in plant communities is well recognized, but questions remain about the response of different stratal layers in a plant community to resource use. This study provides a quantitative approach to compare the relationships of nine edaphic factors and species distributions in shrub and herb layers, respectively, in an arid valley of the upper Minjiang River, Sichuan Province, China. Classification (TWINSPAN) determined three groups of shrubs and four groups of herbs. Ordination (both DCA and DCCA) found a correlation among species and edaphic variables. Borcard’s method [Borcard, D. , Legendre, P., Drapeau, P., 1992. Partialling out the spatial component of ecological variation. Ecology 73, 1045–1055. ] was employed to partition the variation of species abundance data into independent components: pure spatial, pure environmental, spatial component of environmental influence, and undetermined. Based on those four components, a quantitative comparison of ecological variation between shrubs and herbs further eluidated their different response to the environment. Although soil moisture (SM) content, pH, soil organic matter (OC) and available potassium (AK) were the most important factors to both, the explained ecological variation of herbs was lower than that of shrubs. Understanding differences between stratal layers in resource use can shed light on plant–environment relationships. r 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Numerical simulation of flow past a heated/cooled sphere

Abstract The characteristics of flow past a heated/cooled sphere are investigated for particle Reynolds numbers $50\leq {\mathit{Re}}_{p} \leq 500$ in conditions with and without buoyancy by means of three-dimensional numerical simulation in which temperature dependence of fluid properties such as density and viscosity is exactly taken into account. The results show that in the absence of buoyancy, drag coefficients of the heated and cooled spheres are larger and smaller than those of the adiabatic case, respectively, and their Nusselt numbers are smaller and larger than the values estimated by a widely used empirical expression for predicting Nusselt numbers, respectively. In addition, the temperature difference between the sphere and ambient fluid strongly affects the flow separation points, size of vortex ring behind the sphere and Strouhal number for vortex shedding. These changes are attributed to the temperature dependence of fluid properties in the vicinity of the sphere. Even in the presence of buoyancy, the temperature dependence of fluid properties strongly affects the drag coefficient and Nusselt number and therefore the Boussinesq approximation becomes inapplicable as the temperature difference increases, regardless of the magnitude of the Richardson number.
Jitter in analog optical links using a quadrature‐biased Mach–Zehnder modulator

Characteristics of jitter have been investigated in a 10‐GHz analog optical link using a quadrature‐biased Mach–Zehnder modulator followed by an erbium‐doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) and a PIN photodiode. For the case of low optical input power, jitter varies inversely with input power, indicating the thermal noise limited characteristic. For high input optical power, jitter saturates at a minimum for different RF power levels for the configuration without EDFA. For the configuration using EDFA, jitter is also inversely proportional to EDFA gain but shows different minima for different input optical power with output power fixed by adjusting EDFA gain because of amplified spontaneous noise noise. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:2725–2727, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27196
Liquid crystal-based dielectric loaded surface plasmon polariton optical switches

An optical switch based on liquid crystal dielectric loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides is proposed and theoretically analyzed. The infiltration of the plasmonic structure with a nematic liquid crystalline material serving as the dielectric loading is shown to allow for extensive electrical tuning of its waveguiding characteristics. Both the electrical switching and optical properties of the proposed waveguide are investigated in the context of designing a directional coupler optical switch, which is found to combine efficient voltage control, low power consumption, high extinction ratio, and relatively low insertion losses.
KIC 4768731: a bright long-period roAp star in the Kepler field

We report the identification of 61.45 d−1 (711.2 μHz) oscillations, with amplitudes of 62.6 μmag, in KIC 4768731 (HD 225914) using Kepler photometry. This relatively bright (V = 9.17) chemically peculiar star with spectral type A5 Vp SrCr(Eu) has previously been found to exhibit rotational modulation with a period of 5.21 d. Fourier analysis reveals a simple dipole pulsator with an amplitude that has remained stable over a 4-yr time span, but with a frequency that is variable. Analysis of high-resolution spectra yields stellar parameters of Teff = 8100 ± 200 K, log g = 4.0 ± 0.2, [Fe/H] = +0.31 ± 0.24 and v sin i = 14.8 ± 1.6 km s−1. Line profile variations caused by rotation are also evident. Lines of Sr, Cr, Eu, Mg and Si are strongest when the star is brightest, while Y and Ba vary in antiphase with the other elements. The abundances of rare earth elements are only modestly enhanced compared to other roAp stars of similar Teff and log g. Radial velocities in the literature suggest a significant change over the past 30 yr, but the radial velocities presented here show no significant change over a period of 4 yr.
Reverse Osmosis Polyamide Thin Film Nanocomposite Membranes for Water Desalination: A Study

Lack of clean water resources is a grand issue in modern society [1,2]. Water desalination represents a real solution to produce clean water for human consumption and industrial sectors [3]. Because of its high efficiency, reverse osmosis (RO) is considered as the most important desalination technology [4,5]. Thin film nanocomposite membrane has become a frequently selected RO membrane [6]. This membrane is prepared by interfacial polymerization (IP) process and incorporation of nanoparticles into polyamide (PA) active layer with the aim of improving membrane characteristics including the hydrophilicity and surface charge. The term TFN membrane was first introduced by Hoek and his coworkers in 2007 [7]. In their work, they used zeolite NaA nanoparticles as filler in PA active layer during interfacial polymerization between m-phenylenediamine (MPD) and trimesoyl Chloride (TMC). Remarkable enhancement in water flux was achieved by embedding zeolite NaA nanoparticle without sacrificing membrane separation efficiency. This improvement was ascribed to hydrophilic property of zeolite nanoparticles which facilitate water solubilization and diffusion through the membrane.
Standard epidemiological methods to understand and improve Apis mellifera health

Summary In this paper, we describe the use of epidemiological methods to understand and reduce honey bee morbidity and mortality. Essential terms are presented and defined and we also give examples for their use. Defining such terms as disease, population, sensitivity, and specificity, provides a framework for epidemiological comparisons. The term population, in particular, is quite complex for an organism like the honey bee because one can view “epidemiological unit” as individual bees, colonies, apiaries, or operations. The population of interest must, therefore, be clearly defined. Equations and explanations of how to calculate measures of disease rates in a population are provided. There are two types of study design; observational and experimental. The advantages and limitations of both are discussed. Approaches to calculate and interpret results are detailed. Methods for calculating epidemiological measures such as detection of rare events, associating exposure and disease (Odds Ratio and Relative Risk), and comparing prevalence and incidence are discussed. Naturally, for beekeepers, the adoption of any management system must have economic advantage. We present a means to determine the cost and benefit of the treatment in order determine its net benefit. Lastly, this paper presents a discussion of the use of Hill's criteria for inferring causal relationships. This framework for judging cause-effect relationships supports a repeatable and quantitative evaluation process at the population or landscape level. Hill's criteria disaggregate the different kinds of evidence, allowing the scientist to consider each type of evidence individually and objectively, using a quantitative scoring method for drawing conclusions. It is hoped that the epidemiological approach will be more broadly used to study and negate honey bee disease.
Concurrent DSMC Method Using Dynamic Domain Decomposition

In the current study, a parallel two‐dimensional direct simulation Monte Carlo method is reported, which incorporates a multi‐level graph‐partitioning technique to dynamically decompose the computational domain. The current DSMC method is implemented on an unstructured mesh using particle ray‐tracing technique, which takes the advantages of the cell connectivity information. Standard Message Passage Interface (MPI) is used to communicate data between processors. In addition, different strategies applying the Stop at Rise (SAR) [7] scheme is utilized to determine when to adapt the workload distribution among processors. Corresponding analysis of parallel performance is reported using the results of a high‐speed driven cavity flow on IBM‐SP2 parallel machines (memory‐distributed, CPU 160 MHz, RAM 256 MB each) up to 64 processors. Small, medium and large problems, based on the number of particles and cells, are simulated. Results, applying SAR scheme every two time steps, show that parallel efficiency is 57%.
River geochemistry, chemical weathering, and atmospheric CO2 consumption rates in the Virunga Volcanic Province (East Africa)

We report a water chemistry data set from 13 rivers of the Virunga Volcanic Province (VVP) (Democratic Republic of Congo), sampled between December 2010 and February 2013. Most parameters showed no pronounced seasonal variation, whereas their spatial variation suggests a strong control by lithology, soil type, slope, and vegetation. High total suspended matter (289–1467 mg L−1) was recorded in rivers in the Lake Kivu catchment, indicating high soil erodibility, partly as a consequence of deforestation and farming activities. Dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) were lower in rivers from lava fields, and higher in nonvolcanic subcatchments. Stable carbon isotope signatures (δ13C) of POC and DOC mean δ13C of −22.5‰ and −23.5‰, respectively, are the first data to be reported for the highland of the Congo River basin and showed a much higher C4 contribution than in lowland areas. Rivers of the VVP were net sources of CH4 to the atmosphere (4–5052 nmol L−1). Most rivers show N2O concentrations close to equilibrium, but some rivers showed high N2O concentrations related to denitrification in groundwaters. δ13C signatures of dissolved inorganic carbon suggested magmatic CO2 inputs to aquifers/soil, which could have contributed to increase basalt weathering rates. This magmatic CO2‐mediated basalt weathering strongly contributed to the high major cation concentrations and total alkalinity. Thus, chemical weathering (39.0–2779.9 t km−2 yr−1) and atmospheric CO2 consumption (0.4–37.0 × 106 mol km−2 yr−1) rates were higher than previously reported in the literature for basaltic terrains.
ARDS definitions in children: one step forward

enrolled 221 children, medianage 6 months (range 2-13 months), which were categorizedaccording to the two deﬁnitions. The authors found veryinteresting and important results. Applying AECC, 36 chil-dren were classiﬁed as ALI and 185 as ARDS, with mortalityrates of 13.9% and 17.8%, respectively. Conversely, 36 wereclassiﬁed as mild, 97 as moderate, and 88 as severe ARDS
Identification and annotation of erotic film based on content analysis

The paper brings forward a new method for identifying and annotating erotic films based on content analysis. First, the film is decomposed to video and audio stream. Then, the video stream is segmented into shots and key frames are extracted from each shot. We filter the shots that include potential erotic content by finding the nude human body in key frames. A Gaussian model in YCbCr color space for detecting skin region is presented. An external polygon that covered the skin regions is used for the approximation of the human body. Last, we give the degree of the nudity by calculating the ratio of skin area to whole body area with weighted parameters. The result of the experiment shows the effectiveness of our method.
From foreigners to citizens : conceptualising students' entry into disciplinary communities of practice

The discipline of Classics, like most other disciplines in Higher Education contexts, faces numerous challenges related to changed national and international expectations. This article argues that in order to meet these challenges the discipline needs to reflect on its activities and teaching practices in a structured and deliberate way. Such reflection can be facilitated by theoretical frameworks designed in education research. We present one such framework, the “Communities of practice” as designed by Wenger (1998) and show how the framework can be employed, at a theoretical level, to conceptualise the challenges facing the discipline as well as to enhance teaching practices in an undergraduate Greek class, through an institutionally supported project. By applying this framework educators can assist students both in preparing for their careers as well as in engaging with their studies.
Personality Stability and Politics : TIPI Variability ∗

∗We thank the Weidenbaum Center for generously providing data from The American Voter Panel Survey for this project. We also thank Steve Smith, Michelle Margolis, Jon Rogowski, Jim Gibson and Chris Classen for their thoughtful comments that have significantly improved this manuscript. †Department of Political Science, 1 Brookings Drive, St Louis, MO 63130 ‡Department of Political Science, 1 Brookings Drive, St Louis, MO 63130 §Corresponding author: Department of Political Science, 1 Brookings Drive, St Louis, MO 63130; bsinclai@wustl.edu. ¶Department of Political Science, 1 Brookings Drive, St Louis, MO 63130 ‖Department of Political Science, 1 Brookings Drive, St Louis, MO 63130
Optimal Placement and Sizing of PV-STATCOM in Power Systems Using Empirical Data and Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization

Solar energy is a source of free, clean energy which avoids the destructive effects on the environment that have long been caused by power generation. Solar energy technology rivals fossil fuels, and its development has increased recently. Photovoltaic (PV) solar farms can only produce active power during the day, while at night, they are completely idle. At the same time, though, active power should be supported by reactive power. Reactive power compensation in power systems improves power quality and stability. The use during the night of a PV solar farm inverter as a static synchronous compensator (or PV-STATCOM device) has recently been proposed which can improve system performance and increase the utility of a PV solar farm. In this paper, a method for optimal PV-STATCOM placement and sizing is proposed using empirical data. Considering the objectives of power loss and cost minimization as well as voltage improvement, two sub-problems of placement and sizing, respectively, are solved by a power loss index and adaptive particle swarm optimization (APSO). Test results show that APSO not only performs better in finding optimal solutions but also converges faster compared with bee colony optimization (BCO) and lightening search algorithm (LSA). Installation of a PV solar farm, STATCOM, and PV-STATCOM in a system are each evaluated in terms of efficiency and cost.
MSCD Package Overview

The MSCD package, which name stands for "Multiple Scattering Calculation of Diffraction", was developed by Yufeng Chen and Michel A Van Hove at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with several collabarators. This program simulates the elemental and state-specific core-level photoelectron diffraction pattern from a surface, based on multiple scattering theory and the RehrAlbers separable representation of spherical-wave propagators, and by fitting to experiment obtains atomic structural information.
Autism Spectrum Disorder and Evidence‐Based Practice in Psychology

The article discusses current empirical evidence, also identifying gaps and areas for future research, for the three critical elements of evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP) (evidence-based practice; client characteristics, preferences, and culture; and clinical expertise) as applied to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We contrast EBPP to a pure EBP approach, outline issues in specifying criteria and sources for defining EBP, and identify gaps in the evidence base (e.g., treatments for adults with ASD). We review the impact on treatment of specific client characteristics (client age, ASD severity, intellectual and language ability, diagnostic comorbidity, cultural/family factors) and outline critical issues affecting clinical expertise and decision making when choosing and adapting treatments. Implications for policy, training, and research are discussed.
Dynamic Patterns of Trees Species in Miombo Forest and Management Perspectives for Sustainable Production—Case Study in Huambo Province, Angola

This paper aims to assess important forest parameters, including tree density, diameter at breast height (DBH), and age distribution, investigate the dynamic growth of miombo tree species, and employ this information to design a management framework in miombo forests. The delineation of the management zones was based on unsupervised land cover classification that began with three zones where ground data was collected and increased to five zones. Eighteen circular plots (25.2 m radius) were randomly distributed over the study areas to assess the current situation and potential growth patterns for each species. The patterns of the six most representative tree species of miombo in Angola were described and we used KORFiT 2.4 software to fit data and develop growth curves for at least three miombo species. Growth function fitness was evaluated by root mean squared error (RMSE), coefficient of determination (R2), significance of the parameters (p < 0.05), and Akaike’s information criterion (AIC). The diameter distribution of miombo tree species resembled a typical distribution of uneven-aged forest stands; higher DBH classes had lower abundances of tree species. Logistic and Gompertz growth functions were the best fits for miombo tree species. Brachystegia spiciformis Benth. , is suggested as a potential species for timber management in the region because they displayed high growth potential to more quickly reach an assumed minimum DBH of 20 cm. This study concluded that miombo forest stands present an irregular structure in which DBH distribution illustrated only two patterns: many small stems and a bimodal forest structure.
Intrathecal delivery of bone marrow stem cells in ALS: A preliminary report

Introduction: There is no effective therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Safety and feasibility of intrathecal autologous stem cell injections in ALS patients is described. Methods: Fifteen ALS patients were enrolled. ALS functional rating scale revised (ALSFRS-R) was performed. They received subcutaneous filgrastim (600 μg) for 3 days. Then, CD34+ stem cells (150 ml) were bone marrow obtained and intrathechally injected. Patients were followed up for 1-year. Results: Eight females and 7 males were included (mean 47.6 years). Interval between onset and stem cell injection was 23.8 months. Mean ALSFRS-R at inclusion and six months was 33 and 32, respectively. Four patients died, mortality was associated to scores lower than 30 points at inclusion. Discussion: Intrathecal stem cell injection is safe, and well tolerated in ALS patients. Further studies with a greater number of patients are necessary to define the usefulness of intrathecal stem cell therapy in ALS patients. Correspondence to: Hector R. Martínez, Av. Madero Pte. y Av. Gonzalitos S/N, Col. Mitras Centro 64460, Monterrey, N.L. México, Tel: (+5281) 83489266, E-mail: drhectormtz@yahoo.com
Sm–Nd isotopic mapping of lithospheric growth and stabilization in the eastern Kaapvaal craton

Whole‐rock Sm–Nd isotope systematics of 79 Archean granitoids from the eastern Kaapvaal craton, southern Africa, are used to delineate lithospheric boundaries and to constrain the timescale of crustal growth, assembly and geochemical differentiation c. 3.66–2.70 Ga. Offsets in εNd values for 3.2–3.3 Ga granitoids across the Barberton greenstone belt (BGB) are consistent with existing models for c. 3.23 Ga accretion of newly formed lithosphere north of the BGB onto pre‐existing c. 3.66 Ga lithosphere south of the BGB along a doubly verging subduction margin. The Nd isotopic signature of c. 3.3–3.2 Ga magmatic rocks show that significant crustal growth occurred during subduction–accretion. After c. 3.2 Ga, however, the Nd signature of intrusive rocks c. 3.1 and 2.7 Ga is dominated by intracrustal recycling rather than by new additions from the mantle, signalling cratonic stability.
Improve Markers of Oxidative Stress and Coagulation Parameters in Response to Atorvastatin Therapy

Aims : This study was undertaken to investigate the antioxidant effects of atorvastatin in treating cases of atherosclerosis associated with hyperlipidemia. Methodology : Forty local domestic rabbits were assigned to five groups (eight rabbits in each group): After two weeks acclimatization period, a group of 8 rabbits (Group I) were used as the baseline values of the study parameters. Another 8 rabbits were selected and maintained on standard chow diet (4% fat, 18% protein, 60% carbohydrate, and 4% fibers) throughout the experiment (12 weeks) and served as a normal diet control (Group II). The rest 24 rabbits were fed on an atherogenic diet for 8 weeks to induce atherogenesis. At the end of 8th week, a group of 8 atherogenic rabbits (Group III) were separated and sacrificed and served as an atherogenic-baseline group. The remaining 16 atherogenic rabbits were randomly allocated into two groups; first group received atherogenic diet only for the next four weeks and served as an atherogenic control (Group IV). The other group received atorvastatin (Group V). Results : Blood samples were collected for serum lipids, coagulation parameters and oxidation parameters. Results showed a significant improvement in the coagulation parameters and oxidation parameters in the atorvastatin treated group compared to the atherogenic control group ( P = .01). Conclusion : This study illustrated the beneficial anti-oxidant effects of atorvastatin in treating atherosclerosis associated with hyperlipidemia.