Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The economic and ecological sustainability of the Amazonian timber industry

Abstract Selective logging of tropical forests, particularly reduced impact logging (RIL), has long been suggested as a benign compromise between profitable land-use and biodiversity conservation. Throughout human history, slow-renewal biological resource populations have been predictably overexploited, often to extinction. This thesis examines the degree to which timber harvests beyond the first-cut can be financially profitable or demographically sustainable, both of which remain poorly understood. Data on legally planned logging of ~17.3 million m3 of timber were obtained from 824 government-approved private and community-based concession management plans. Results indicate that neither the post-depletion timber species composition nor total value of pre-harvest forest stands recover beyond the first-cut, suggesting that commercially most valuable timber species become predictably rare or economically extinct in old logging frontiers. Additionally, smallholders appear to exert strong high-grading pressure upon high-value hardwood species, thereby accruing higher gross revenue productivity per unit area and were more likely to inconsistently report areas of unlogged forest set-asides as required by Brazilian law. Selective logging leads to several forms of collateral damage (CD) to the residual forest stand. This pattern of structural disturbance is poorly quantified or understood despite representing a key form of forest degradation, or the second ‘D’ of REDD+ (United Nations Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). A review of studies on selective logging impacts on tropical forest fauna revealed that ~90% failed to at least report or attempt to quantify CD. This thesis also examined CD associated with a certified industrial-scale RIL operation of eastern Brazilian Amazonia and finds that for every harvested tree, there is an estimated loss of ~12 damaged stems (≥10cm DBH). Over 30% of total ground sampling area of logged forest was cleared within felled-trees impacts alone. Finally, using RIL concession data from an 11-year time series where ~0.34 million trees were harvested, we estimated the total biomass and carbon stock of harvested trees, their CD, and the infrastructure damage associated with roundlog removal. If only harvested trees and their associated CD are considered, the estimated cost incurred in sparing logging-induced forest degradation through carbon financing projects such as REDD+ could compensate for the ~393 US$ ha-1 yr-1 logging revenues accrued to concession owners.
Consistent Adaptive Remeshing of Multiple Disk-Like Surfaces

We present a novel method for computing the consistent adaptive remeshing of multiple disk-like surfaces with hard constraints. The quality of the remeshing is assured by minimizing the curvature error metric on all surfaces simultaneously. In order to generate meshes of relatively low triangle count, we adaptively optimize several red-green subdivision surfaces. The proposed method is very simple and easier to implement than most consistent remeshing methods. It is also useful for many applications such as mesh registration, compression and morphing, multiresolution rendering and texture transfer. We demonstrate the mesh morphing application between disk-like meshes with feature-point correspondences speciﬁed by the user.
When Is Monopolistic Competition the Relevant Market Structure? ∗

We consider a diﬀerentiated market involving a handful of oligopolistic ﬁrms and a wide range of monopolistically competitive ﬁrms. Under various speciﬁcations of preferences, we show that the presence of small non-strategic ﬁrms is suﬃcient for the strategic interactions among oligopolistic ﬁrms to be diluted when the monopolisti-cally competitive ﬁrms can freely enter and exit the market in response to oligopolistic ﬁrms’ decisions. Furthermore, the oligopolistic ﬁrms behave like monopolists which face demands encapsulating monopolistically competitive ﬁrms’ reactions. This has a far-reaching implication for the anti-trust policy: oligopolistic ﬁrms’ equilibrium strategies are independent from the number of such ﬁrms. Our results hold for heterogeneous ﬁrms.
Exploring the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States Using Unsupervised Graph-Based Machine Learning

Real-world data can be essential for our understanding of clinical data, especially with the emergence of phenomena such as the COVID-19 outbreak. In this paper, we analyze how the spread of the virus has advanced across the U.S. during the initial phase of the pandemic using novel graph-based machine-learning techniques. First, a cloud of graphs is extracted from several publicly available datasets. In these graphs, each node corresponds to a single county (>3000 nodes per graph), whereby two counties are connected with an edge if they have similar patterns in the advance of the pandemic spread over a specific timeframe. A graph (or a subset of graphs) from the cloud with the most robust geometric properties is subsequently revealed. This constitutes a topological model of data. Next, unsupervised machine learning algorithms discover communities of nodes within the chosen graph relying on pure geometric properties of the model. Finally, the highlighted communities are compared to each other based on the real-world data employed by the model to explain dissimilarities between the communities. A variety of publicly available real-world data, including healthcare, social, demographic, economic, and geographic data, was used in the analysis. Our geometric, data-driven approach reveals insights that would otherwise have been difficult to identify through the implementation of standard statistical methods alone. The focus on topological properties helps to identify the underlying geometry of the dataset and to discover a set of unrelated features that may be causing the similarity in the spread of COVID-19 across the U.S.
A Neurofuzzy Approach for Property Value Prediction

This work presents a neurofuzzy network developed for property value prediction. The solution has an hybrid architecture with 6 layers and (cid:28)ve linguistic variables (square footage, number of bedrooms, location, quality and price). The data set used to train and test the network was acquired during the months of January and April 2006 and contained informations about 200 apartments in the city of Criciœma (Brazil). Among these cases, 150 were used to train the neurofuzzy network, and 55 to test it. During the training and testing processes the model achieved a medium error of 7.06% when using a 0 . 5 learning rate and training periods of 2000 . Due to the small amount of data used to run the tests, it is still not possible to validate the network, and more work towards this direction is needed.
Point Bar Complex of an Exhumed Channel in Upland Interfluve of the Ganga Plain, India

Facies architecture and evolutionary history of a point bar complex of exhumed channel on the upland interfluve surface of the Ganga Plain is presented. The point bar complex is made up of four distinctive sequences, each characterized by a specific lithofacies association and grain size, where successive sequence shows decrease in grain size and reduced channel width denoting reduction in the discharge of the channel. The top of each sequence represents a hiatus surface marked by dense bioturbation. The flow in the exhumed channel was towards south and southwest. At the end of the deposition of third sequence neotectonic activity caused uplift, tilting of the surface and disruption of the river channel. A facies model of such deposits is proposed.
What Factors Influence Freshwater Molluscan Survival in the Conasauga River

SHARPE, ADAM JAMES, What factors influence freshwater molluscan survival in the Conasauga River? (Under the direction of Elizabeth Guthrie Nichols) Recent biological inventory data shows a consistent decline in molluscan abundance and biodiversity in the Conasauga River Basin in Northwest GA. This study was initiated to monitor sediment and water quality by stable nitrogen isotope ratio analyses (IRMS) of snails and sediments, permeable membrane devices (PMD), polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS), and conventional water quality analyses for the Conasauga River Basin. Atrazine, metalochlor, prometon, and simazine were the most frequently detected herbicides throughout the basin. Most of the ambient concentrations of detected organic contaminants are at or near the method detection limit and all are well below any aquatic life criteria. Recent evaluation of water quality criteria for ammonia and nitrate suggest that these criteria levels are not protective for mussels. Data suggests that a shift to livestock and row crop land-use results in greater water nutrient levels and increased δN signatures for aquatic snails. Mean δN values for snails collected at national forest sites are significantly different from δN in snails collected in agricultural areas of the Conasauga River Basin (Student t-test, p<0.05). δN signatures of cow manure (6.71‰ wet, 8.40‰ dry) and poultry manure treated soil (9.47‰) were similar to those of the snails collected in the agricultural areas of the Conasauga. Dissolved nitrate had elevated δN signatures that reflected the upper range of δN signatures for the aquatic snails. Elevated nitrogen isotope signatures indicate the fact that a shift in land use within in the basin is impacting the dominant nitrogen source to the aquatic environment. Continued evaluation of water quality criteria levels are needed to determine if aquatic habitats are viable for mussel reproduction, growth, and survival. What factors influence freshwater molluscan survival in the Conasauga River?
Rivista Italiana di Telerilevamento-Italian Journal of Remote Sensing

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, ASTER, is an international project: the instrument was supplied by Japan’s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry and is flying on NASA’s Terra satellite. ASTER has 14 spectral bands: three in the visible-near infrared (VNIR), six in the shortwave infrared (SWIR), and five in the thermal infrared (TIR). In addition there is a 15-meter along-track stereo capability, allowing creation of accurate DEMs. Images are 60 x 60 km in size, and the repeat cycle is 16 days or less. ASTER was launched in December 1 , and since then has acquired over 1,300,000 images of the land surface.
Parasites and the Costs of Reproduction in Soay Sheep

Over the lifetime of an individual, decisions are constantly being made. These arise as a result of trade-offs between life-history traits (e.g. lifespan and fecundity). Tradeoffs may occur when two traits are limited by the same resource, such that one trait can be increased only at the expense of another. The cost of reproduction is the tradeoff between current and future reproduction. An intermediate trade-off that can affect reproduction, is that between parasite resistance and reproduction. This thesis attempts to explore the interaction between parasites and the costs of reproduction in a wild population of Soay sheep on the Scottish island group of St Kilda (Chapter 2). In domestic sheep, costs associated with lambing incur a temporary increase in parasite burden, termed the peri-parturient rise. Soay sheep that successfully rear a lamb also suffer from this increase in parasitism (Chapter 3), whereas non-lambing adult ewes do not. In contrast, non-lambing yearling ewes do suffer from an increase in parasite burden at this time, despite incurring only minimal costs of reproduction, probably as a consequence of poor body condition and a lack of acquired immunity to parasites. Male Soays also suffer an increase in parasitism during spring, even though they do not reproduce at this time, suggesting that the spring rise in parasitism is partly associated with poor body condition. The effects of parasites on the lambing success of Soay ewes were explored using observational (Chapter 4) and experimental methods (Chapters 5 and 6). Ewes treated with an anthelmintic to temporarily remove their parasites over the winter were in
ANALISIS PENERAPAN KESELAMATAN DAN KESEHATAN KERJA (K3) DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN METODE FISHBONE DIAGRAM

PT. XYZ merupakan anak perusahaan dari XXX Group. PT. XYZ yang bergerak dalam industri minyak dan gas bumi dan telah memberikan dukungan logistik kepada perusahaan minyak, kontraktor lepas pantai, kepemilikan kapal dan produsen peralatan. Pada tahun 2007, XXX Group mendirikan XXX Marine and Offshore Pte, Ltd., sebagian bagian fabrikasi yang mengkhususkan diri pada bidang tekanan kapal (pressure vessels) , proses slip . modul dan struktur berat umum (general heavy structure) , dan penanganan lanjut yang mengarah pada kebutuhan pelanggan dalam sektor industri minyak dan gas bumi. Keselamatan dan Kesehatan Kerja atau disingkat K3 merupakan program pemerintah dimana program ini lahir dari keprihatinan akan banyaknya kecelakaan yang terjadi ditempat keja yang mengakibatkan penderitaan bagi pekerja maupun keluarga pekerja. Kesadaran karyawan terhadap Keselamatan dan Kesehatan Kerja ditunjukkan dengan sikap profesional yang dibutuhkan oleh perusahaan, yang menjadi masalah dari penelitian ini adalah Bagaimana menentukan faktor-faktor penyebab terjadinya kecelakaan kerja dengan metode fishbone diagram di PT. XYZ Batam dan bagaimana caranya mengusulkan perbaikan pelaksanaan K3 di PT. XYZ Batam sehingga pada akhirnya didapat hasil faktor-faktor penyebab kecelakaan dan mengusulkan perbaikannya. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, saran yang dapat diberi adalah hendaknya PT. XYZ Batam meningkatkan kualitas pada area produksi agar penerapan K3 dapat lebih berjalan dengan efektif dan efisien.
Synthesis and potential antitumor activities of mandelic acid linked 2-aryl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones

: In our pursuit to discover new anticancer agents, we have synthesized a new series of 2-aryl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-one derivatives carrying a mandelic acid part. Compounds 3a-h and 4a-j have been synthesized with the cyclization of mandelic acid-derived Schiff bases, their structures have been elucidated with spectral methods ( 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, and LC/MS-APCI) and elemental analyzes (C, H, N). Five compounds 3d, 3e, 4e, 4f, and 4g chosen as prototypes were evaluated against the full panel of 58 human tumor cell lines in the National Cancer Institute’s in vitro primary cytotoxicity assay (Bethesda, Maryland). Among the tested compound, 3e showed good cytotoxic effects against melanoma cell line UACC-62. Compounds 3d , 4e , 4f , and 4g showed moderate cytotoxic effects, especially against leukemia cell line, RPMI-8226, non-small cell lung cancer cell lines NCI-H23 and HOP-92, central nervous system (CNS) cancer cell lines SF-295 and SNB-75, melanoma cell line UACC-62, and ovarian cancer cell line IGROV1. It is considered that the in vitro test results of selected compounds are promising and an additional mandelic acid moiety to core structure 2-aryl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-one and different modifications may result in effective agents in anticancer treatment.
Recent Advances (2008–2015) in the Study of Ground Ice and Cryostratigraphy

Cryostratigraphy involves the description, interpretation and correlation of ground‐ice structures (cryostructures) and their relationship to the host deposits. Recent advances in the study of ground ice and cryostratigraphy concern permafrost aggradation and degradation, massive‐ice formation and evaluation of ground‐ice content. Field studies have increased our knowledge of cryostructures and massive ground ice in epigenetic and syngenetic permafrost. Epigenetic permafrost deposits are relatively ice‐poor and composed primarily of pore‐filled cryostructures, apart from an ice‐enriched upper section and intermediate layer. Syngenetic permafrost deposits are commonly identified from cryostructures indicative of an aggrading permafrost table and are characterised by a high ice content, ice‐rich cryofacies and nested wedge ice. Degradation of ice‐rich permafrost can be marked by thaw unconformities, truncated buried ice wedges, ice‐wedge pseudomorphs and organic‐rich ‘forest beds’. Studies of massive ground ice have focused on wedge ice, thermokarst‐cave ice, intrusive ice and buried ice. Significant advances have been made in methods for differentiating between tabular massive‐ice bodies of glacier and intrasedimental origin. Recent studies have utilised palynology, isotope geochemistry and hydrochemistry, in addition to sedimentary and cryostratigraphic analyses. The application of remote sensing techniques and laboratory methods such as computed tomography scanning has improved estimations of the ice content of frozen sediments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mud disposal and suspended sediment concentration in the lower Sea Scheldt – towards a hyperturbid system?

In this paper, an analysis of continuous SSC measurements in the Sea Scheldt is presented. Information from different projects that focus on the state of the Scheldt Estuary (Belgium-Netherlands) and the management of dredging and disposal activities, is discussed to increase the insight in the effects of mud disposal and the increasing sediment concentrations (SSC) in the Lower Sea Scheldt.
Harmonic Anomalies Due to Geomagnetically Induced Currents as a Potential Cause of Protection Mal-Trips at the South Atlantic Anomaly Area

Geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) cause the half-cycle saturation of transformers that inject high harmonic distortion into the grid. Most of the studies cover the analysis of GIC for extreme latitude locations. However, GIC might also impact power grids at mid and low latitudes. Solar energetic particles at the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), which covers latitudes between 15° and 45° South, can penetrate deeply into Earth's atmosphere and even reach surface level. Therefore, GIC signatures might be found in harmonic measurements in power grids at SAA. Moreover, the high harmonic distortion can even lead to the mal-trip of protection relays at SAA. This work extracts anomalies in long-term harmonics measurements in a transmission grid (525 kV) in the South of Brazil (latitude 33° South) to evaluate the possible impact of GIC inside SAA. The anomalies are extracted by a deep learning method in combination with expert rules. The harmonic anomalies are validated by cross-checking with Space Weather data and the simultaneity with anomalies in Sweden (latitude 63° North). The main contributions of this work are: (a) validating that the signatures of harmonics due to GIC at SAA are similar to the ones extracted in high latitude; (b) demonstrating that anomalies in harmonics due to GIC are a potential cause of protection mal-trips at SAA.
Why do lactic acid bacteria thrive in chain elongation microbiomes?

Efficient waste management is necessary to transition towards a more sustainable society. An emerging trend is to use mixed culture biotechnology to produce chemicals from organic waste. Insights into the metabolic interactions between community members and their growth characterization are needed to mediate knowledge-driven bioprocess development and optimization. Here, a granular sludge bioprocess for the production of caproic acid through sugar-based chain elongation metabolism was established. Lactic acid and chain-elongating bacteria were identified as the two main functional guilds in the granular community. The growth features of the main community representatives (isolate Limosilactobacillus musocae G03 for lactic acid bacteria and type strain Caproiciproducens lactatifermentans for chain-elongating bacteria) were characterized. The measured growth rates of lactic acid bacteria (0.051 ± 0.005 h−1) were two times higher than those of chain-elongating bacteria (0.026 ± 0.004 h−1), while the biomass yields of lactic acid bacteria (0.120 ± 0.005 g biomass/g glucose) were two times lower than that of chain-elongating bacteria (0.239 ± 0.007 g biomass/g glucose). This points towards differential growth strategies, with lactic acid bacteria resembling that of a r-strategist and chain-elongating bacteria resembling that of a K-strategist. Furthermore, the half-saturation constant of glucose for L. mucosae was determined to be 0.35 ± 0.05 g/L of glucose. A linear trend of caproic acid inhibition on the growth of L. mucosae was observed, and the growth inhibitory caproic acid concentration was predicted to be 13.6 ± 0.5 g/L, which is the highest reported so far. The pre-adjustment of L. mucosae to 4 g/L of caproic acid did not improve the overall resistance to it, but did restore the growth rates at low caproic acid concentrations (1–4 g/L) to the baseline values (i.e., growth rate at 0 g/L of caproic acid). High resistance to caproic acid enables lactic acid bacteria to persist and thrive in the systems intended for caproic acid production. Here, insights into the growth of two main functional guilds of sugar-based chain elongation systems are provided which allows for a better understanding of their interactions and promotes future bioprocess design and optimization.
Entanglement Generation in Capacitively Coupled Transmon–Cavity System

In this paper, the higher energy levels of the transmon qubit are taken into consideration to investigate the continuous variable entanglement generation between the transmon qubit and the single‐mode cavity. Based on the framework of cavity Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), the authors show the entanglement generation depends on the driving field intensity, coupling strength, cavity field frequency, and qubit frequency. The numerical results show that strong entanglement can be generated by properly tuning these parameters. It is hoped that the results presented in this paper may lead to a better understanding of quantum entanglement generation in cavity QED systems and provide new perspectives for further research in quantum information processing.
Effect of Dentong Xiaoyanling and tinidazole gargle on periodontal parameters in chronic periodontitis, gingival sulcus factor and oral health

Purpose: To investigate the effect of concentrated tinidazole gargle combined with Dentong Xiaoyanling on chronic periodontitis. Methods: Ninety-six (96) patients with chronic periodontitis admitted in Chun’an County Traditional Chinese Hospital, Qiandaohu Town, China between January 2021 and December 2022 were randomly divided into two groups: control group (treated with concentrated tinidazole gargle) and study group (treated with concentrated tinidazole gargle + Dentong Xiaoyanling). Periodontal indicators, Gingival sulcus factor (GSF), oral health status, clinical efficacy and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results: There were no significant changes (p > 0.05) in periodontal indicators, GSF or oral health score between the two groups prior to therapy. However, following treatment with Dentong Xiaoyanling and/or concentrated tinidazole gargle, the periodontal indicators, GSF and oral health score of the two groups reduced significantly (p < 0.05), with more pronounced reductions in the study group. Clinical efficacy in the group treated with a combination of concentrated tinidazole gargle and Dentong Xiaoyanling was 91.67 %, which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of control group (75 %). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups pre- and post-treatment (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Treating chronic periodontitis with concentrated tinidazole gargle + Dentong Xiaoyanling alleviates local inflammatory reaction of gums, enhances recovery from symptoms and improves oral health. Future approaches will require a larger sample size from diverse clinical settings to confirm the effectiveness of this approach.