Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Origin and Diagenesis of Clay Minerals in the Monterey Formation, Santa Maria Basin Area, California

The clay mineralogy of the Miocene Monterey Formation was determined for onshore and offshore sequences in the Santa Maria basin area, California. The <0.1-μm fraction of clayey, opal-CT porcelanites, siliceous mudstones, and dolostones from the Pt. Pedernales area consists of mixed-layered illite/smectite (I/S) that contains < 10% illite layers. The underlying Tranquillon Volcanics and Obispo Tuff, the presence of bentonite beds, zeolite minerals, and unaltered volcanic ash beds in the Monterey Formation, and the highly smectitic composition of the I/S suggest that a significant amount of the I/S formed from the alteration of vitreous volcanic ash. The alteration of volcanic glass to smectite coincides with the transformation of biogenic opal-A (mostly diatoms) to opal-CT. Alteration of volcanic glass to smectite may inhibit the opal-A to opal-CT transformation by removing pore-water Mg, promote dolomite precipitation by raising the pH, alter the Sr isotopic composition of the pore waters, and provide an additional source of silica to these predominantly biogenic siliceous rocks. The 0.1- to 2-μm fraction contains mica minerals (discrete illite, biotite, and muscovite) as well as I/S. Clayey, opal-A diatomites from the overlying Sisquoc Formation contain detrital kaolinite and random (R = 0) I/S, but the percent illite layers in the I/S is uncertain.The <0.1-μn fraction of quartz rocks from the Lions Head area and the offshore B-2 well is far more variable, and contains random or ordered (R = 1) I/S, kaolinite, and chlorite. Corrensite was observed at the base of the Lions Head area. The percent illite layers in the I/S increases from 10% to 80% over a stratigraphic depth of 0.8 km that corresponds to a present-day temperature range of 80 to 115°C. Initial illitization of smectite coincides with the opal-CT to quartz transformation. Ordered (R = 1) I/S is associated with abundant diagenetic kaolinite and dolomite in several metabentonite beds. The dominance of sodic plagioclase over K-feldspar, and the absence of kaolinite and chlorite in rocks of equivalent age that have not undergone illitization suggest that limited availability of K results in the alteration of smectite to kaolinite, chlorite, and possibly late dolomite. Minor amounts of clinoptilolite were found in opal-A and opal-CT rocks. Minor to trace amounts of analcime and mordenite were tentatively identified, primarily in quartz rocks.
Vehicle Recognition System Using Singular Value Decomposition and Extreme Learning Machine

The purpose of this research is to develop a system that is able to recognize and classify a variety of vehicles using image processing and artificial neural network. In order to perform the recognition, first, all the images containing the vehicles are required to go through several images processing technique such as thresholding, histogram equalization and edge detection before obtaining the desired dataset for classification process. Then, the vehicle images are converted into data using singular value decomposition (SVD) extraction method and the data are used as an input for training process in the classification phase. A Single Layer Feedforward (SLFN) network trained by Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) algorithm is chosen to perform the recognition and classification. The network is evaluated in terms of classification accuracy, training time and optimum structure of the network. Then, the recognition performance using the ELM training algorithm is compared with the standard Levenberg Marquardt (LM) algorithm.
Molecular identification of a Begomovirus associated with yellow vein net disease on Malva parviflora L. from india.

Incidence of yellow vein net disease with leaf distortion was observed on Malva parviflora grown as a weed in Barkatullah University campus, Bhopal, India during the rainy session. The begomovirus disease was suspected on the basis of symptomatology and whiteflies insects’ population on the plant. The begomovirus was detected by the PCR with the begomovirus gene specific primers. The begomovirus under study showed highest nucleotide sequence identities and distinct phylogenetic relationships of coat protein gene (CP) with several isolates of Tomato leaf curl Kerala virus (ToLCKeV). This is the first report of ToLCKeV associated with yellow vein net disease on M. parviflora and it is a new host of begomovirus from India.
Cloud Computing and its Effects on Electronic Commerce: A Survey

Evolution of cloud computing within the last several years is regarded as one of the most important progresses of computations history. Although lots of resea rch has been done in the field of this technology recently, the essential demand for understanding the problems and constraints related to cloud electronic commerce is still highly felt. This article shows that cloud computing has a wide prospect in e -commerce applications and this matter is shown through describing the cloud computing features, concepts and analyzing the improvement of e-commerce by it. In this article, strength and weakness points, opportunities, threats of cloud computing industry and th e impacts of this technology on e -commerce will be stated.
The Impact of Food Price Volatility on Consumer Welfare in Cameroon

The objective of this paper is to analyse the welfare effects of food price volatility on Cameroonian consumers. Using data from the third Cameroonian Household Consumption Surveys, the price elasticities are obtained from a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System model. Price elasticities are then used to evaluate the distributional impacts of food price changes in terms of compensating variation. The paper finds that: (a) poor households are the most affected by food price volatility and (b) the welfare losses from food price volatility depend on the extent of any price hike.
On the (Ir)relevance of Prospect Theory in Modelling Uncertainty in Travel Decisions

This paper reflects on the relevance of prospect theory for transportation research. By discussing the original purpose and context of this theory of risky choice and the models that have been derived from the theory, the shortcomings and boundaries of the theory are discussed. It is argued that many applications in transportation and travel behaviour research may have stretched the domain of this theory too much, and that the theory lacks the necessary set of mechanisms and concepts to serve as a comprehensive theory of repeated travel choices under uncertainty. The discussion of shortcomings may serve to define a research agenda for further developing operational choice models.
Matching Tourism Supply and Demand: an analysis of how tourism products meet the needs of emerging domestic market segments in selected regions in South Africa

In this study a newly developed model, referred to as the “Match Model”, is used to express the relationship between the needs of specifically identified emerging tourist market segments and the existing tourism product offerings in selected regions. Each market segment is positioned to show the extent to which the current product offerings in a region, represented by sectors such as transport, accommodation, tours and attractions, meet the respective market segment’s needs. The model was applied to South Africa’s five emerging domestic travel market segments and four prioritized (? ) regions. The value of the research lies in the development of a model which enables any permutation of –tourism product-market matching
Prograde metamorphic zircon formation in gabbroic rocks: The tale of microtextures

U–Pb zircon dates of metagabbroic rocks, such as eclogite, mafic granulite, and garnet amphibolite, are used to constrain the timing of tectonometamorphic evolution in orogens worldwide. For such interpretation, however, it is imperative to define at which stage of the P–T evolution that zircon crystallization took place: the prograde, peak, or retrograde stage. In order to accurately interpret metamorphic zircon ages, it is necessary to assess how the zircon crystallized or recrystallized, as zircon can dissolve or grow under different metamorphic conditions. Zircon is robust to retrograde isotopic resetting under most crustal conditions, but equilibrium Zr mass balance models have suggested that zircon is largely produced during retrograde metamorphism. This study takes a textural approach and identifies and reviews zircon‐forming textures and reactions in gabbro and metagabbro at different metamorphic grades, ranging from subgreenschist to upper amphibolite‐ and eclogite‐facies, and at different stages of metamorphic recrystallization. The textural relationships demonstrate that, in metagabbro, metamorphic zircon grows during the early stage of metamorphic recrystallization, independent of pressure and temperature. The mode of zircon formation is remarkably similar throughout different stages of metamorphic recrystallization, and the most significant source of Zr is igneous baddeleyite. Hence, in contrast to the equilibrium mass balance model, most zircon in metagabbro forms by prograde metamorphic reactions that consume igneous phases, and not by late retrograde reactions, and the onset of zircon forming reactions is governed primarily by the introduction of a hydrous fluid, commonly accompanied by ductile deformation.
Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation and humic acid application on growth and yield of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) and its mycorrhizal colonization index under deficit irrigation

In this study effect of irrigation managements including irrigation after 100 and 200 mm pan evaporation as normal and deficit irrigation respectively was investigated in Roselle plants. Effects of humic acid (including 0 and 4 kg ha-1) and mycorrhizal inoculants (including Glomus versiforme (GV) and Rhizophagus irregularis (RI)) were also studied on growth, yield and mycorrhizal symbiosis index of Roselle plants. Drought stress reduced the amounts of morphological indices and yield components, while mycorrhizal treatment particularly RI inoculation and to a lower extent humic acid application reduced the negative impacts of water deficit on growth and yield of Roselle plants. Both inoculants of mycorrhizal fungi increased the economical yield of Roselle under drought stress condition, where the amount of calyx yield for RI, GV and control in 200 mm pan-evaporation treatment was 130, 127 and 66 kg ha-1, respectively. In addition, the highest root mycorrhizal frequency was obtained at normal irrigation × humic application × RI (95%) and the lowest value was observed at deficit irrigation × no-humic × no-mycorrhizal inoculation (31.6%) treatment. In conclusion, combined effects of experimental factors showed that seed inoculation of plants by mycorrhiza and to some extent application of humic acid are two reliable strategies for Roselle production under deficit irrigation.
Detection of β‐lactamase reporter gene expression by flow cytometry

Flow cytometry of gene expression in living cells requires accurate, sensitive, nontoxic fluorescent indicators capable of detecting transcription of specific genes. This is typically achieved by using genes that encode fluorescent proteins or enzymes coupled to promoters of interest. The most commonly used reporters are green fluorescent protein and β‐galactosidase (lacZ). In this study, we characterized the performance of a cell‐permeant, ratiometric, β‐lactamase substrate, coumarin cephalosporin fluorescein (CCF2/AM). We compared its characteristics with that of the β‐galactosidase/fluorescein di‐β‐D‐galactopyranoside reporter system.
A Study on Mechanical Behaviour of Surface Modified Rice Husk/Polypropylene Composite Using Sodium Hydroxide

There are many studies has been done on the natural fibers of cellulose contents as a reinforcing material. Yet, the main challenge in the research of natural fiber is the poor compatibility. In this study, the surface modification techniques were performed on granular size rice husk (RH) such as untreated, boiled and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treated reinforced polypropylene (PP) was consolidated to improve the mechanical properties. An internal mixer machine is set for four different composites compositions and the samples produced by hot press machine. The specimens were analyzed by different techniques such as hardness test, impact test, tensile test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This study shown that, the presence of NaOH indicates higher young modulus and hardness test value compared to boiled treated and untreated RH. While for the impact strength and tensile strength value shows untreated, boiled treated and NaOH treated PP/RH composite decreased when fiber loading increased. The morphological analysis was conducted to determine the effects of natural fiber bonding between the matrix materials after boiling and NaOH treatments for mechanical testing broken specimens.
STABILITY CONDITION OF TS FUZZY SYSTEM VIA ROBUST APPROACH

In this paper, the stability of the Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy system is investigated via robust approach. A sufficient condition is proposed to guarantee the stability of the TS fuzzy system. By mathematical analysis, the presented criterion is proved to be less conservative than the existing one reported very recently, where both the presented criterion and the existing criterion do not need finding the common positive-definite matrix solution for a set of linear matrix inequalities. Furthermore, an optimal combined method, i.e., Taguchi-real-coded-genetic-algorithm (Taguchi-RGA), is also employed to reduce the conservatism of the proposed sufficient condition.
Examining the uptake of low-carbon approaches within the healthcare sector: case studies from the National Health Service in England

The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, is one of the largest organisations in Europe and indeed the world. It therefore has a significant ecological footprint. As a result there are key corporate, financial and environmental targets that the organisation is expected to meet as a means of reducing resource consumption. Using a case study approach, this manuscript examines best practice examples for the uptake of low-carbon strategies for energy conservation. These strategies included sustainable procurement, use of renewable energy technologies, supply chain management, use of building management systems, renegotiating energy contracts, undertaking energy audits, and behaviour change, to realise significant financial, as well as energy and carbon savings. A key focus was management of water resources, including the use of recycling and recovery of heat. The implications of the findings for building ecological and financial resilience within the organisation are also discussed.
An Information Extracting Scheme for Netdisk

The netdisk not only supplies users with plenty of storage, but also provide the facility to share data. Therefore it has brought great convenience to users, but it also becomes the important channel for malicious and infringing applications to spread. Due to the extraction of netdisk information will get into trouble with the input of CAPTCHA, it’s difficult to detect the applications. In this paper, we propose a method to extract downloading links of netdisk and another method based on the Drop Fall Algorithm to undertake the recognition of merged characters. We combine the numbers of characters and minimum values to confirm the initial points. The performance analysis shows that the method of extracting link is effective, and the recognition of characters is suitable for the netdisk environment.
Challenges and Opportunities to Improve Tuberculosis Screening among Immigrant Plantation Workers in Sabah, Malaysia

Tuberculosis (TB) among immigrants has substantial contribution to the TB epidemiology in Sabah. This study aimed to determine the yield of screening for TB disease among immigrant plantation workers in Sabah, Malaysia. This was a prospective cohort study involving 482 legal immigrant workers aged 18 years and above, consented and available at study sites during the study period. Workers with previous history of TB or currently on TB treatment were excluded from participation. Symptom based questionnaire was administered along with both chest radiograph and sputum samples collection for symptomatics participants. Out of 482 plantation workers creened, there was no case of active TB detected among the 44 (9.1%) symptomatics participants. Finding of low TB yield in this study was rather unexpected but this indicates the real challenges for the local health authority to come out with more cost effective screening programs, including reducing stigma, in active TB screening among migrant population.
Polar Code decoder exploration framework

Abstract. The increasing demand for fast wireless communications requires sophisticated baseband signal processing. One of the computational intense tasks here is advanced Forward Error Correction (FEC), especially the decoding. Finding efficient hardware implementations for sophisticated FEC decoding algorithms that fulfill throughput demands under strict implementation constraints is an active research topic due to increasing throughput, low latency, and high energy efficiency requirements. This paper focuses on the interesting class of Polar Codes that are currently a hot topic. We present a modular framework to automatically generate and evaluate a wide range of Polar Code decoders, with emphasis on design space exploration for efficient hardware architectures. To demonstrate the efficiency of our framework a very high throughput Soft Cancellation (SCAN) Polar Code decoder is shown that was automatically generated. This decoder is, to the best of our knowledge, the fastest SCAN Polar Code decoder published so far.
Examining the Leadership Styles within Ghana Link Network Services

Leadership is one, if not the single most important, factor determining the success or progress of any human endeavour or organisation. It in the case of an organisation not progressing or succeeding in its bid to achieve a set goal, leadership tends to be the first to be held responsible. Ghanaian organisations seem to have a difficulty with leadership playing a vital role in their development, resulting in a high rate of organisational failures. Leadership challenges constitute one of the crucial problems confronting organisations. There is a myriad of problems which underlie leadership effectiveness in organisations and which have both short and long term effects on productivity within the organisation. A destination inspection company (DIC) such as Ghana Link Network Services (GLNS) will require efficient and effective leadership to get its work done for corporate objectives to be achieved. The study investigated the leadership styles within Ghana Link Network Services. Employees of GLNS are the target population for this research. Relevant information will be solicited from all categories (management and employees alike) of staff. The sample to be surveyed for the study will be limited to the Accra office of GLNS which has a population of one hundred and ten (110); made up of ten (10) top management staff, twenty (20) lower management/ sectional heads, thirty (30) senior staff and fifty (50) junior staff. The selected sample fraction is thirty-six percent (36 %) which constitutes a sample size of forty (40) respondents selected to be interviewed for the study. The study will be conducted using probability sampling in which all staff members have an equal chance of being selected as a sample unit. The researcher will sample forty (40) respondents representing thirty-six percent of the staff in the Accra office. This sample size has been selected as a result of budgetary and time constraints taking into consideration the need to have a high level of confidence in the representativeness of the sample selected and the reliability of the data generated from the sample. The study found that majority of both management and employees of the GLNS prefer the democratic style of leadership, which is the dominant or prevalent leadership style over all the other styles. Keywords: leadership style, organizational strategy
Some Implications of Core Regime Wind Structures in Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Abstract In this study, a tropical cyclone (TC) is considered to be compact if 1) the radius of maximum wind or the maximum tangential wind is smaller than what would be expected for an average tropical cyclone of the same intensity or the same radius of maximum wind, and 2) the decrease of tangential wind outside the radius of maximum wind is greater than that of an average TC. A structure parameter S is defined to provide a quantitative measure of the compactness of tropical cyclones. Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) oceanic winds are used to calculate S for 171 tropical cyclones during 2000–07. The S parameters are then used to classify all of the cases as either compact or incompact according to the 33% and 67% percentiles. It is found that the early intensification stage is favorable for the occurrence of compact tropical cyclones, which also have a higher percentage of rapid intensification than incompact cases. Composite infrared brightness temperature shows that compact tropical cyclones have highly.
mplot: An R Package for Graphical Model Stability and Variable Selection Procedures

The mplot package provides an easy to use implementation of model stability and variable inclusion plots (M\"uller and Welsh 2010; Murray, Heritier, and M\"uller 2013) as well as the adaptive fence (Jiang, Rao, Gu, and Nguyen 2008; Jiang, Nguyen, and Rao 2009) for linear and generalised linear models. We provide a number of innovations on the standard procedures and address many practical implementation issues including the addition of redundant variables, interactive visualisations and approximating logistic models with linear models. An option is provided that combines our bootstrap approach with glmnet for higher dimensional models. The plots and graphical user interface leverage state of the art web technologies to facilitate interaction with the results. The speed of implementation comes from the leaps package and cross-platform multicore support.
CFBDS J111807-064016: A new L/T transition brown dwarf in a binary system

Stellar-substellar binary systems are quite rare, and provide interesting benchmarks. They constrain the complex physics of substellar atmospheres, because several physical parameters of the substellar secondary can be fixed from the much better characterized main sequence primary. We report the discovery of CFBDS J111807-064016, a T2 brown dwarf companion to 2MASS J111806.99-064007.8, a low-mass M4.5-M5 star. The brown-dwarf was identified from the Canada France Brown Dwarf Survey. At a distance of 50-120 pc, the 7.7 00 angular separation corresponds to projected separations of 390-900 AU. The primary displays no H emission, placing a lower limit on the age of the system of about 6 Gyr. The kinematics is also consistent with membership in the old thin disc. We obtained near-infrared spectra, which together with recent atmosphere models allow us determine the e ective temperature and gravity of both components. We derived a system metallicity of [Fe/H]=-0.1 0:1 using metallicity sensitive absorption features in our medium-resolution Ks spectrum of the primary. From these parameters and the age constraint, evolutionary models estimate masses of 0.10 to 0:15M for the M dwarf, and 0.06 to 0:07M for the T dwarf. This system is a particularly valuable benchmark because the brown dwarf is an early T: the cloud-clearing that occurs at the L/T transition is very sensitive to gravity, metallicity, and detailed dust properties, and produces a large scatter in the colours. This T2 dwarf, with its metallicity measured from the primary and its mass and gravity much better constrained than those of younger earlyTs, will anchor our understanding of the colours of L/T transition brown dwarfs. It is also one of the most massive T dwarfs, just below the hydrogen-burning limit, and all this makes it a prime probe a brown dwarf atmosphere and evolution models.