Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Southern Hemisphere atmospheric blocking diagnostic by ECMWF and NCEP/NCAR data

An assessment of blocking episodes over the Southern Hemisphere, selected from the Era-40 and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis are presented in this study. Blocking can be defined by an objective index based on two 500 hPa geopotential height meridional gradients. The seasonal cycle and preferential areas of occurrence are well reproduced by the two data sets. In both reanalysis used in this study, South Pacific and Oceania were the preferred regions for blocking occurrence, followed by the Atlantic Ocean. However the results revealed differences in frequencies of occurrences, which may be related to the choice of assimilation scheme employed to produce the reanalysis data sets. It is important to note that the ERA 40 and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis were produced using consistent models and assimilation schemes throughout the whole reanalyzed period, which are different for each set. Keyword: blocking, reanalysis, extreme events RESUMO: DIAGNOSTICO DE BLOQUEIOS ATMOSFERICOS NO HEMISFERIO SUL COM REANALISES DO ECWMF E NCEP/NCAR Neste artigo e apresentada uma comparacao de episodios de bloqueio no Hemisferio Sul, obtidos das reanalises do ERA 40 e NCEP/NCAR. A definicao de bloqueio foi obtida a partir de um indice que se baseia em dois gradientes meridionais da altura geopotencial em 500 hPa. O ciclo sazonal e as areas preferenciais de ocorrencia sao bem reproduzidos pelos dois conjuntos de dados. Em ambas as reanalises foi possivel notar que o Pacifico Sul e Oceania sao as regioes preferenciais de ocorrencia de bloqueio, seguido pelo Oceano Atlântico. No entanto, os resultados revelaram diferencas nas frequencias de ocorrencias, que pode estar relacionada com a assimilacao adotada para a producao de conjuntos de dados. E importante notar que os dados do ERA-40 e NCEP/NCAR sao produzidos atraves de modelos consistentes e esquemas de assimilacao ao longo do periodo, que sao diferentes para cada conjunto. Palavras chave: bloqueio, reanalises, eventos extremos
Cool Projects, Boring Institutions: Temporary Collaboration in Social Context

Practice gives words their meaning The short-cyclical nature of projects, however, challenges some of the key assumptions of organizing that (LUDWIG W ITTGENSTEIN , Remarks on Colour §317) inform much current reasoning in economic geography. The limited duration of project-based organizing Economic geography during the last two decades made appears hardly reconcilable, at  rst glance at least, in its mark, with some success, in transforming simplistic particular with basic causalities that underpin current models of economic governance from solid analytical debates on learning (see, for example, ASHEIM and foundations into conceptual construction sites. From COOKE, 1999; MASKELL and MALMBERG, 1999; for the 1980s onwards, investigations into the social and a critical review, see O INAS, 2000, pp. 60–66). These spatial logics of an increasingly broad and complex specaccounts stress the importance of long term relationships trum of inter- rm relations turned conceptions of ‘ rms for the generation of trust which is regarded as a normaas islands of hierarchical co-ordination in a sea of market tive precondition for successful learning and innovation, relations’ into mere caricatures (R ICHARDSON, 1972, particularly when complex tasks are involved. p. 883). Joint ventures, strategic alliances and collaboraProjects, however, often entail high-risk and hightive supplier relations in industrial districts increasingly stake outcomes, yet they seem to lack institutional safeblurred the lucidity of the market vs. hierarchy dichoguards like ‘conventions’ (STORPER, 1997) and normatomy a laW ILLIAMSON, 1985. During the 1990s, such tive structures that minimize the likelihood of failure. hybrid organizational arrangements in the ‘swollen They depend on an elaborate body of collective knowmiddle’ between markets and hierarchies (HENNART , ledge and diverse skills, yet there is mostly not suYcient 1993) became more and more theoretically anchored in time to clarify abilities and competencies of members in the notion of networks (see POWELL, 1990; NOHRIA order to plan for a detailed division of labour in advance. and ECCLES, 1992; GRABHER, 1993). Inter- rm netMost importantly, there seems to be not enough time works were seen as an increasingly relevant unit of to engage in the usual forms of con dence-building economic action and, consequently, an appropriate unit activities that could compensate for the absence of a of analysis. Although  rm boundaries no longer were stable institutional context through the development of taken for granted but conceived as a strategic parameter, personal relations of mutual trust (MEYERSON et al.,  rms were still regarded as key actors in making (and 1996, p. 167). breaking) network agreements. More recently, the search for ever more  uid and market-responsive organizational forms has directed AIMS AND APPROACH OF THE SPECIAL ISSUE attention towards projects (see LUNDIN and SODER-
Do pension wealth, pension cost and the nature of pension system affect coverage? Evidence from a country where pay-as-you-go and funded systems coexist

This paper proposes a nested model, based on an additive random utility model, to analyze whether pension wealth and pension cost affect the probability that a worker affiliates to a pension program, and to observe differentiated effects regarding the nature of the pension system (pay-as-you-go or funded). The analysis focuses on Peru because the peculiar coexistence of a pay-as-you-go and a funded system allows observing first whether a worker is subscribed or not, and then his choice between pay-as-you-go and funded system. The data consists in five cross sections from the ENAHO between 2005 and 2009. Results show that changes on costs have a greater impact over the probability of affiliation than changes on benefits, and that changes affect more when applied to the funded system than when applied to the pay-as-you-go. Variables related with the contracting firm have a large impact. Hence, this paper provides a tool to evaluate measures to solve the coverage problems of pension programs.
Organisational culture - Enablers and inhibitors factors for the effective implementation of lean

A R T I C L E I N F O Received 11 August 2017 Accepted 22 December 2017 Available online 31 December 2017 Lean systems are used effectively in various organisations to improve productivity. Although Lean is a thoroughly discussed method within industries, there is a scarcity of research about cultural aspects and organizational culture related to Lean Implementation (LI). The paper aims to identify and explore organizational culture (OC) enablers and inhibitors of Lean Implementation (LI) in a Small and Medium-sized Manufacturing (SME) organization and the influences of organizational culture (OC) for continuous improvement. It proposes aspects of the Lean Implementation process and how these processes are affected by organizational culture. The study further explains how an organization can improve their implementation process of Lean by adopting Schein Model as a conceptual framework. A literature review research methodology used to identify the (OC) enablers and inhibitors for continuous improvement of Lean Implementation (LI). The literature review establishes the of Lean philosophy, benefits, assessment and the challenges of Lean implementation in SMEs. Moreover, the important of organizational culture, models of (OC), assessments of (OC) and conceptual framework of Schein’s Model. In addition, empirical evidence from reviewed literature shows that an organization cannot succeed in Lean implementation unless it has a healthy organizational culture. Finally, the results established 24 enablers and 20 inhibitors. The main enablers are considered to be vital for the successful application for Lean in SMEs manufacturing sector. This paper reports the first study that explores the enablers and inhibitors for successful implementation of Lean practices by leveraging aspects Lean Implementation (LI); Organizational Culture (OC); Enablers; Inhibiters; Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Significance of the dorsal zigzag pattern of Vipera latastei gaditana against avian predators

Summary 1. Aposematism is an antipredatory strategy in which prey animals conspicuously signal their noxiousness to potential predators. This successful strategy is based on avoidance learning of predators. 2. Most species in the viperid genus Vipera have a characteristic dorsal zigzag pattern. It has previously been suggested that the dorsal zigzag pattern of Vipera berus (the adder) has a cryptic function and thus makes the snake less conspicuous to avian predators. However, a recent experiment suggested that the pattern may function as an aposematic signal rather than being cryptic, and therefore induces active avoidance in avian predators. 3. We conducted a field experiment in Donana national park in Spain, testing whether the zigzag pattern gives survival value to Vipera latastei gaditana against avian predators. We used two sizes of plasticine models with a zigzag pattern vs. without a zigzag pattern to record attacks by avian predators. The background was controlled (white vs. natural) to exclude the possibility that one morph would be more cryptic to predators than the other one. We also tested size-dependent mortality against the signalling and nonsignalling snakes as aposematic signal is expected to enhance the survival of the aposematic species in a size-dependent manner. 4. Predation pressure against snakes was severe, and on average 39% of models were attacked. Coloration did not enhance the survival of juvenile-sized zigzag-patterned snakes, but significantly increased the survival of adult-sized zigzag-patterned snakes on both backgrounds. 5. Our results provide further support for the aposematism hypothesis of zigzagpatterned noxious snakes, although the advantage due to disruptive coloration is not mutually exclusive.
Clinical Profile and Outcome of Acute Respiratory Failure in Children: A Prospective Study in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background : It was to study the clinical pattern of acute respiratory failure in children from 1 month to 15 years of age and to determine the outcome of respiratory failure in relation to underlying etiology and associated factors. Methods : A hospital-based prospective study was conducted on 115 children in the age group from 1 month to 15 years. The duration of the study was 18 months. Acute respiratory failure was identified in any patient presenting with respiratory arrest or respiratory distress with SpO 2 60 mm Hg. Results: Maximum patients (56.52%) were observed in the age group of 1 month to 1 year and majority was males. Pulmonary diseases accounted for majority (62.60%) of cases, followed by nervous system (23.50%), sepsis (9.56%) and cardiovascular system diseases (4.34%). The respiratory failure was classified into three types based on ABG analysis, of which hypoxic respiratory failure (type 1) was the commonest (74.78%). The commonest cause of respiratory failure and mortality was bronchopneumonia (42.60%). About one-third of the patients (33.91%) required ventilation support. Overall mortality rate was 14.14%. Among the malnourished children maximum number had grade IV malnutrition, and the mortality rate increased with the grade of malnutrition. Conclusion : The commonest type of respiratory failure was hypoxic type, and bronchopneumonia was the commonest cause of mortality. Int J Clin Pediatr. 2014;3(2):46-50 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.14740/ijcp145w
Impact of land-use on tree and fruit morphometric variation of the bitter kola (Garcinia kola Heckel) in Benin: Insight for domestication and production.

Garcinia kola is an IUCN globally vulnerable species native in Benin where it is extinct in the wild. It is also one of the top ten priority non-timber forest products in Benin because of its socio-economic and medicinal values. Still, G. kola is neglected and underutilized. The morphological variation of G. kola traits was investigated in two land-use types (home gardens versus farmlands) where it is found in Benin with the goal of informing its domestication and production. A total of 79 trees identified in both land use types were characterized based on seventeen tree growth, leaves, fruit and seeds descriptors. Results found no significant difference between land-use types for tree height, first ramification height, crown height, crown diameter growth, blade width, petiole length, petiole diameter and number of seeds. However, stem diameter, blade length, fruit length, fruit width, husk weight, seed length, seed width and seed weight showed significant differences between land-use types. Eight (stem diameter, blade length, fruit length, fruit width, husk weight, seed length, seed width and seed weight) out of the initial descriptors were the most discriminant of trees according to land-use types. Values of most discriminant descriptors were low in home gardens and higher in farmlands. This study shows that land-use management can affect G. kola production, highlights the potential of domestication of the species, and suggests the need to fix morphological traits of fruits and nuts which are the most sought G. kola products. Key words: Benin, Clusiaceae, land-use management, morphological diversity, threatened species.
Privacy-preserving Biometric Databases: from Authentication to Ecient Identication Systems

Nowadays, biometrics form an increasingly interesting means of performing authentication as well as identification. Because biometric data contain privacy sensitive information it is important to apply security measures when storing these data. Securely storing these data is complicated by the fact that biometric measurements are noisy. In this thesis two issues are addressed. First, the matter of storing biometric data in such a manner that privacy can be preserved while still allowing data obtained from noisy measurements to be used to perform authentication. Second, the issue of modifying such a privacy preserving authentication system to be able to perform identification. The issue of privacy-preserving storage of biometric data is investigated using general helper data systems. The error characteristics of such a system are optimized. A large part of this thesis focuses on systems with the zero leakage property. This property ensures that data stored for the purpose of compensating measurement noise do not reveal any information about other any other data that are stored, making it an interesting property for the purpose of privacy preservation. The construction and properties of zero leakage helper data systems are described. An analysis of the modifications needed to make an authentication system suitable for performing identification is also given in this thesis. The advantage of creating an identification system based on an authentication system is that the privacy properties of the underlying authentication system can largely be preserved. The properties of the resulting identification system are studied analytically where possible and numerically where necessary. Some information theoretic results on this issue are also presented.
Population Ecology at the Range Edge . Survival and Dispersal of a High-Density Lepidopteran Population

Outbreaks of pest species can cause extensive damage to arable crops and to forest production. Some pests also present severe health hazards to humans and animals. A recent outbreak of the Northern pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pinivora on Gotland, southern Sweden, has caused concern for the welfare of local residents as this species is known to cause itching rashes in most people that come in contact with infested areas This thesis examines larval traits that are important to the fitness of T. pinivora, and may thus be a factor in explaining why the species sometimes reaches outbreak levels. As there has been much concern that the outbreak will lead to the moth expanding its range, I have also studied the species' dispersal patterns on a local scale on Gotland and its distribution and colonization history on a global scale. Colony size was found to be important for the growth and survival of the gregarious larvae of T. pinivora. The number of individuals in a colony determines the benefits gained from both predator protection and thermoregulation, indicating that high population densities are favourable for larval survival. The larvae of T. pinivora hatch early in the spring. This enables them to evade predators that do not become active until later in the season. Predator activity increases later in the spring, and early hatching larvae have then had time to grow and are therefore better defended from predation than larvae that hatch later. Although several populations were found outside the outbreak area on Gotland, none of these populations were founded recently and the migration level between the populations was low. This indicates that there is little or no expansion of the outbreak range. The distribution of T. pinivora populations is globally fragmented. Genetic studies show that the colonization history is recent, which is surprising considering the limited dispersal ability of the species. The pattern could possibly be due to a loss of habitat patches that have previously been available for colonization in a stepping-stone fashion.
Importance of Matrix Elements in the ARPES Spectra of BISCO

We have carried out extensive first-principles angle-resolved photointensity (ARPES) simulations in Bi2212 wherein the photoemission process is modelled realistically by taking into account the full crystal wavefunctions of the initial and final states in the presence of the surface. The spectral weight of the ARPES feature associated with the CuO2 plane bands is found to undergo large and systematic variations with kk as well as the energy and polarization of the incident photons. These theoretical predictions are in good accord with the corresponding measurements, indicating that the remarkable observed changes in the spectral weights in Bi2212 are essentially a matrix element effect and that the importance of matrix elements should be kept in mind in analyzing the ARPES spectra in the high-Tc’s. PACS numbers: 79.60. bm,71.18. +y,74.72. Hs Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has contributed significantly towards an understanding of the nature of the normal as well as the superconducting state of the cuprates [1–4]. Much of the data on the cuprates, however, has been analyzed by assuming that the ARPES essentially measures the one-particle spectral function of the initial states. While this simple approach yields insights into the underlying physics, a satisfactory description of the spectra must necessarily model the photo-excitation process properly by taking into account the matrix element involved, the complex modifications of the wavefunctions resulting from a specific surface termination, and the effects of multiple scattering and of finite lifetimes of the initial and final states. This article presents first-principles simulations of ARPES spectra in Bi2212 (BISCO) using the one-step model of photoemission which incorporates the aforementioned effects realistically [5–10]. We focus on the ARPES signature of CuO2 plane bands which are widely believed to be the key to the mechanism of superconductivity in the cuprates. The spectral weight of the ARPES peak associated with the CuO2 plane bands is found to undergo large variations with kk as well as the energy and polarization of the incident photons. These theoretical predictions are in remarkable accord with the corresponding measurements [11] on BISCO, and show clearly the importance of ”matrix element effects” [12] in the ARPES spectra. Notably, a substantial increase in the ARPES spectral weight in BISCO in going from to M was noted early by Anderson [13], who speculated that this puzzling behavior may be the hallmark of spin charge separation.
Inhibitory Effect of Relaxin-3 on Insulin Secretion in Isolated Pancreas and Insulinoma

Relaxin-3 is a recently discovered member of the insulin superfamily and is a ligand for three orphan G-protein-coupled receptors: GPCR135, GPCR142 and LGR7 (leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 7). GPCR135 mRNA is expressed in the pancreas, however, it is not known, whether the peptide affects pancreatic islet function. Reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR and radioreceptor assay have shown that the relaxin-3 receptor (GPCR135) is expressed in pancreatic islets and rat insulinoma, but LGR7 is not expressed. Moreover, relaxin-3 has been revealed to inhibit the secretion of insulin from pancreatic islets. However, we can not detect relaxin-3 in small intestine and pancreas. These results suggest a novel role of relaxin-3 in the regulation of insulin release.
Mathematical Modeling and Experimental Validation of an Electric Arc Furnace

The following paper presents an approach to the mathematical modeling of 3-phase AC, electric arc furnace (EAF) processes for control-design and process-optimization purposes. The EAF can be, from the modeling point of view, considered as a combination of electrical, hydraulic, chemical, thermal and several energy-balance sub-processes or sub-models. In this paper the modeling of the electrical and hydraulic sub-models is presented in detail, since the two represent a very complex and important sub-system of the complete EAF model. The presented sub-models are obtained in accordance with different mathematical, electrical and mechanical laws. Several parameters, which are necessary to successfully identify the scrap-melting process, were fitted experimentally, using the measured operational data of an 80 MVA AC furnace during different periods of the melting process. Similar data has also been used for the validation of the developed model in typical EAF operating situations. The aim of the presented EAF modeling is to obtain an accurate, robust and realistic mathematical model of the scrap-melting process, which will later be used for control-design purposes, the optimization of the energy consumption and the development of an operator-training simulator. The main advantage of our modeling approach over the existent EAF-related models is a more macroscopic level of modeling, which accurately simulates the electrical and hydraulic processes under different conditions in the EAF.
A Face Recognition Method Based on Total Variation Minimization and Log-Gabor Filter

A new face recognition method is proposed by using total variation minimization and Log-Gabor filter. First of all, facial images are transformed by total variation minimization model. Secondly, the facial feature is extracted by Log-Gabor filter from the result of the former transformation. Then, dimensionality reduction is realized by using principle component analysis. Finally, classification is achieved by using nearest neighbor classifier. This method is a kind of combination of advantage between total variation minimization and Log-Gabor filter which holds edge feature and describes textural feature of facial image reasonably. The experiment is conducted on Yale Face database. Compared with the methods such as Gabor filter based feature extraction, et al., the face recognition method we presented has better recognition performance. The correct recognition rate reaches to 86.36%.