Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coral planulae as dispersion vehicles: biological properties of larvae released early and late in the season

Over the last century, considerable research has been dedicated to investigating life his- tory traits of coral planulae. However, despite the universality of coral propagules and their deduced ecological properties, there is no clear understanding of some basic biological issues such as ecological and evolutionary forces that determine sexual reproduction and larval behavior in hermatypic corals. To further evaluate ecological trajectories in sexual reproduction of the hermatypic coral Stylophora pistillata from Eilat, Red Sea, we collected 22 900 planulae from 313 S. pistillata colonies in situ during March to July (2004 to 2006). Variations in reproductive effort were observed between years, but during all reproductive seasons, the larvae tended to settle ex situ in aggregates of kin (61.71% to 82.4%; 2005 values). During a 6 mo survey, the spat grew at a rate of 3.4 to 5.4 polyps mo -1 . Peaks of planula shedding were documented for April to June, suggesting a shift in reproductive seasonality compared to the preceding 2 to 3 decades. Ex situ settlement of collected larvae revealed, for the first time, settlement polymorphism of early versus late larvae throughout the reproductive season; the March settlement rate was the highest (43.7%) and June was the lowest (26.2%). A reverse trend was documented for settlement rates on the first post-planulation night, with only 2.2% settlement in March versus 46.2% in July. Early season larvae of S. pistillata are therefore capable of dispersing farther than late season propagules. These results are diametrically opposed to the 'desperate larva hypothesis,' revealing different ecological traits of early versus late season larvae.
Compression behavior evaluation of single down fiber and down fiber assemblies

Down fibers have superior thermal insulating properties as natural nonwoven and filler materials. Physical properties include single-fiber bending, down assembly bulkiness, compressibility and recoverability, which all affect down fibers' thermal insulation greatly. Research on the physical properties of down fibers has been very limited. In this paper, the physical property tests and analyses on both single down fibers and down fiber assemblies were carried out seriatim. The fiber bending properties were tested by an axial-buckling method, and the assembly compressibility and recoverability were tested by fiber assembly conductivity analyzer. The behavior mechanisms were explained by fiber structure and arrangement factors. Synchronously, the physical properties of down are evaluated and compared with other kinds of keratin fibers and wool.
Assets for Alimentation? The Nutritional Impact of Assets-based Programming in Niger

Abstract A recent strand of aid programming aims to develop household assets by removing the stresses associated with meeting basic nutritional needs. In this study, the authors posit that such nutrition-sensitive programmes can reduce malnourishment by encouraging further investment in diet. To test this hypothesis, they analyse the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO), in Niger, a conflict-affected, low-income country with entrenched food insecurity. Under the PRRO, a household falls into one of three groups at end line: receiving no assistance, receiving nutrition-specific assistance, or receiving nutrition-specific assistance and nutrition-sensitive food for assets-based programming. If provided alone, food aid has no nutritional impact relative to receiving no assistance. However, the study observes pronounced positive effects if food aid is paired with assets-based programming. The authors conclude, first, that certain forms of food aid function well in complex, insecure environments; second, that assets-based programmes deliver positive nutritional spillovers; and, third, that there are theoretical grounds to believe that assets-based nutrition-sensitive programmes interact positively with nutrition-specific programming.
Efficient and Programmable Distributed Shared Memory Systems for Machine Learning Training

Machine learning training involves frequent and often sparse updates to a large number of numerical values called model parameters. Many distributed training systems have resorted to using distributed shared memory (DSM) (e.g. Parameter Server) for efficient sparse access and in-place updates. Compared to traditional programs, machine learning applications tolerate bounded error, which presents opportunities for trading off learning progress for higher computation throughput. In this thesis, I develop efficient and programmable distributed learning systems, by exploiting this trade-off in the design of distributed shared memory systems, along with parallelization and static and dynamic scheduling. Thanks to this tolerance to bounded error, a machine learning program can often be parallelized without strictly preserving data dependence. Parallel workers may thus observe inconsistent model parameter values compared to a serial execution. More frequent communication to propagate updates and fresher parameter values may reduce such inconsistency, while incurring higher communication overhead. I present a communication management mechanism that automates communication using spare network bandwidth and prioritizes messages according to their importance in order to reduce error due to inconsistency while retaining high computation throughput. When each model update reads and writes to only a subset of model parameters, it is possible to achieve an efficient parallelization while preserving critical data dependence, exploiting sparse parameter access. Existing systems require substantial programmer effort to take advantage of this opportunity. In order to achieve dependence-preserving parallelization without imposing a huge burden on application programmers, I present a system Orion that provides parallel for-loops on distributed shared memory and parallelizes loops with loop-carried dependence. At last, I propose to explore dynamic scheduling for dynamic control flow in dataflow systems such as TensorFlow. In TensorFlow, the computation graph is statically partitioned and assigned with computation devices. Static device placement is suboptimal as the operators’ load can no longer be determined statically due to dynamic control flow. A suboptimal static device placement may result in imbalanced load and extra communication. It is promising to address the deficiency of static device placement by dynamically scheduling operations based on their load at runtime. August 16, 2018 DRAFT
Sources of particulate organic matter at the ecosystem scale: a stable isotope and trace element study in a tropical coral reef

Spatial and seasonal variability of sources of particulate organic matter (POM) were evaluated in a coral reef ecosystem. Reef water POM was sampled monthly along a south-north gradient. The passage of tropical cyclone Gamede, which crossed Reunion Island in February 2007, provided an ideal opportunity to examine the impact of high river discharge. Stable isotope composition (δ 13 C, δ 15 N) was determined in oceanic, riverine and reef water POM, sedimentary organic matter (SOM), benthic primary producers and detritus. Trace elements (Ti, Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn) measured in SOM were used as additional terrestrial tracers. Stable isotope analysis of reef water showed that POM was affected by anthropogenic non-point nutrient sources, water circula- tion patterns and residence time. During the cold and dry season, the southern end of the reef received organic matter input derived from ocean primary production, while the middle and northern reef water POM originated primarily from SOM, reflecting an important bentho-pelagic coupling process. During the hot and wet season, reef water was enriched in benthic detritus due to higher autochthonous production. We found important spatial variability in POM sources, high- lighting the importance of small-scale (hundreds of meters) studies when investigating ecosystem functioning. Although coastal tidal currents transported some river discharge material to the south of the reef, riverine POM input was limited, even after cyclone passage. We hypothesized that the major effect of the cyclone was the export of SOM and benthic detritus out of the system and that persistent disturbances such as groundwater discharges can be of greater importance than a cyclone in long-term degradation of ecosystems.
Laser-Based Identification of Pathogenic Bacteria

Bacteria are ubiquitous in our world. From our homes, to our work environment, to our own bodies, bacteria are the omnipresent although often unobserved companions to human life. Physicists are typically untroubled professionally by the presence of these bacteria, as their study usually falls safely outside the realm of our typical domain. In the last 10 years, however, several events have occurred that demand the attention of the general populace — including the ranks of physicists among them.
Satellite‐Based Daily PM2.5 Estimates During Fire Seasons in Colorado

The western United States has experienced increasing wildfire activities, which have negative effects on human health. Epidemiological studies on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfires are limited by the lack of accurate high‐resolution PM2.5 exposure data over fire days. Satellite‐based aerosol optical depth (AOD) data can provide additional information in ground PM2.5 concentrations and has been widely used in previous studies. However, the low background concentration, complex terrain, and large wildfire sources add to the challenge of estimating PM2.5 concentrations in the western United States. In this study, we applied a Bayesian ensemble model that combined information from the 1 km resolution AOD products derived from the Multi‐angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm, Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model simulations, and ground measurements to predict daily PM2.5 concentrations over fire seasons (April to September) in Colorado for 2011–2014. Our model had a 10‐fold cross‐validated R2 of 0.66 and root‐mean‐squared error of 2.00 μg/m3, outperformed the multistage model, especially on the fire days. Elevated PM2.5 concentrations over large fire events were successfully captured. The modeling technique demonstrated in this study could support future short‐term and long‐term epidemiological studies of wildfire PM2.5.
NUTRITIONAL QUALITY ENRICHMENT OF RICE STRAW USING PLEUROTUS SAJOR-CAJU (FR.) SINGER AND MICRO-FILAMENTOUS FUNGI

Solid state fermentation was carried out by Pleurotus sajor-caju , micro-filamentous fungi and culture filtrate of P. sajor-caju with different combinations to improve nutritional qualities of rice straw. The acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) contents of the fermented rice straw were significantly reduced in mixed culture with filamentous fungi and P. sajor-caju. The cellulose and hemicellulose contents also reduced in similar manner. P. sajor-caju showed strong lignolytic activity resulting cellulose/lignin ratio of 5:1 when rice straw and PKC were supplemented. The protein content increased from 5.86 - 11.12, 12.98 and 13.14%, respectively. The maximum and significant amount of soluble protein 11.84 mg/g and glucosamine 18.50 mg/g was recorded in mixed culture at 30% palm oil kernel cake (PKC) supplementation. The maximum reducing sugar of 18.76 mg/g and endoglucanase activity 11.54 U/ml was recorded in same treatment. The mineral contents K, P, Ca, Mg and Fe were significantly higher in fermented sample while Cu and Zn were non-significant. The antioxidant activity improved by 45% and significantly varied between fermented and unfermented samples. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjb.v42i2. 18039 Bangladesh J. Bot. 42 (2): 333-341, 2013 (December)
Evaluation on the Photocatalytic Degradation Activity of Reactive Blue 4 using Pure Anatase Nano-TiO2

Disposal of dye wastewater into water streams without treatment endangers human and marine lives. This work focused on the second largest class of textile dyes after azo dyes due to its high resistivity to biodegradation and high toxicity. The photocatalytic degradation of Reactive Blue 4 (RB4), an anthraquinone dye, has been investigated using pure anatase nano titanium (IV) oxide (TiO2). The dye molecules were fully degraded and the addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) enhanced the photodegradation efficiency. It is found that the degradation as the hydroxyl radicals in the bulk solution is sufficient for complete mineralisation. The disappearance of the dye follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. The effect of pH, amount of photocatalyst, UV-light intensity, light source and concentration of hydrogen peroxide was ascertained.
Marble: Making Fully Homomorphic Encryption Accessible to All

With the recent explosion of data breaches and data misuse cases, there is more demand than ever for secure system designs that fundamentally tackle today's data trust models. One promising alternative to today's trust model is true end-to-end encryption without however compromising user experience nor data utility. Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) provides a powerful tool in empowering users with more control over their data, while still benefiting from computing services of remote services, though without trusting them with plaintext data. However, due to the complexity of fully homomorphic encryption, it has remained reserved exclusively for a small group of domain experts. With our system Marble, we make FHE accessible to the broader community of researchers and developers. Marble takes away the complexity of setup and configuration associated with FHE schemes. It provides a familiar programming environment. Marble allows rapid feasibility assessment and development of FHE-based applications. More importantly, Marble benchmarks the overall performance of an FHE-based application, as part of the feasibility assessment. With real-world application case-studies, we show the practicality of Marble.
Investigation of Chlorophylls a and b Interaction with Inner and Outer Surfaces of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Using Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Abstract—In this work, adsorption of chlorophylls a and b pigments in aqueous solution on the inner and outer surfaces of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) has been studied using molecular dynamics simulation. The linear interaction energy algorithm has been used to calculate the binding free energy. The results show that the adsorption of two pigments is fine on the both positions. Although there is the close similarity between these two pigments, their interaction with the nanotube is different. This result is useful to separate these pigments from one another. According to interaction energy between the pigments and carbon nanotube, interaction between these pigments-SWCNT on the inner surface is stronger than the outer surface. The interaction of SWCNT with chlorophylls phytol tail is stronger than the interaction of SWCNT with porphyrin ring of chlorophylls.
(When) are We Dynamically Optimal? A Psychological Field Guide for Marketing Modelers

A common assumption made in structural approaches to empirical strategy research in marketing is that firms and consumers satisfy the assumptions of dynamic optimality when making decisions. When faced with problems of how best to allocate resources, firms are assumed consider the future consequences of different strategic options and, in each point in time, choose the option that maximizes long-term utility. The validity of such assumptions, however, is often called into question by behavioral researchers who point to work in psychology that finds that assumptions of optimality are frequently violated in experimental settings. If this is indeed the case, it would lend support to approaches that argue that markets have inefficiencies that can be discovered and exploited by simpler, largely correlational, methods. In this article, the authors attempt to reconcile these contrasting views by proposing a framework for assessing when assumptions of dynamic optimality are likely to be good ones and when they are likely to be untenable in empirical analysis.
Estimating New-Keynesian Phillips Curves: A Full Information Maximum Likelihood Approach

The New-Keynesian Phillips curve has recently become an important ingredient in monetary policy models. However, using limited information methods, the empirical support for the New-Keynesian Phillips curve appear to be mixed. This paper argues, by means of Monte Carlo simulations with a simple New-Keynesian sticky price model, that single equations methods, e.g. GMM, are likely to produce imprecise and biased estimates. Then, it is argued that estimating the model with full information maximum likelihood (FIML) is a useful way of obtaining better estimates. Finally, a version of the model used in the Monte Carlo simulations is estimated on U.S. data with FIML and although the pure forward-looking New-Keynesian Phillips curve is rejected, a version with both forwardand backward-looking components provides a reasonable approximation of U.S. inflation dynamics.
Herschel observations of extreme OH/IR stars The isotopic ratios of oxygen as a sign-post for the stellar mass

© ESO 2015. Aims. The late stages of stellar evolution are mainly governed by the mass of the stars. Low- and intermediate-mass stars lose copious amounts of mass during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) which obscure the central star making it difficult to study the stellar spectra and determine the stellar mass. In this study, we present observational data that can be used to determine lower limits to the stellar mass. Methods. Spectra of nine heavily reddened AGB stars taken by the Herschel Space Observatory display numerous molecular emission lines. The strongest emission lines are due to H 2 O. We search for the presence of isotopologues of H 2 O in these objects. Results. We detected the 16O and 17O isotopologues of water in these stars, but lines due to H 2 18O are absent. The lack of 18O is predicted by a scenario where the star has undergone hot-bottom burning which preferentially destroys 18O relative to 16O and 17O. From stellar evolution calculations, this process is thought to occur when the stellar mass is above 5 M ⊙ for solar metallicity. Hence, observations of different isotopologues of H 2 O can be used to help determine the lower limit to the initial stellar mass. Conclusions. From our observations, we deduce that these extreme OH/IR stars are intermediate-mass stars with masses of ≥5 M ⊙ . Their high mass-loss rates of ∼10-4M ⊙ yr-1 may affect the enrichment of the interstellar medium and the overall chemical evolution of our Galaxy.
Using compiler snippets to exploit parallelism on heterogeneous hardware: a Java reduction case study

Parallel skeletons are essential structured design patterns for efficient heterogeneous and parallel programming. They allow programmers to express common algorithms in such a way that it is much easier to read, maintain, debug and implement for different parallel programming models and parallel architectures. Reductions are one of the most common parallel skeletons. Many programming frameworks have been proposed for accelerating reduction operations on heterogeneous hardware. However, for the Java programming language, little work has been done for automatically compiling and exploiting reductions in Java applications on GPUs. In this paper we present our work in progress in utilizing compiler snippets to express parallelism on heterogeneous hardware. In detail, we demonstrate the usage of Graal's snippets, in the context of the Tornado compiler, to express a set of Java reduction operations for GPU acceleration. The snippets are expressed in pure Java with OpenCL semantics, simplifying the JIT compiler optimizations and code generation. We showcase that with our technique we are able to execute a predefined set of reductions on GPUs within 85% of the performance of the native code and reach up to 20x over the Java sequential execution.
Enhancement of rainfall and runoff upstream from irrigation location in a climate model of West Africa

This study investigates the impact of potential medium‐scale irrigation (about 60,000 km2) on the climate of West Africa using the MIT Regional Climate Model. We find that irrigation at this scale induces an atmospheric response similar to that of large‐scale irrigation (about 400,000km2) which was considered in our previous theoretical study. While the volume of water needed for large‐scale irrigation is about 230–270 km3, the medium‐scale irrigation requires about 50 km3, and the annual flow of the Niger river in the relevant section is about 70 km3. The remote response of rainfall distribution to local irrigation exhibits a significant sensitivity to the latitudinal location of irrigation. The nature of this response is such that irrigation from the Niger River around latitude 18°N induces significant increase in rainfall of order 100% in the upstream sources of the Niger River and results in significant increase in runoff of order 50%. This additional runoff can potentially be collected by the river network and delivered back toward the irrigation area. By selecting the location of irrigation carefully, the positive impacts of irrigation on rainfall distribution can be maximized. The approach of using a regional climate model to investigate the impact of location and size of irrigation schemes, explored in this study, may be the first step in incorporating land‐atmosphere interactions in the design of location and size of irrigation projects. However, this theoretical approach is still in early stages of development and further research is needed before any practical application in water resources planning.
Colonization dynamics of the invasive predatory cladoceran, Bythotrephes longimanus, inferred from sediment records

Despite the central role of colonization to invasion biology, little is known about the early dynamics of founder populations because this time period is often unobserved and short‐lived. This study documents with high resolution the early population ecology of an invading freshwater zooplankton, Bythotrephes longimanus (Cladocera : Cercopagidae), by measuring accumulation rates of its caudal spine in sediments. Using dated (210Pb and 137Cs) sediment cores from four spatially distinct sites in Island Lake Reservoir (Minnesota, USA), we describe its first presence, early distribution, growth trajectory, and early impacts on prey. The sediment record shows that B. longimanus first appeared and was widely distributed in the lake in 1982 (± 2 yr, standard deviation), 8 yr before its first detection in the water, making it one of the earliest documented invasions in North America and suggesting that ecosystems may serve as dispersal hubs for years prior to detection. Logistic growth models describing spine accumulation rates show that B. longimanus required about two decades to achieve an annual equilibrium (K). Prolonged buildup to K may owe to several factors, including accumulation of a sufficiently large bank of resting eggs, the obligate overwintering life stage. Early exponential growth was incongruent with the presence of a lag phase. Post invasion, Daphnia mendotae became proportionally the most abundant daphniid in the lake, but the timing of the switch in prey species composition coincided more with the proliferation of B. longimanus density and its attainment of K than with its arrival to the lake.