Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantity‐activity relationship of denitrifying bacteria and environmental scaling in streams of a forested watershed

[1] The spatial variability of subreach denitrification rates in streams was evaluated with respect to controlling environmental conditions, molecular examination of denitrifying bacteria, and dimensional analysis. Denitrification activities ranged from 0 and 800 ng-N gsed−1 d−1 with large variations observed within short distances (<50 m) along stream reaches. A log-normal probability distribution described the range in denitrification activities and was used to define low (16% of the probability distribution), medium (68%), and high (16%) denitrification potential groups. Denitrifying bacteria were quantified using a competitive polymerase chain reaction (cPCR) technique that amplified the nirK gene that encodes for nitrite reductase. Results showed a range of nirK quantities from 103 to 107 gene-copy-number gsed−1. A nonparametric statistical test showed no significant difference in nirK quantities among stream reaches, but revealed that samples with a high denitrification potential had significantly higher nirK quantities. Denitrification activity was positively correlated with nirK quantities with scatter in the data that can be attributed to varying environmental conditions along stream reaches. Dimensional analysis was used to evaluate denitrification activities according to environmental variables that describe fluid-flow properties, nitrate and organic material quantities, and dissolved oxygen flux. Buckingham's pi theorem was used to generate dimensionless groupings and field data were used to determine scaling parameters. The resulting expressions between dimensionless NO3− flux and dimensionless groupings of environmental variables showed consistent scaling, which indicates that the subreach variability in denitrification rates can be predicted by the controlling physical, chemical, and microbiological conditions.
Mars Pathfinder convective vortices: Frequency of occurrence

The frequency of occurrence of small‐scale convective vortices at the Mars Pathfinder lander location exhibits a diurnal variation similar to terrestrial dust devil observations. The 79 vortices detected via their pressure signatures during the 83 sol mission, when combined with an assessment of the incompleteness of data temporal coverage, implies that at least two vortices passed by the lander site each sol. If the vortices are dust laden, as inferred from lander imaging, then the observed vortex frequency is capable of maintaining the observed atmospheric dust load against sedimentation loss. The time‐of‐sol variation in vortex occurrence provided by Pathfinder, when combined with orbiter imaging of dust devils at a very limited time of sol, offers a potential means of quantifying the effect of these small‐scale vortices upon the atmospheric dust cycle.
Multilayer-HySEA model validation for landslide-generated tsunamis – Part 1: Rigid slides

Abstract. This paper is devoted to benchmarking the Multilayer-HySEA model using laboratory experimental data for landslide-generated tsunamis. This article deals with rigid slides, and the second part, in a companion paper, addresses granular slides. The US National Tsunami Hazard and Mitigation Program (NTHMP) has proposed the experimental data used and established for the NTHMP Landslide Benchmark Workshop, held in January 2017 at Galveston (Texas). The first three benchmark problems proposed in this workshop deal with rigid slides. Rigid slides must be simulated as a moving bottom topography, and, therefore, they must be modeled as a prescribed boundary condition. These three benchmarks are used here to validate the Multilayer-HySEA model. This new HySEA model consists of an efficient hybrid finite-volume–finite-difference implementation on GPU architectures of a non-hydrostatic multilayer model. A brief description of model equations, dispersive properties, and the numerical scheme is included. The benchmarks are described and the numerical results compared against the lab-measured data for each of them. The specific aim is to validate this new code for tsunamis generated by rigid slides. Nevertheless, the overall objective of the current benchmarking effort is to produce a ready-to-use numerical tool for real-world landslide-generated tsunami hazard assessment. This tool has already been used to reproduce the Port Valdez, Alaska, 1964 and Stromboli, Italy, 2002 events.
Performance improvement for real-time video communications by link adaptation in E-GPRS networks

The provision of video communications over wireless links is a challenging task due to the poor performance of video compression algorithms in time-varying error-prone environments. The paper presents a performance enhancement method for real-time video communications by employing link adaptation in enhanced general packet radio service (E-GPRS) cellular networks. A novel link adaptation algorithm, which is based on physical layer measurable quantities, including block error rate (BLER), received signal strength (RSS) and the gradient of RSS, is proposed and analysed. The effects of a link adaptation scheme at video frame level on improving video quality with variable source rate by varying the channel-coding scheme for a fixed channel allocation is studied. The algorithm is tested for MPEG-4 coded video transmissions over simulated channel conditions based on the GSM mobile radio multipath propagation models (see 3GPP TS 05.05, 1999). The performance obtained using the proposed method is compared to a non-adaptive case and to the ideal adaptive case, where the choice of channel coding scheme is made based on the carrier-to-interference ratio (CIR) of the transmission channel.
A novel application of multivariable �1 adaptive control: From design to real-time implementation on an underwater vehicle

—This paper presents the design and experimental implementation of an L 1 adaptive control on a tethered under- water vehicle. This controller, well known for its fast adaptation and its robusntess, is proposed to be applied for the ﬁrst time in the ﬁeld of underwater vehicles control. This paper summarizes the implementation and experimental results obtained on a modiﬁed version of the AC-ROV underwater vehicle. Various experimental scenarios are presented to illustrate the ability of the L 1 adaptive law not only to successfully control pitch and depth (even with strong modeling uncertainties), but also to be e ﬃ cient towards disturbances like waves or buoyancy changes.
Complete solid solution between magnesian schorl and lithian excess-boron olenite in a pegmatite from the Koralpe (eastern Alps, Austria)

At the margins of a plagioclase-quartz pegmatite near Stoffhutte (Koralpe, Austroalpine realm, Austrian Alps), a new solid solution series within the tourmaline group (XY 3 Z 6 [T 6 O 18 ](BO 3 ) 3 V 3 W) has been found, namely between magnesian schorl and lithian excess-boron olenite. At the pegmatite contact with mylonitic garnet-biotite schists, a tourmalinite band developed. Massive tourmaline cores are Mg-rich schorl with normal boron contents of 3.0 cations per formula unit that most likely formed by a reaction of melt with garnet. Within the pegmatite, only olenitic crystals were found. Within a transition zone, the Mg-rich schorl crystals become zoned and develop olenitic rims of increasing size, most likely formed from a fluid via the reaction plagioclase \({+}\ H_{2}O\ {+}\ B_{2}O_{3}\ =\ olenite\ {+}\ quartz\) . The major compositional changes are decreasing Fe, Mg and Si contents and X Mg values as well as increasing B, Al and Li contents. Over a distance of less than five centimetres, tourmaline composition determined by secondary ion microprobe (B, Li, Be, H) and electron microprobe (remaining elements, total Fe as Fe 2+ ) varies continuously from \((Na_{0.90}Ca_{0.11})(Fe_{1.61}Mg_{1.10}Mn_{0.01}Ti_{0.11}Zn_{0.01}Li_{0.01}Al_{0.10}{\square}_{0.05})Al_{6.00}[Si_{6.01}O_{18}]\ (B_{2.99}O_{9})(OH_{3.02}F_{0.23}O_{0.75})\ to\ (Na_{0.42}Ca_{0.31}{\square}_{0.27})(Fe_{0.14}Mg_{0.03}Mn_{0.01}Ti_{0.06}Li_{0.33}Be_{0.01}Al_{2.49})Al_{6}[Si_{4.91}Al_{0.21}B_{0.88}O_{18}](B_{3.00}O_{9})OH_{3.38}F_{0.07})\) . In contrast to the proton-deficient ideal olenite, the olenitic tourmaline from Stoffhutte contains 3.0–3.4 hydrogens per formula. The main substitutions are most likely \(^{[Y]}Al^{3{+}}\ {+}\ ^{[T]}B^{3{+}}\ =\ ^{[T]}Si^{4{+}}\ {+}\ ^{[Y]}(Mg,\ Fe)^{2{+}}\) , which is a modified Tschermaks9 substitution, \(^{[Y]}Al^{3{+}}\ {+}\ ^{[Y]}Li^{{+}}\ =\ 2\ ^{[Y]}(Mg,\ Fe)^{2{+}}\) , \(^{[X]}Ca^{2{+}}\ {+}\ ^{[X]}{\square}\ =\ 2\ ^{[X]}Na^{{+}},\ ^{[Y]}Al^{3{+}}\ {+}\ ^{[X]}{\square}\ =\ ^{[X]}Na^{{+}}\ {+}\ ^{[Y]}(Mg,\ Fe)^{2{+}}\ and\ ^{[Y]}Fe^{2{+}}\ =\ ^{[Y]}Mg^{2{+}}\) . Coexisting muscovite and feldspar have considerable B (0.42–0.55 wt% and 71–134 ppm, respectively), Be (49–140 ppm and 79–169 ppm, respectively) and Li contents (6–9 ppm and 9–126 ppm, respectively). The apparent partition coefficient for total B between tourmaline and muscovite (D B = c tur / c ms ) varies between 6.5 and 16.8, but the values for tetrahedrally coordinated B (D B(T) ) range from 0 to 13.0.
Application of Overburden Strength and Deformation Properties Derived from Drill Cutting IP Data

Strength and deformation properties of clays are known to correlate with a standard geotechnical index parameter, the Plasticity Index, IP, where these correlations are commonly used for characterising top soil or in the case of the offshore oil industry seabed analysis for foundations of offshore structures. By their nature, these studies are generally limited to the top 100+ m of the overburden. From a theoretical standpoint there is nothing to hinder the extension of such methods to greater depths other than the effects of diagenesis. This hypothesis is tested using drill cuttings from two North Sea fields of Tertiary age to characterise the overburden sequence. The results of the study are encouraging when compared with more conventional techniques using borehole log correlations suggesting that the plasticity index may offer a complimentary method for charactering overburden sequences for the purposes of borehole stability and reservoir compaction-seafloor subsidence.
Runtime Verification for Blockchains

Blockchains present a secure and reliable ledger to store transactions, but ensuring that a set of transactions follow a certain policy is difficult. In this paper we present a runtime verification approach to monitor transactions involving multiple blockchains with respect to specifications in metric temporal logic (MTL). In our setting, we consider runtime verification of partially synchronous blockchains where a clock synchronization algorithm guarantees a bound on maximum clock skew among all the blockchains in the system.
The Rationality and Moral Acceptability of Vision Zero Goal and Its Interventions

This licentiate thesis discusses moral issues associated with road safety work, with a particular emphasis on the Vision Zero (VZ) goal and its interventions. The licentiate thesis contains three articles and an introduction that briefly discusses issues and arguments presented in the articles. The first article, identifies, systematically categorizes and evaluates arguments against VZ. Moral, operational, and rationality related criticisms against the adoption and implementation of VZ are identified and discussed. The second article in this thesis seeks to reconcile the methods of Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and VZ in road safety decision making. CBA has been and still is a major decision making tool in road transport and traffic safety work. However, proponents of VZ question the use of CBA in road safety and transport decision making on methodological and ethical grounds. In this paper, we locate the philosophical roots of the conflicting views promoted by proponents of CBA and VZ. Then we try to identify ways through which the two methods can be made compatible. The third and final paper uses VZ as a normative framework to explore and analyse the Addis Ababa road safety work. The aim of the paper is twofold. First, the paper seeks to examine how road safety problems are actually understood by those responsible for road safety at the local level. To this end, government policy documents, reports and other relevant sources where consulted to identify how road safety problems are framed, who is assigned responsibility for addressing road safety problems and through what interventions. Second, the paper aims to examine road safety work in the city from a normative point of view, i.e., what is the best, or most adequate, way of framing the problem, and who should be given the responsibility for addressing the problem and by what measures. It is argued that enhancing road safety in the city requires adopting a broader view of causes of road safety problems, and emphasizing the responsibility of actors that shape the design and operation of the road traffic system and the safety of its components.
Effects of Column Conditions on the First-Order Rate Modeling of Nonequilibrium Solute Breakthrough

First-order mass transfer models are commonly used as a means of interpreting sorption-related mass transfer in laboratory columns, often with the intent of approximating diffusion-based processes. We have fitted first-order model parameters to computer-simulated breakthrough curves from hypothetical column experiments in which Fickian diffusion into spherical particles limited the rate of sorption and desorption. Using both step and pulse inputs, we show that the fitted first-order coefficient is a function not only of the intrinsic diffusion rate, but also of the column length, the step experiment's duration, the input pulse width, the fluid velocity, and the solute retardation factor. For a range of typical column run conditions and a given diffusion rate, we show that the fitted first-order coefficient varies over three orders of magnitude in a manner roughly predictable through proper definition of a dimensionless timescale. In general, step inputs (as opposed to pulse inputs) provide a more consistent and predictable relationship between fitted coefficients and underlying diffusion rates. For either type of input, we recommend cautious use of the first-order model, since many observed variations in fitted rate constants are not the result of mechanistic phenomena.
Bimodality of the North Atlantic Oscillation in simulations with greenhouse gas forcing

Using high‐resolution global “time‐slice” climate change simulations, we show the existence of a bimodal NAO distribution in future climate conditions under the IPCC A2 scenario forcing. The current climate exhibits a unimodal NAO distribution. The second “regime” in the future climate experiment is located in the positive region of the NAO phase space at about one standard deviation from the maximum, which is located near zero or at slightly negative NAO values. This additional regime grows at the expense of negative NAO occurrences. The change in the NAO distribution is physically related to negative PNA‐like change occurring in the Pacific region. The interpretation of the occurrence of the second NAO maximum in the future climate simulation is that large positive NAO events will occur more frequently in future climate conditions, while the rest of the NAO frequency distribution shows only small changes. This implies that European winter climate is expected to show higher variability and increased occurrence of extreme climate conditions associated with the positive NAO phase.
Scaling invariance of crack surfaces

The morphology of fractured rock surfaces is studied in terms of their scaling invariance. Fresh brittle fractures of granite and gneiss were sampled with a mechanical laboratory profilometer, and (1 + 1)-dimensional parallel profiles were added to build actual maps of the surfaces. A first step in the scaling invariance description is a self-affine analysis using three independent methods. The root-mean-square and the maximum-minimum difference of the height are shown to follow a power law with the sample length. The return probability and the Fourier spectrum are also computed. All these approaches converge to a unique self-affine exponent: ζ = 0.80. Analysis over a broad statistical set provides a reproducibility error of ±0.05. No significant differences between the isotropic granite and the markedly anisotropic gneiss appear for the scaling exponents. An analysis of the profilometer shows that the two main drawbacks of the setup are not significant in these analyses. The systematic errors of the scaling analysis are estimated for the different methods. Isotropy of the scaling invariance within the mean fracture plane is shown either with the result obtained from different fracture orientations or with the two-dimensional Fourier spectrum of the surface topography itself. The analysis is brought further into the multifractal framework. The structure functions are shown to have power law behavior, and their scaling exponent varies nonlinearly with the moment order. Finally, the corresponding conserved process belongs to a universal multifractal class with α = 1.5 for the Levy index and C1 = 0.3 for the fractal codimension of the mean singularities. The three indices (ζ, α and C1) completely characterize the scale invariance. The multifractal behavior is significant for physical properties which depend on high-order moments like contact. According to this study and that of other groups, the self-affine exponent ζ is constant over a large range of scales and for different fracture modes and various materials. This opens the possibility that there exists a form of universality in the cracking process. It appears that only the prefactor of the roughness is dependent on material and mode.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Systemic translocation of Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin in cattle occurs predominantly via efferent lymphatics in a cell-free niche and requires type III secretion system I (T3SS-1) but not T3SS-2

Salmonella enterica is an important diarrheal pathogen, and infections may involve severe systemic sequelae depending on serovar-and host-speciﬁc factors. The molecular mechanisms underlying translocation of host-restricted and -speciﬁc serovars of S . enterica from the intestines to distal organs are ill deﬁned. By surgical cannulation of lymph and blood vessels draining the distal ileum in cattle, S . enterica serovar Dublin was observed to translocate predominantly via mesenteric lymph nodes to efferent lymphatics in a manner that correlates with systemic virulence, since the fowl typhoid-associated serovar Gallinarum translocated at a signiﬁcantly lower level. While both S . enterica serovars Dublin and Gallinarum were intracellular while in the intestinal mucosa and associated with major histocompatibility complex class II-positive cells, the bacteria were predominantly extracellular within efferent lymph. Screening of a library of signature-tagged serovar Dublin mutants following oral inoculation of calves deﬁned
Modeling ad hoc network based on 802.11 DCF by queuing network analyzer

In this paper, we present an analytic model for evaluating the average end-to-end delay and per-node throughput in an IEEE802.11MAC DCF based wireless network. By virtue of QNA and probability generation function, we model ad hoc network as open M/G/1 queuing networks and obtain the closed form expressions for average end-to-end delay. Simulations based on NS2 validate the accuracy of our model.
Segmentation of multispectral high-resolution satellite imagery based on integrated feature distributions

Texture features are useful for segmentation of high-resolution satellite imagery. This paper presents an efficient feature extraction method that considers the spatial and cross-band relationships of pixels in multispectral or colour images. The texture feature of an image region is represented by the joint distribution of two texture measures calculated from the first two principal components (PCs). Similarly, the spectral feature of the region is the joint distribution of greyscale pixel values of the two PCs. The texture distributions computed by a rotation invariant form of local binary patterns (LBP) and spectral distributions are adaptively combined into coarse-to-fine segmentation based on integrated multiple features (SIMF). The feasibility and effectiveness of the SIMF segmentation approach is evaluated with multispectral high-resolution satellite imagery and colour textured mosaic images under different conditions.
trialacute coronary syndrome based on the RITA 3 interventional strategy in non-ST-elevation The cost-effectiveness of an early

Background: Evidence suggests that an early interventional strategy for patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) can improve health outcomes but also increase costs when compared with a conservative strategy. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of an early interventional strategy in different risk groups from a UK health-service perspective. Design: Decision-analytic model based on randomised clinical trial data. Main outcome measures: Costs in UK Sterling at 2003/ 2004 prices and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) combined into an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Methods: Data from the third Randomised Intervention Trial of unstable Angina (RITA 3) was employed to estimate rates of cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction, costs and health-related quality of life. Cost-effectiveness was estimated over patients’ lifetimes within the decision-analytic model. Results: The mean incremental cost per QALY gained for an early interventional strategy was approximately £55 000, £22 000 and £12 000 for patients
Sensitivity of Twentieth-Century Sahel Rainfall to Sulfate Aerosol and CO2 Forcing

AbstractA full understanding of the causes of the severe drought seen in the Sahel in the latter part of the twentieth-century remains elusive some 25 yr after the height of the event. Previous studies have suggested that this drying trend may be explained by either decadal modes of natural variability or by human-driven emissions (primarily aerosols), but these studies lacked a sufficiently large number of models to attribute one cause over the other. In this paper, signatures of both aerosol and greenhouse gas changes on Sahel rainfall are illustrated. These idealized responses are used to interpret the results of historical Sahel rainfall changes from two very large ensembles of fully coupled climate models, which both sample uncertainties arising from internal variability and model formulation. The sizes of these ensembles enable the relative role of human-driven changes and natural variability on historic Sahel rainfall to be assessed. The paper demonstrates that historic aerosol changes are likely t.
Water in the Earth’s mantle

Abstract Water plays an important role in most processes within the Earth's mantle, e.g. transport phenomena, differentiation and seismic properties. This paper reviews the various aspects of water in the mantle, with a special emphasis on the water content in nominally anhydrous minerals, especially lower-mantle minerals. The saturation of the upper mantle with respect to water is calculated as a function of pressure, based on available water-solubility data obtained for upper-mantle minerals. The result indicates that the upper mantle is saturated at pressures between 2 and 4 GPa for bulk water contents of 250 to 700 ppm wt. , as retrieved from measurements on mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) and ocean island basalts (OIBs). Whereas up to 4000 ppm wt. of H2O could be dissolved in the upper mantle at pressures corresponding to 410 km depth, such a value is less than the 1.5-2.5 wt. % solubility stored in the hydrous phases of the transition zone. Water solubility in mantle perovskite is still controversial, because of the difficulty of synthesizing samples free of impurities. Reported data indicate that water solubility in perovskite decreases with increasing temperature and Al content. Water partitions preferentially into ferropericlase rather than into perovskite, and its water solubility increases with the incorporation of trivalent cations.