Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Removal of natural populations of marine plankton by a large-scale ballast water treatment system

Large-scale experiments using a hydrocyclone, a self-cleaning 50 µm screen, and a UV unit were undertaken to evaluate the treatment efficiency of these commercially available units for preventing the transfer of unwanted species via ships' ballast water. The water flow through the treatment system was approximately 5.7 m 3 min -1 . The effect of increased suspended solids on these processes was the focus of this research. During each experimental run, 760 l samples were obtained and passed through 35 µm plankton nets for zooplankton collection. Samples were also collected for phytoplankton, microbiological, ATP and protein analyses. After the initial samples were obtained, a second set of samples was held for 18 h to determine the effects of storage on the effectiveness of treatment processes. Screening the seawater at 50 µm removed most of the zooplankton and a small percentage of the microphytoplankton, but hydrocyclonic separation was not effective. Initially, UV treatment reduced the viable count of microorganisms to an undetectable level; however, bacterial regrowth was observed in the samples held for 18 h. Statistical evaluation showed that increased tur- bidity (5 to 90 nephelometer turbidity units; NTU) had no effect on the treatment regime, even on the UV unit. At the highest turbidity (90 NTU), the UV dose was lowered to approximately 35 mW s cm -2 ; however, this dose was still sufficient to inactivate microorganisms. Overall, it was observed that only the 50 µm screen was effective in the removal of organisms, especially potential invading organisms such as large zooplankton or invertebrate larvae.
A dual frequency algorithm for the identification of sandeel school echotraces

Sandeels are not only targets of a significant industrial fishery, but are also considered to be a vital trophic component of the North Sea ecosystem. At present there is no satisfactory survey method to sample sandeels which produces a global absolute abundance estimate. Acoustic surveys have been carried out, but suffer from an inability to consistently identify sandeel echo traces in an objective manner. As sandeels lack a swimbladder, their acoustic properties are very different to other fish species which occur adjacent to them. We report on the development of a dual frequency algorithm which aims to identify echotraces of sandeel schools based on the observed difference in acoustic scattering at 38 and 120 kHz. The algorithm also includes noise reduction and plankton filtering components. Multifrequency algorithms such as these will no doubt result in acoustic surveys being used more widely for fishery independent surveys with direct benefits for an ecosystems approach to fisheries management.
UC San Diego Recent Work Title Rational Transparency Choice in Financial Market Equilibrium ¤ Permalink

Add a stage of signal acquisition to a canonical model of portfolio choice. Under fully revealing asset price, investors’ information demand reflects their choice of transparency. In reducing uncertainty, financial transparency raises expected asset price and thus benefits holders of the risky asset. At a natural transparency limit, however, investors pay to inhibit further disclosure in order to forestall the erosion of the asset’s expected excess return. The natural transparency limit varies with the portfolio position. There is a dominant investor with a risky asset endowment modestly above market average who single-handedly determines transparency in equilibrium. The dominant investor strictly improves welfare for investors with similar endowments but strictly reduces welfare for others when acquiring signals beyond their natural transparency limits. The welfare consequences of financial transparency are thus intricately linked to the wealth distribution.
Timing and preservation mechanism of deglacial pteropod spike from the Andaman Sea, northeastern Indian Ocean

The aragonite compensation depth (ACD) fluctuated considerably during the last glacial until the Holocene with a dominant pteropod preservation spike during the deglacial period, which is prominently seen in three well‐dated cores covering the Andaman Sea, northeastern Indian Ocean. The precise time period of the preservation spike of pteropods is not known but this knowledge is crucial for stratigraphical correlation and also for understanding the driving mechanism. Isotopic and foraminiferal proxies were used to decipher the possible mechanism for pteropods preservation in the Andaman Sea. The poor preservation/absence of pteropods during the Holocene in the Andaman Sea may have implications for ocean acidification, driven by enhanced atmospheric CO2 concentration. Strengthening of the summer monsoon and the resultant high biological productivity may also have played a role in the poor preservation of pteropods. The deglacial pteropod spike is characterized by high abundance/preservation of the pteropods between ∼19 and 15 cal. ka BP, associated with very low atmospheric CO2 concentration. Isotope data suggest the prevalence of a glacial environment with reduced sea surface temperature, upwelling and enhanced salinity during the pteropod preservation spike. Total planktic foraminifera and Globigerina bulloides abundances are low during this period, implying a weakened summer monsoon and reduced foraminiferal productivity. Based on the preservation record of pteropods, it is inferred that the ACD was probably deepest (>2900 m) at 16.5 cal. ka BP. The synchronous regional occurrence of the pteropod preservation spike in the Andaman Sea and in the northwestern Indian Ocean could potentially be employed as a stratigraphic marker.
Computing the Pseudoinverse of Specific Toeplitz Matrices Using Rank-One Updates

Application of the pure rank-one update algorithm as well as a combination of rank-one updates and the Sherman-Morrison formula in computing the Moore-Penrose inverse of the particular Toeplitz matrix is investigated in the present paper. Such Toeplitz matrices appear in the image restoration process and in many scientific areas that use the convolution. Four different approaches are developed, implemented, and tested on a number of numerical experiments.
Linking agricultural practice to insect and bird populations: a historical study over three decades

Summary 1. There is continuing debate about the impact of agricultural practices on farmland wildlife. In particular, it has been postulated that a general decline in insect abundance linked with intensification of agriculture may have contributed to farmland bird decline. While some autecological studies have supported this hypothesis, larger-scale and longterm studies are needed. 2. Suction traps mounted on 12·2-m towers (Rothamsted-type) have been sampling aerial insects for nearly 40 years throughout the UK. Their catches are correlated over large spatial scales. We analysed insect catch data from a single suction trap run for 27 years in a rural location in Scotland, and showed that insect numbers have changed significantly over time, although non-linearly. The multivariate data set (numbers from the 12 common arthropod groups) was summarized using principal components analysis (PCA) to extract three components explaining 62% of the variation. 3. We also used PCA to describe agricultural change, using published agricultural data for eight measures of farming in Scotland. Arthropod abundance and principal component (PC) scores were significantly related to the agricultural PC scores as well to summary climatic measures. 4. Using Scottish data from the British Trust for Ornithology Common Birds Census, we extracted three PC to describe the time-dependent average densities of 15 common farmland birds in Scotland. Measures of bird density were significantly related to insect abundance and PC scores and, independently, to measures of agriculture and climate. 5. These data from a broad suite of species provide support for linked temporal change between farmland birds, invertebrate numbers and agricultural practice in Scotland. Although entirely correlative, the results are consistent with the view that agricultural change has influenced birds through changes in food quality or quantity. The work also shows how large-scale invertebrate sampling, in this case using suction traps, is useful for monitoring farmland biodiversity.
Investment Optimization on Container Capacity of Shanghai (China)

Over the past few decades, mainland China has reformed restrictions on its port investment in order to meet the huge demand of related infrastructure, especially promulgated the deregulation of foreign investment into container port. Nowadays, port investments have included the state investment, bank loans, self-raised funds, foreign investment and IPO and so on. We focus on investment optimization of container capacity with the basics of the model proposed, putting forth some conclusions and policy recommendations through conducting numerical illustration of the Shanghai case.
Modeling Power Control in WCDMA for Multimedia Support

Modern Third Generation Wireless Networks demand more and more resources in order to satisfy customers’ needs. And these resources can only be provided by a good Power Control. However, power control needs an algorithm in order to work at the margin of the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. This work is related to this, we propose a power control algorithm modeled under probabilistic criteria. This means, applying a Markovian model to a MAC Protocol (power control algorithm), in order to optimize the power assigment to each user in the system. This protocol is highly interrelated to the power control functionality in order to extract the maximum capacity and flexibility out of the WCDMA scheme. Once it is done, the algorithm is submitted to different scenarios to demonstrate its capabilities and limitations, also thus analyze its behavior under different conditions and viewpoints. At the end, conclusions are listed, together with future work and proposals to strengthen this work. Modeling Power Control in WCDMA for Multimedia Support Ulises Pineda Rico, M.Sc. Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, 2002
Formation and evolution of the westernmost corona of Aphrodite Terra

Previous knowledge of Venus equatorial highlands has been greatly extended by Magellan SAR imagery. Spanning over more than 15,000 km, with a mean elevation of 3 km, Aphrodite Terra is a key region for the comprehension of Venusian geology and tectonics. Surface geology is investigated with the high-resolution Magellan radar imagery. This study focuses on the westernmost part of Aphrodite Terra, an area 2000 km in diameter centred on Verdandi Corona. Structural interpretation is based on conventional manual cartography and image processing. The conjunction of these two methods enables a model of formation to be proposed in four stages : (1) intense fracturation of the substratum under extensive stress, creating a pattern of small horsts and grabens, (2) filling of grabens by a volcanic material, (3) formation of Verdandi Corona, a circular feature 180 km wide. with concentric and radial fractures corresponding to the remains of a subsiding volcano, (4) N105 faults overcutting the caldera and radial normal faults developing at its periphery. Along with the topographic information available, these stages suggest that this corona results from the rising, cooling and flattening of a diapir intruded in the Venusian pre-existing fractured crust. Copyright fil;l 1996 Elsevier Science.Ltd
Observations on the Biology of Skipper Butterflies in Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago: Phocides, Chioides, Typhedanus, and Polythrix (Hesperiidae: Eudaminae)

Observations are provided on the early stages and food plants of Phocides polybius polybius (Fabricius), P. pigmalion pigmalion (Cramer), Chioides catillus catillus (Cramer), Typhedanus undulatus (Hewitson), Polythrix auginus (Hewitson), P. caunus (Herrich-Schaffer), P. metallescens (Mabille), P. octomaculata (Sepp), Polythrix roma Evans from Trinidad, supplemented with observations on Phocides polybius lilea (Reakirt) and Polythrix octomaculata in Mexico.
Strong fisheries management and governance positively impact ecosystem status

Fisheries have had major negative impacts on marine ecosystems, and effective fisheries management and governance are needed to achieve sustainable fisheries, biodiversity conservation goals and thus good ecosystem status. To date, the IndiSeas programme (Indicators for the Seas) has focussed on assessing the ecological impacts of fishing at the ecosystem scale using ecological indicators. Here, we explore fisheries ‘Management Effectiveness’ and ‘Governance Quality’ and relate this to ecosystem health and status. We developed a dedicated expert survey, focused at the ecosystem level, with a series of questions addressing aspects of management and governance, from an ecosystem-based perspective, using objective and evidence-based criteria. The survey was completed by ecosystem experts (managers and scientists) and results analysed using ranking and multivariate methods. Results were further examined for selected ecosystems, using expert knowledge, to explore the overall findings in greater depth. Higher scores for ‘Management Effectiveness’ and ‘Governance Quality’ were significantly and positively related to ecosystems with better ecological status. Key factors that point to success in delivering fisheries and conservation objectives were as follows: the use of reference points for management, frequent review of stock assessments, whether Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) catches were being accounted for and addressed, and the inclusion of stakeholders. Additionally, we found that the implementation of a long-term management plan, including economic and social dimensions of fisheries in exploited ecosystems, was a key factor in successful, sustainable fisheries management. Our results support the thesis that good ecosystem-based management and governance, sustainable fisheries and healthy ecosystems go together.
The International Journal of Biostatistics Targeted Maximum Likelihood Learning

Suppose one observes a sample of independent and identically distributed observations from a particular data generating distribution. Suppose that one is concerned with estimation of a particular pathwise differentiable Euclidean parameter. A substitution estimator evaluating the parameter of a given likelihood based density estimator is typically too biased and might not even converge at the parametric rate: that is, the density estimator was targeted to be a good estimator of the density and might therefore result in a poor estimator of a particular smooth functional of the density. In this article we propose a one step (and, by iteration, k-th step) targeted maximum likelihood density estimator which involves 1) creating a hardest parametric submodel with parameter epsilon through the given density estimator with score equal to the efficient influence curve of the pathwise differentiable parameter at the density estimator, 2) estimating epsilon with the maximum likelihood estimator, and 3) defining a new density estimator as the corresponding update of the original density estimator. We show that iteration of this algorithm results in a targeted maximum likelihood density estimator which solves the efficient influence curve estimating equation and thereby yields a locally efficient estimator of the parameter of interest, under regularity conditions. In particular, we show that, if the parameter is linear and the model is convex, then the targeted maximum likelihood estimator is often achieved in the first step, and it results in a locally efficient estimator at an arbitrary (e.g., heavily misspecified) starting density. We also show that the targeted maximum likelihood estimators are now in full agreement with the locally efficient estimating function methodology as presented in Robins and Rotnitzky (1992) and van der Laan and Robins (2003), creating, in particular, algebraic equivalence between the double robust locally efficient estimators using the targeted maximum likelihood estimators as an estimate of its nuisance parameters, and targeted maximum likelihood estimators. In addition, it is argued that the targeted MLE has various advantages relative to the current estimating function based approach. We proceed by providing data driven methodologies to select the initial density estimator for the targeted MLE, thereby providing data adaptive targeted maximum likelihood estimation methodology. We illustrate the method with various worked out examples.
A new approach to improved SST anomaly simulations using altimeter data: Parameterizing entrainment temperature from sea level

Observed Topex/Poseidon/Jason‐1 (T/P/J) altimeter sea level (SL) data are used to improve an empirical parameterization of the temperature of subsurface water entrained into the mixed layer (Te). An inverse modeling method is first adopted to estimate Te from a SST anomaly (SSTA) equation using observed SST and simulated upper ocean currents from an intermediate ocean model (IOM). An empirical relationship between anomalies of Te (estimated) and SL (observed) from T/P/J altimeter is then constructed by utilizing a singular value decomposition (SVD) of their covariance. As compared with SSTA simulations using modeled SL data, the use of T/P/J SL data allows observed information about dynamic ocean adjustments to be built directly into the empirical Te model being used to parameterize the thermocline effect on SSTAs. The improved Te model leads to better SSTA simulations in the tropical Pacific. Cross validation is made to examine the sensitivity of the SSTA simulations to the period chosen for training the Te model. The proposed approach provides a new way to more effectively use T/P/J altimeter data in climate studies.
Lake zooplankton delta13C values are strongly correlated with the delta13C values of distinct phytoplankton taxa

Analyses of carbon stable isotopes are often used to estimate the contributions of allochthonous and autochthonous dietary resources to aquatic consumers. Most pelagic food web studies assume that all phytoplankton taxa have a similar δ13C value. We studied pelagic food web compartments (dissolved inorganic carbon [DIC], phytoplankton, bacteria, seston, cladoceran zooplankton) in 12 small (< 0.1 km2) lakes in southern Finland. These lakes were classified as oligotrophic, mesotrophic, eutrophic, and dystrophic based on their concentrations of total phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon. Additionally, we studied phytoplankton photosynthetic carbon fractionation (εp) in laboratory conditions. The photosynthetic fractionation in 28 phytoplankton cultures from nine different phytoplankton classes varied significantly at the class level, and fractionation correlated significantly with the DIC concentration of the growth media. In small boreal lakes, the δ13C values of different phytoplankton taxa, as directly measured or estimated from the δ13C values of biomarker fatty acids, varied greatly (−18‰ to −44.5‰). Phytoplankton δ13C values varied significantly by lake type and were most depleted in dystrophic lakes even though the δ13C values of the DIC was similar to mesotrophic lakes. Further withintaxa variation was found between lakes and between different depths within a lake. Vertical samples from dystrophic lakes also showed lower εp in the phytoplankton from metaand hypolimnion, possibly as a result of reduced light intensity. Altogether, in nine of the 10 sampled lakes, the δ13C values of cladoceran zooplankton were between the minimum and the maximum phytoplankton δ13C value of each lake, and thus, phytoplankton alone could explain zooplankton δ13C values. We conclude that stable isotope mixing models should take into account carbon variation among different
Concessions of infrastructure in Latin America: Government-led renegotiation

This paper analyzes government-led renegotiations in infrastructure concession contracts in Latin America, based on the same sample used in Guasch, Laffont and Straub (2003) to examine firm-led renegotiations. After extending the theoretical framework to a multiple-period context in which both Pareto-improving and rent-shifting renegotiations at the initiative of the government can occur, we develop an original instrumental variable strategy to address the issue of contract endogeneity and derive empirical results. While some of the main insights concerning the importance of having a regulator in place when awarding concessions and the fragility of price cap regulatory schemes are unchanged, significant differences arise with respect to the effect of investment and financing, as well as the corruption variables. We provide evidence that a good regulatory framework is especially important in contexts with weak governance and political opportunism. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The single-particle mixing state and cloud scavenging of black carbon: a case study at a high-altitude mountain site in southern China

Abstract. In the present study, a ground-based counterflow virtual impactor (GCVI) was used to sample cloud droplet residual (cloud RES) particles, while a parallel PM2.5 inlet was used to sample cloud-free or cloud interstitial (cloud INT) particles. The mixing state of black carbon (BC)-containing particles and the mass concentrations of BC in the cloud-free, RES and INT particles were investigated using a single-particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SPAMS) and two aethalometers, respectively, at a mountain site (1690 m a. s. l. ) in southern China. The measured BC-containing particles were extensively internally mixed with sulfate and were scavenged into cloud droplets (with number fractions of 0.05–0.45) to a similar (or slightly lower) extent as all the measured particles (0.07–0.6) over the measured size range of 0.1–1.6 µm. The results indicate the preferential activation of larger particles and/or that the production of secondary compositions shifts the BC-containing particles towards larger sizes. BC-containing particles with an abundance of both sulfate and organics were scavenged less than those with sulfate but limited organics, implying the importance of the mixing state on the incorporation of BC-containing particles into cloud droplets. The mass scavenging efficiency of BC with an average of 33 % was similar for different cloud events independent of the air mass. This is the first time that both the mixing state and cloud scavenging of BC in China have been reported. Our results would improve the knowledge on the concentration, mixing state, and cloud scavenging of BC in the free troposphere.
Developing the Soci-economic Urban Sustainable Planning Strategies Based on the Smart and Inclusive Growth Principles

In 2010, EU adopted a new growth strategy which includes three growth priorities, i.e., (1) Smart Growth, (2) Sustainable Growth and (3) Inclusive Growth to be reached by 2020. Over the years, studies have been developed to examine issues in urban growth, or more recently inclusive growth. These types of issues are complex and require inter-disciplinary analysis. As the sustainable development has become a major trend in the urban planning, the concept of growth management principle has also become an important element in urban sustainability. The aim of this research is to investigate an urban development strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth which will more likely include ambitious objectives addressing soci-economic, environmental and governmental issues. The inclusive growth management efforts that arise in response to problems associated with urban sprawl exhibit a great variety of forms. Moreover, inclusive growth management regimes need to be expanded to address the full range of economically productive land uses found in urban areas, including industrial land, which has been overlooked by smart and inclusive growth advocates (usually to the detriment of their communities).