Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
477 Accounting for an imperfect model in 4 D-Var Yannick Trémolet

In most operational implementations of 4D-Var, it is assumed that the model used in the data assimilation process is perfect or, at least, that errors in the model can be neglected when compared to other errors in the system. In this paper, we study how model error could be accounted for in four dimensional variational data assimilation. We present three approaches for the formulation of weak constraint 4D-Var: estimating explicitly a model error forcing term, estimating a representation of model bias or, estimating a four dimensional model state as the control variable. The consequences of these approaches with respect to the implementation and the properties of 4D-Var are discussed. We show that 4D-Var with an additional model error representation as part of the control variable is essentially an initial value problem and that its characteristics are very similar to that of strong constraint 4D-Var. Taking the four dimensional state as the control variable however leads to very different properties. In that case, weak constraint 4D-Var can be interpreted as a coupling between successive strong constraint assimilation cycles. A possible extension towards long window 4D-Var and possibilities for evolutions of the data assimilation system are presented.
Isolation and characterisation of gamma radiation-induced dwarf mutants of Stylosanthes guianensis

Stylosanthes guianensis is an important forage legume and cover crop in tropical and sub tropical regions. Dwarf-type cultivars with enhanced chilling resistance would avoid competition for sunlight with young fruit trees when used as intercrop in orchards in subtropical regions. In this study, 7 dwarf mutants of S. guianensis were isolated from seedlings germinated following gamma ray irradiation of seeds of the cultivar, CIAT 184. The M4 and M5 plants were evaluated in 2006 and 2007, respectively. In greenhouse experiments, 2-month-old plants of the
Large-scale variation in seasonal swimming patterns of plaice in the North Sea

We examined the mid-water swimming activity of 139 mature female plaice Pleuro- nectes platessa L. These were tagged with electronic data storage tags (DST1s and DST3s) to test whether swimming at different times of the year differed among areas of the North Sea with average tidal current velocities ranging from fast (West), to intermediate (East), to slow (North). Longer swim- ming duration and more tidal activity were predicted for the western group, where fast-flowing tidal currents allow efficient selective tidal stream transport. Individual depth data were converted into binary records representing either swimming or resting; repeated patterns of swimming were analysed according to cycle-length frequencies. Most swimming occurred during expected times of migration and spawning (October to March). Plaice infrequently spent >5 h in mid-water, and rarely left the sea-bed during summer. DST1 tagged plaice (West only) spent the longest times swimming (p > 0.001), but there was no significant effect of Area for DST3s (all areas), suggesting that swim- ming plays an important behavioural role in migration in addition to transport between feeding and spawning areas. Tidal patterns of activity occurred in all 3 sub-stocks, predominantly during the migratory period (albeit at a significantly lower frequency in the North). These data provide one of few examples where the annual behaviour patterns of a fish stock have been recorded across a large part of its geographical range. The results have important implications for understanding the ener- getics of fish migration and the availability of demersal stocks to capture by commercial and survey vessels.
Epidemiology of obesity and public health strategies for its control in Japan

Obesity has become a public health problem in Japan. The National Nutrition Survey (2000) showed prevalence of preobese (body mass index: 25–29.9 kg/m2) and obesity (≥ 30 kg/m2) was 24.5% and 2.3%, respectively, in males, and 17.8% and 3.4%, respectively, in females aged 20 years and over. Trends in prevalence of overweight in the last 25 years differed among age-sex groups and across residential areas. The most significant increase in overweight was observed in men in small towns, whilst there was a remarkable decrease in women in metropolitan areas. In the 10 year national plan for health promotion named ‘Health Japan 21’, maintaining appropriate body weight (obesity control and prevention of thinness brought about by dieting in young women) is a core component of the prioritized issues. Increasing the number of people who know their healthy body weight and practice weight control is also listed as an important objective. The proportion of people engaged in regular exercise for health and following the recommended average number of steps in daily life is a major indicator for evaluation of the program. We conclude that when formulating effective public health strategies for obesity control, it is important to consider each country’s own situation related to obesity issues including the proper BMI cutoff point, which might be much different from that in western societies.
High resolution vegetation assessment with beta-diversity - a moving window approach

A B S T R A C T Monitoring designs are often suffering from the inherent non-stationarity of the monitored systems. To overcome this limitation, we propose a sampling design based on high resolution mapping and spatial analyses with double spatial scaling process. Applying to vegetation, we record the presence of plant species along 26 m or 52 m long belt transects of 520 (or 1040) units of 0.5 cm × 0.5 cm contiguous microquadrats. Beta diversity (represented as the diversity of species combinations) is estimated by subsequent computerised samplings from the baseline transect data sets. Beta diversity is scaled with changing resolutions across a range of scales from 5 cm × 5 cm to 5 cm × 500 cm. , and it is also scaled using moving window technique. Local maximum of beta diversity is repeatedly calculated in 5 m extent observational windows shifted along the transect with 1 m lag, and the spatial variability of vegetation is visualized by the related beta-diversity profile. Using a field example, we demonstrate that beta diversity, when applied with our methodology, is a sensitive indicator, and it can reveal more information than alpha or gamma diversity.
High-sensitivity search for clumps in the Vega Kuiper-belt. New PdBI 1.3 mm observations

Context. Previous studies have found that Vega is surrounded by an extended debris disc that is very smooth in the far infrared, but displays possible clumpiness at 850 μm and dust emission peaks at 1.3 mm. Aims. We reobserved Vega at 1.3 mm with PdBI to constrain its circumstellar dust distribution. Methods. Our observations of a three-field mosaic have a factor of two higher sensitivity than previous observations. Results. We detect Vega photosphere with the expected flux, but none of the previously reported emission peaks that should have been detected at the >6σ level, with a sensitivity < 1 mK. Conclusions. This implies that the dust distribution around Vega is principally smooth and circularly symmetric. This also means that no planet is needed to account for dust trapped in mean-motion resonnance.
Instantaneous Volatility Seasonality of Forex and Bitcoin E xchange R ates in Directional-Change Intrinsic Time

In this work, we investigate the presence and properties of scaling laws in the Bitcoin market. The set of laws corresponds to 12 independent and eight additional properties of the Forex market initially described by Glattfelder et al. (2011). For the first time, we demonstrate that the laws are among characteristics of the Bitcoin/American-Dollar (BTC/USD) tick-by-tick prices despite the different nature and mechanics of the Forex and cryptocurrency markets. However, revealed dependencies have significant deviations from the straight line in the range of small values. The latter is addressed to the significantly higher volatility of the Bitcoin prices. Besides, we demonstrate the difference of the scaling laws discovered in the EUR/USD using the data from Glattfelder et al. (2011) (analysed interval from 2002 to 2007) and a new time series which corresponds to the period from 2015 to 2018. 1 Data We selected the Bitcoincharts.com platform to download the historical information of all performed trades at one of the oldest crypto exchanges Coinbase within the time interval from 2015-06-15 to 2018-04-01. The total number of ticks in the downloaded sample is 21’330’645. The new set of the Forex data was obtained at the JForex trading platform from Dukascopy which provides a comprehensive list of all historical trades in the EUR/USD market. The covered time-span is from 2015-06-15 to 2018-06-21 and the corresponding number of ticks is 91’200’125. Both historical price curves are presented in Figure 1. The volatility of both exchange rates computed over the moving window of one week are depicted in Figure 2. ∗Corresponding author: vladimir.petrov@uzh.ch http://api.bitcoincharts. com/v1/csv/ https://www.coinbase. com/ https://www.dukascopy. com/swiss/english/forex/jforex/
Firms' R&D cooperation strategies: the partner choice

The aim of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the issue of ? rmsâ€™ RD (ii) with only science partners; and (iii) with both of them. Our ? ndings provide support to the hypothesis that di? erent variables determine di? erent partner choices according to the sector analyzed. In the manufacturing sector, for example, foreign multinational companies or export oriented ? rms prefer to cooperate only with market partners. In the services, ? rms receiving public subsidies for innovation prefer science cooperations to all the other cooperation arrangements leaving room for policy implications.
Vertebral Osteomyelitis in Broilers: A Review

I Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil. II Departamento de Ciências Animais, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-árido, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil. III Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
A Compact CPW-Fed UWB Antenna with Dual Band-Notched Characteristics

A compact CPW-fed planar UWB antenna with dual band-notched property is presented. The dual band rejection is achieved by etching a C-shaped slot on the radiation patch and two L-shaped parasitic strips in the ground plane. The experimental and measured results show that the proposed antenna exhibits an impedance bandwidth over an ultrawideband frequency range from 2.4 to 12.5 GHz with VSWR less than 2, except for two stopbands at 3.3 to 3.75 GHz and 5.07 to 5.83 GHz for filtering the WiMAX and WLAN signals, respectively. It also demonstrates a nearly omnidirectional radiation pattern. The fabricated antenna has a tiny size, only 32 mm × 32 mm × 0.508 mm. The simulated results are compared with the measured performance and show good agreement. The simple structure, compact size, and good characteristics make the proposed antenna an excellent candidate for UWB applications.
Improving use case definition using enterprise communication networks

Although researchers noted the importance of effective communication among stakeholders, it continues to be a challenge for requirements engineering. Communication can be considered as a management tool since communication allows organisation’s personnel to produce a cohesive enterprise view. In this paper, we briefly introduce our proposal on using enterprise communication networks to facilitate domain understanding. Then, we illustrate how to take advantage of these networks to improve use case definition.
Improvement of cassava pulp nutritive value and in vitro fermentation by urea and molasses treatment

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of urea (U) and molasses (M) treatment on nutritive value of cassava pulp and gas production kinetics and digestibility in in vitro gas production technique using dairy steer rumen fluid. The cassava pulp was treated with different levels of urea (0, 2, 4 and 6%) and molasses (0, 2, 4 and 6%) and all treatments were arranged according to a 4×4 factorial arrangement in a Completely randomized design (CRD). After 14 days of treatment, all treated cassava pulp were used to study in gas production technique. Under this investigation, the results revealed that dry matter (DM) contents of the cassava pulp treated was influenced by either M or U supplementation but ash and organic matter (OM) contents of the cassava pulp treated were not influenced by either M or U supplementation. Increasing U supplementation increased crude protein (CP) content, while M level did not show any effect. Furthermore, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) content in cassava pulp treated was decreased by U supplementation. Treated cassava pulp with urea and molasses affected on cumulative gas production (96 h), gas production for the insoluble fraction (b), gas production rate (c) and potential extent of gas production (a+b) (P<0.05). Increasing level of urea or molasses at 6% tended to reduce the gas production kinetic while molasses at 4% showed the highest values. Cumulative gas production (96 h) was increased by urea and/or molasses treated at 4%. In addition, in vitro true digestibility was increased with the increasing level of urea and/or molasses supplementation. Based on the present findings, it could be concluded that treatment of urea and molasses on cassava pulp could improve the nutritive value and gas production kinetics and in vitro digestibility. This study suggested that level of urea and molasses treated on cassava pulp was at 4 to 4 %.
A Spatial Theory of Media Slant and Voter Choice

We develop a theory of media slant as a systematic filtering of political news that reduces multidimensional politics to the one-dimensional space perceived by voters. Economic and political choices are interdependent in our theory: expected electoral results influence economic choices, and economic choices in turn influence voting behaviour. In a two-candidate election, we show that media favouring the front-runner will focus on issues unlikely to deliver a surprise, while media favouring the underdog will gamble for resurrection. We characterize the socially optimal slant and show that it coincides with the one favoured by the underdog under a variety of circumstances. Balanced media, giving each issue equal coverage, may be worse for voters than partisan media. Copyright 2011, Oxford University Press.
Radiocarbon Dating of Soil Organic Matter Fractions in Andosols in Northern Ecuador

Volcanic ash soils (Andosols) may offer great opportunities for paleoecological studies, as suggested by their characteristic accumulation of organic matter (OM). However, understanding of the chronostratigraphy of soil organic matter (SOM) is required. Therefore, radiocarbon dating of SOM is necessary, but unfortunately not straightforward. Dating of fractions of SOM obtained by alkali-acid extraction is promising, but which fraction (humic acid or humin) renders the most accurate 14C dates is still subject to debate. To determine which fraction should be used for 14C dating of Andosols and to evaluate if the chronostratigraphy of SOM is suitable for paleoecological research, we measured 14C ages of both fractions and related calibrated ages to soil depth for Andosols in northern Ecuador. We compared the time frames covered by the Andosols with those of peat sequences nearby to provide independent evidence. Humic acid (HA) was significantly older than humin, except for the mineral soil samples just beneath a forest floor (organic horizons), where the opposite was true. In peat sections, 14C ages of HA and humin were equally accurate. In the soils, calibrated ages increased significantly with increasing depth. Age inversions and homogenization were not observed at the applied sampling distances. We conclude that in Andosols lacking a thick organic horizon, dating of HA renders the most accurate results, since humin was contaminated by roots. On the other hand, in mineral soil samples just beneath a forest floor, humin ages were more accurate because HA was then contaminated by younger HA illuviated from the organic horizons. Overall, the chronostratigraphy of SOM in the studied Andosols appears to be suitable for paleoecological research.
Teenage Pregnancy and Education Expectations in Chile 1 Taryn Dinkelman

Each year, between 14% and 17% of babies in Chile are born to women younger than 19 years of age. Most of these teenage mothers are poor and unmarried and are less likely to complete their high school education compared to adolescents who do not have children. In this paper we explore the relationship between educational expectations and teenage pregnancy. In Chile, researchers have documented higher school dropout rates among teenage mothers compared to their peers who do not have children early in life. Other researchers have proposed that adolescents at risk of becoming teenage mothers have low expectations regarding their potential educational attainments and that their future life plans involve having children early in life. This literature suggests that knowledge of alternative life choices, particularly related to education, may affect the desire for children and the timing of fertility. In this paper, we report the results of a field experiment among students in poor schools in the Metropolitan region of Chile. Eighth grade students were randomly assigned to treatment or control group and treatment groups were exposed to a DVD in which role models provided information about loans and scholarships for tertiary education. Our results point towards an increase in the desired age of first birth among girls in the treatment group that received the financial aid information at school, although these results are not statistically significant at conventional levels. One of the most interesting results of our survey is that regardless of group assignment, girls report a significantly higher preferred age of first birth (about one-half a year older) than boys. The findings of this study suggest that an intervention of this nature can impact adolescents’ plans for the future, particularly those educational expectations that other researchers have found to be associated with teen pregnancy. 1 Dinkelman tdinkelm@princeton.edu; Martinez A cmartineza@econ.uchile. cl; Repetto prepetto@uc.cl. We thank the comments of anonymous referees from GRADE-PIERI. This work was carried out with funding from the InterAmericanDevelopment Bank (IADB) as part of its teenage pregnancy initiative in partnership with the Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network and Red de Centros. Martínez A. thanks the support of Iniciativa Científica Milenio to Centro de Microdatos, Project P07S-023-F
DIFFERENT DIETARY PATTERNS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE DISPARITY IN OVERWEIGHT OF BOYS BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN CHINA

This study aimed to compare the dietary pattern and BMI of Chinese children between rural and urban areas and to investigate the association between these two variables. Children aged 7-18 years (urban: 870; rural: 1,692) from the 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2011 China Health and Nutrition Surveys were recruited. The criteria of the Working Group on Obesity in China were used to define overweight and obesity and determine differences in body mass index (BMI) between urban and rural children. A consumption recall module for all foods over three days were used to describe dietary patterns. Subgroup differences in dietary pattern were identified using analysis of covariance. The relationship between children’s BMI and calorie structure was identified using nonparametric estimation and multiple variables linear regression models. Results show significant differences both in the overweight rate and dietary pattern between boys from urban and rural areas. Heterogeneity of calorie composition was positively associated with standardized BMI for boys. A higher proportion of calories from protein contributed to boys’ BMI. However, no significant association was detected for girls.
Assessing alpha-Synuclein Degradation through the MVB/Endocytosis Pathway

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder linked to the accumulation, misfolding, and aggregation of the α-synuclein protein in dopaminergic neurons of the midbrain, which might ultimately lead to the death of these neurons. Until recently, the proteasome was believed to be the main pathway for αsynuclein degradation; however, strong evidence emerged that supports the lysosome as another mechanism that effectively degrades the protein. The two pathways to the lysosome are autophagy and endocytosis. More evidence for autophagy as a mechanism for α-synuclein degradation is available, even though some studies point to the MVB/endocytosis pathway a route for membrane bound and extra cellular protein degradation. I propose the hypothesis that the MVB/endocytosis pathway is a route through which αsynuclein is targeted to the lysosome. Using S. cerevisiae as a model system, I will assess if αsynuclein accumulates, changes localization, and induces cell toxicity in yeasts genetically compromised for endocytosis at the pre-ESCRT step: vps27 and vps34. The pre-ESCRT gene knockouts will be compared with intact endocytosis intact yeast strains, while also comparing α-synuclein containing vectors to α-synuclein absent vectors. With around four million people affected worldwide, finding a cure for PD is a worldwide concern and priority. Background
INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING FOR PROMOTING CREATIVE EXPRESSION IN MEDIA AND CODING IN YOUTH ONLINE COLLABORATIVES IN SCRATCH

Constructionist approaches have favored children’s learning designing games and software applications because of their social and personal relevance. Designing interactive stories and animations have been seen as equally motivational but less successful in promoting the sophisticated forms of computational thinking and participation that are a prominent part of newly emerging social networking forums for online creative communities. In this paper, we examine two promising aspects of online creative collaboratives for learning in Scratch community: (1) how learning programming can emerge alongside creative expression in collaboratively designed interactive stories, and (2) how feedback can shape the artistic and computational qualities of stories between draft and final project online submissions. The analyses focused on changes in drafts and final projects by examining quantity and quality of media elements and program code in a collaborative story telling activity in Scratch online community. Findings indicate that online collaborative creative storytelling and constructive feedback provided on drafts by community and Scratch team members have the potential to generate both more complex story designs and code development. In the discussion we address the implications for designing creative collaboration that situate programming and media designs in mutually supportive ways.