Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stratosphere‐to‐troposphere transport revealed by ground‐based lidar and ozonesonde at a midlatitude site

[1] This paper presents ozone structures measured by a ground-based ozone lidar and ozonesonde at Huntsville, Alabama, on 27–29 April 2010 originating from a stratosphere-to-troposphere transport event associated with a cutoff cyclone and tropopause fold. In this case, the tropopause reached 6 km and the stratospheric intrusion resulted in a 2-km thick elevated ozone layer with values between 70 and 85 ppbv descending from the ∼306-K to 298-K isentropic surface at a rate of ∼5 km day−1. The potential temperature was provided by a collocated microwave profiling radiometer. We examine the corresponding meteorological fields and potential vorticity (PV) structures derived from the analysis data from the North American Mesoscale model. The 2-PVU (PV unit) surface, defined as the dynamic tropopause, is able to capture the variations of the ozone tropopause estimated from the ozonesonde and lidar measurements. The estimated ozone/PV ratio, from the measured ozone and model derived PV, for the mixing layer between the troposphere and stratosphere is ∼41 ppbv/PVU with an uncertainty of ∼33%. Within two days, the estimated mass of ozone irreversibly transported from the stratospheric into the troposphere is between 0.07 Tg (0.9 × 1033 molecules) and 0.11 Tg (1.3 × 1033molecules) with an estimated uncertainty of 59%. Tropospheric ozone exhibited enormous variability due to the complicated mixing processes. Low ozone and large variability were observed in the mid-troposphere after the stratospheric intrusion due to the westerly advection including the transition from a cyclonic system to an anticyclonic system. This study using high temporal and vertical-resolution measurements suggests that, in this case, stratospheric air quickly lost its stratospheric characteristics once it is irreversibly mixed down into the troposphere.
Detecting sugarcane ‘orange rust’ disease using EO-1 Hyperion hyperspectral imagery

This Letter evaluates several narrow-band indices from EO-1 Hyperion imagery in discriminating sugarcane areas affected by ‘orange rust’ (Puccinia kuehnii) disease. Forty spectral vegetation indices (SVIs), focusing on bands related to leaf pigments, leaf internal structure, and leaf water content, were generated from an image acquired over Mackay, Queensland, Australia. Discriminant function analysis was used to select an optimum set of indices based on their correlations with the discriminant function. The predictive ability of each index was also assessed based on the accuracy of classification. Results demonstrated that Hyperion imagery can be used to detect orange rust disease in sugarcane crops. While some indices that only used visible near-infrared (VNIR) bands (e.g. SIPI and R800/R680) offer separability, the combination of VNIR bands with the moisture-sensitive band (1660 nm) yielded increased separability of rust-affected areas. The newly formulated ‘Disease–Water Stress Indices' (DWSI-1=R800/R1660; DSWI-2=R1660/R550; DWSI-5=(R800+R550)/(R1660+R680)) produced the largest correlations, indicating their superior ability to discriminate sugarcane areas affected by orange rust disease.
A Component-Based Platform for Accessing Context in Ubiquitous Computing Applications

Based upon a conceptual model for ubiquitous computing systems, this article presents a component-based platform for building context-aware applications. This platform introduces a high-level service to abstract context and to allow the rapid construction of dynamically reconfigurable applications. Moreover, the inputs and outputs of context components benefit from a strong typing, which permits design-time checks that can detect specification mistakes. At the end of the article, we introduce an implementation for this platform.
Description of a New Servo Motor Optimized for Educational Robotic Applications

In this paper it is described a new Servo Motor Optimised for Educational Robotic Applications (SMORA), which comprises several sensors and higher level addressing/communication capabilities. Even though servos have excellent qualities when used in the field of robotics, several properties can still be enhanced. These devices are known to have nonlinear properties and dynamic factors such as dead-zones, backlash and friction that might hinder their precision and accuracy. They usually do not provide position, velocity or current feedback to the device controlling them. Factors such as change in the load attached to the system increase the complexity of the analysis even further. Controlling these servos using a PWM signal might also become complicated if the number of servo motors to control increases. The new proposed servo consists of custom hardware and firmware that includes a microcontroller and a series of sensors, allowing for the motor current, temperature and voltage to be measured in real-time as well as precise position feedback thanks to the integrated hall-effect magnetic position encoder. It also incorporates an accelerometer and a gyroscope to measure the servo body relative position and rotation.
TECNOLOGÍAS DE INFORMACIÓN Y COMUNICACIÓN EN LA EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR

En este ensayo se aborda el tema de las tecnologias de la informacion y de la comunicacion y los entornos educativos. Se hace enfasis en las presiones que, producto de la globalizacion, se hacen presentes en la educacion superior. La tecnologia es vista a partir de tres condiciones fundamentales que marcan su actual desarrollo como son la interactividad, la hipertextualidad, y la conectividad. Estas condiciones hacen posible consolidar y expandir la comunicacion entre los actores sociales, tomando en consideracion que el sistema educativo y la tecnologia son intrinsecamente un espacio de comunicacion. Se plantea que la ensenanza de nuevas habilidades y competencias debe estar en sintonia con el aprendizaje permanente y colaborativo en el contexto de la red social y los nuevos entornos de aprendizaje.
ECOSYSTEM MONITORING : ARE SEALS A POTENTIAL TOOL FOR MONITORING CHANGE IN MARINE SYSTEMS ?

INTRODUCTION Marine ecosystems are vast and complex biological networks, which are dynamic in structure at a range of spatial and temporal scales (Nicol et al. 2000). The dynamic activity of these systems is driven ultimately by variation in climatic conditions, some of which are cyclic, such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events (Jaksic 1998) and the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave (ACW) (White and Peterson 1996). Variation in climatic conditions has important repercussions for the location and abundance of primary production (i.e. phytoplankton), which in turn contributes the distribution and abundance of secondary producers (grazers) and ultimately, top predators (those vertebrates that feed on species within the upper levels of the oceanic food webs such as fish, crustaceans and cephalopods) (El-Sayed 1988; Sullivan et al. 1993; Abbott and Barksdale 1995; Priddle et al. 1998).
Risk factors for severe outcome of cases with pandemic in fl uenza A ( H 1 N 1 ) pdm 09

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to describe demographic, clinical and epidemiological characteristics of cases with laboratory-confi rmed pandemic infl uenza virus A(H1N1)pdm09 reported in Slovakia from May 28, 2009 to December 30, 2009 and analyse the association between risk factors and severe outcome of these cases. BACKGROUND: In the spring of 2009, an outbreak of a pandemic infl uenza virus A(H1N1)pdm09, emerged in Mexico and spread globally. Until December 2009, 1,014 cases were notifi ed in Slovakia. METHODS: The data were collected within national infl uenza surveillance system. Odds ratios (95% CI) were calculated. Associations were found to be signifi cantly associated with the worse outcome (p < 0.05) in the univariate analysis and were adjusted for possible effects of age and sex by using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: Out of the total number of 1,014 cases, 131 (12.9 %) cases were hospitalized, and 43 (4.2 %) of those were admitted to intensive care units. During the reporting period, 38 deaths were reported, representing a case fatality rate of 3.75 %. The median age of severe cases (35 years, IQR = 29 y) was signifi cantly higher than the median age of mild cases (24 years, IQR = 19 y; p < 0.001). By using a logistic regression, we found out that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (aOR = 9.2; 95%CI: 1.42–59.98), cardiovascular diseases (aOR = 14.97; 95%CI: 5.49–40.79), malignity (aOR = 7.6; 95%CI: 1.95–29.37) and gravidity (aOR = 55.21; 95% CI: 14.40–211.58) were signifi cantly associated with severe outcomes of the cases. CONCLUSION: The fact, that 35% of severely ill patients did not report any risk factor suggests the importance of vaccination as a prevention of infl uenza (Tab. 2, Fig. 1, Ref. 18). Text in PDF www.elis. sk.
Diagnostic role of multiplex cytokine assay for osteoarticular tuberculosis

Objective: This study aims to investigate the diagnostic value of multiplex cytokine (CK) assay inosteoarticular Tuberculosis (TB). Methods: A total of 144 patients with suspected osteoarticular TB during hospitalization from March 2014 to June 2015 were finally enrolled. CKs secreted by PBMCs were detected by using Milliplex human cytokine kits. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluated the performance of different CKs in diagnosis of osteoarticular TB. Results: The mean age of the patients was 56.6 years, of which 47.2% patients (n=68) were male. 60.4% patients (n=87) were diagnosed as osteoarticular TB. IL-8, IL-15 and IP-10, showed statistical differences between the confirmed osteoarticular TB patients and not having osteoarticular TB patients (P<0.01). When compared with individual CK, IL-8 & IL-15 & IP-10 scores howed a better performance of auROC, 0.97 (95% CI: 0.92-0.99), in ROC analysis. Conclusion: IL-8, IL-15 and IP-10 are useful biomarker for diagnosis of osteoarticular TB and incorporation of these biomarkers significantly improved the diagnostic accuracy in osteoarticular TB.
Pseudodysplastic artefacts of the oral mucosa created by the electrotome

Aim: To report the case of an oral biopsy specimen showing pseudodysplastic (dysplasia-like) artefacts of the epithelium produced by an electrosurgical device. Case report : A 31-year-old woman underwent the removal of a papillomatous-appearing lesion of the soft palate. The histopathological examination of the specimen showed abnormal changes of the epithelium in some areas. After discussion with the surgeon who revealed the use of an electrotome, the conclusion was that these changes were pseudodysplastic. Conclusion : The use of electrosurgery to remove oral mucosa tissues may create epithelial pseudoneoplastic artefacts that could lead to inappropriate aggressive treatments.
Verification of Photometric Parallaxes with Gaia DR2 Data

Results of comparison of Gaia DR2 parallaxes with data derived from a combined analysis of 2MASS (Two Micron All-Sky Survey), SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey), GALEX (Galaxy Evolution Explorer), and UKIDSS (UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey) surveys in four selected high-latitude | b | > 48° sky areas are presented. It is shown that multicolor photometric data from large modern surveys can be used for parameterization of stars closer than 4400 pc and brighter than g S D S S = 19 . m 6 , including estimation of parallax and interstellar extinction value. However, the stellar luminosity class should be properly determined.
Response of surface air temperature to small-scale land clearing across latitudes

Climate models simulating continental scale deforestation suggest a warming effect of land clearing on the surface air temperature in the tropical zone and a cooling effect in the boreal zone due to different control of biogeochemical and biophysical processes. Ongoing land-use/cover changes mostly occur at local scales (hectares), and it is not clear whether the local-scale deforestation will generate temperature patterns consistent with the climate model results. Here we paired 40 and 12 flux sites with nearby weather stations in North and South America and in Eastern Asia, respectively, and quantified the temperature difference between these paired sites. Our goal was to investigate the response of the surface air temperature to local-scale (hectares) land clearing across latitudes using the surface weather stations as proxies for localized land clearing. The results show that north of 10°N, the annual mean temperature difference (open land minus forest) decreases with increasing latitude, but the temperature difference shrinks with latitude at a faster rate in the Americas [−0.079 (±0.010) °C per degree] than in Asia [−0.046 (±0.011) °C per degree]. Regression of the combined data suggests a transitional latitude of about 35.5°N that demarks deforestation warming to the south and cooling to the north. The warming in latitudes south of 35°N is associated with increase in the daily maximum temperature, with little change in the daily minimum temperature while the reverse is true in the boreal latitudes.
PATH AVERAGED OPTION VALUE CRITERIA FOR SELECTING BETTER OPTIONS

In this paper, we propose an optimal choice scheme to determine the best option among comparable options whose current expectations are all the same under the condition that an investor has a confidence in the future value realization of underlying assets. For this purpose, we use a path-averaged option as our base instrument in which we calculate the time discounted value along the path and divide it by the number of time steps for a given expected path. First, we consider three European call options such as vanilla, cash-or-nothing, and asset-or-nothing as our comparable set of choice schemes. Next, we perform the experiments using historical data to prove the usefulness of our proposed scheme. The test suggests that the path-averaged option value is a good guideline to choose an optimal option.
Modelling pulsar glitches with realistic pinning forces: a hydrodynamical approach

Although pulsars are some of the most stable clocks in the Universe, many of them are observed to ‘glitch’, i.e. to suddenly increase their spin frequency Graphic with fractional increases that range from Graphic to Graphic. In this paper, we focus on the ‘giant’ glitches, i.e. glitches with fractional increases in the spin rate of the order of Graphic, that are observed in a subclass of pulsars including the Vela. We show that giant glitches can be modelled with a two-fluid hydrodynamical approach. The model is based on the formalism for superfluid neutron stars of Andersson & Comer and on the realistic pinning forces of Grill & Pizzochero. We show that all stages of Vela glitches, from the rise to the post-glitch relaxation, can be reproduced with a set of physically reasonable parameters and that the sizes and waiting times between giant glitches in other pulsars are also consistent with our model.
Comparative Study of Formative Period Basalt Artifacts in the Bolivian Highlands

This paper is a comparative study of Formative Period (2000 B.C. to A.D. 250) basalt artifacts in the Bolivian highlands. I will specifically focus on basalt artifacts found in the altiplano (3,800 m. above mean sea level), versus the Cochabamba Valley (2,400 m. above mean sea level). The artifacts from the altiplano will be compared to the form of artifacts found in the Cochabamba Valley. This paper deals with the differences in form and function between the basalt artifacts (primarily bifacial tools) found in each area. It will also discuss the possibility of trade in basalt between these regions.
The Impact of Social Network Media on Brand Equity in SMEs

Given the virtual world’s controlling role in everyday life, no one can ignore its crucial impacts on the physical world. In this term social network media play a considerable role in peoples’ daily lives and business by information sharing and the impressions of friends’ comments on own view. Dealing with change, continuing to develop in the dynamic marketplace furthermore, access to information on a level never experienced before are possible benefits to companies;Social media influences companies’ strategies because of the wealth of information that customers yield while interacting on platforms; In this story Facebook with 1.55 billion monthly active users is the prominent social network among businessmen, consumers and clients. This paper aims to analysis the impact of electronic word of mouth marketing (EWOM) in social network on brand equity of “Kia gallery” contemporary jewelry design company in Iran. Thus, 350 clients, was defined as study population and their behavior in Facebook was investigated. The result of the research described in this article illustrate that the EWOM has a positive effect on brand awareness and brand image in addition they influence the consumer attitude which has impact on customer purchase intention and value of the brand. Key words: social network; word of mouth marketing; consumer behavior; brand equity, Social network-facebook-EWOM- brand awareness- brand image-consumer attitude-consumer behavior, SMEs
Phonon polaritons enhance near-field thermal transfer across the phase transition of VO2

We show numerically that near field heat flux can be modulated by orders of magnitude upon switching from the metallic to the insulating phase of vanadium dioxide. Furthermore the resonant phonon polariton interaction for the insulating phase enhances near field thermal transfer by 3 orders of magnitude. The effect should therefore be measureable with existing experimental setups and could find broad applications for systems where thermal control at the nanoscale is required.
The Cutoff Values of Visceral Fat in Metabolic Syndrome: Evidence fromStudies

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with abdominal obesity, blood lipid disorders, inflammation, insulin resistance, diabetes, and increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and death. Visceral fat (VF) is a risk factor for multiple CVD risk factors, including endothelial dysfunction, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, insulin resistance), liver insulin resistance, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, sleep apnea. Visceral obesity is associated with higher occurrence of cardiovascular events [1-6].
Elevation, moisture and shade drive the functional and phylogenetic meadow communities’ assembly in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Despite a long history of alpine meadows studies, uncertainty remains about the importance of environmental factors in structuring their assembly. We examined the functional and phylogenetic structure of 170 alpine Tibetan meadow communities in relation to elevation, soil moisture and shade. Functional community structure was estimated with both communityweighted mean (CWM) trait values for specific leaf area (SLA), plant height and seed mass and functional diversity (Rao’s quadratic index) for their traits individually and in combination (multivariate functional diversity). We found that shade induced by woody plants significantly increased the phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity of SLA of co-occurring species, suggesting that woody plants behave as “ecosystem engineers” creating a different environment that allows the existence of shade tolerant species and thereby facilitates the coexistence of plant species with different light resource acquisition strategies. We also found evidence for a clear decrease in phylogenetic diversity, CWM and functional diversity related to plant height in the two extreme, both the dry and wet, soil moisture conditions. This indicates that both drought and excess moisture may act as environmental filters selecting species with close phylogenetic relationships and similar height. Moreover, we detected significant decreases in both CWM and functional diversity for seed mass along elevational gradients, suggesting that low net primary productivity (NPP) limits seed size. Finally, because of different individual trait responses to environmental factors, the multivariate functional diversity did not change across environmental gradients. This lack of multivariate response supports the hypothesis that multiple processes, such as environmental filtering, competition and facilitation, may operate simultaneously and exert opposing effects on community assembly along different niche (e.g., water use, light acquisition) axes, resulting in no overall functional community structure change. This contrast between individual and multivariate trait patterns highlights the importance of examining individual traits linked with different ecological processes to better understand the mechanisms of community assembly.
Effect of negative shocks to electricity consumption on negative shocks to economic growth in Benin

The current study used an asymmetric approach to establish that negative shocks to electricity consumption have caused negative shocks to economic growth in Benin over the period 1971-2014. In so doing, it has ascertained the conclusion of the national policy framework for electricity which stipulated that shortages of electricity have impeded economic growth. Benin has encountered several electricity shortages in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Although the share of electricity consumption in total energy consumption is very low in the country, electricity consumption remains essential for of economic growth because shortages of electricity cause reduction in economic growth. This result has some important policy implications in terms of electricity security in Benin.
Telescope Spectrophotometric and Absolute Flux Calibration, and National Security Applications, Using a Tunable Laser on a Satellite

We propose a tunable laser-based satellite-mounted spectrophotometric and absolute flux calibration system, to be utilized by ground- and space-based telescopes. As spectrophotometric calibration may play a significant role in the accuracy of photometric redshift measurement, and photometric redshift accuracy is important for measuring dark energy using SNIa, weak gravitational lensing, and baryon oscillations, a method for reducing such uncertainties is needed. We propose to improve spectrophotometric calibration, currently obtained using standard stars, by placing a tunable laser and a wide-angle light source on a satellite by early next decade (perhaps included in the upgrade to the GPS satellite network) to improve absolute flux calibration and relative spectrophotometric calibration across the visible and near-infrared spectrum. As well as fundamental astrophysical applications, the system proposed here potentially has broad utility for defense and national security applications such as ground target illumination and space communication.