Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resilience of South African communal grazing lands after the removal of high grazing pressure

A paired site study was conducted of communally grazed eutrophic and dystrophic grasslands and adjacent ungrazed areas of varying periods of exclusion from communal grazing. This allowed determination of the rate and extent of change of a number of vegetation and soil variables following the removal of high and continuous grazing pressure characteristic of communal lands. Similarity indices for grass species composition between the grazed and adjacent ungrazed areas showed a significant exponential decrease with increasing time since protection from continuous grazing. Most change in grass species composition occurred within four to nine years of protection from communal grazing in eutrophic grasslands, and in six to nine years in dystrophic grasslands. In both grassland types palatability increased with time since protection. In eutrophic sites the abundance of perennials showed a significant increase with time since protection, while the abundance of annuals showed a concomitant decrease. This relationship was not evident in dystrophic grasslands. Grass species diversity, basal cover and density showed no relationship with time since protection in the eutrophic sites, but a general increase with time since protection was found in dystrophic sites. Soil bulk density, field capacity, pH and soil nutrients showed no evidence of a relationship with time since protection for either grassland type, while soil porosity increased significantly with time since protection at eutrophic sites, but not dystrophic sites. These relatively rapid changes following the removal of the high grazing pressure indicate that these systems are characterized by relatively high resilience. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the goodness of …t of Kirk's formula for spread option prices

In this paper we investigate the goodness of …t of the Kirk’s approximation formula for spread option prices in the correlated lognormal framework. Towards this end, we use the Malliavin calculus techniques to …nd an expression for the short-time implied volatility skew of options with random strikes. In particular, we obtain that this skew is very pronounced in the case of spread options with extremely high correlations, which cannot be reproduced by a constant volatility approximation as in the Kirk’s formula. This fact agrees with the empirical evidence. Numerical examples are given.
ECONOMIC EFFECT OF DAIRY PROCESSING INTEGRATION IN THE BALTIC STATES

Dairy sector is an important part of the Baltic States’ agriculture. Dairy sector’s structural aspects are crucial for its sustainable development as fragmentation is characteristic for dairy farming in Latvia and Lithuania, and dairy processing in Latvia and Estonia. Integration may help decrease the sector’s fragmentation. The author analyses economic effect along the main integration dimensions in the Baltic States’ dairy processing over the period of 1996-2009. In contrast to the previous research, the author uses with minor exclusions a comprehensive data set of all dairy processing companies operating in the Baltic States as of October 1, 2010. Gross value added at factor cost is used as a key indicator of the economic effect. Other financial analysis indicators, inter alia, structure of capital, liquidity, profitability, and debt management indicators are used to evaluate economic effect and performance of dairy processing companies with specific integration characteristics.
Characteristics of International Acquisitions Based on Evidence inSoutheast Asia

This study investigates large cross border deals above USD 1 billion during the 2000 to 2011 time frame to explore whether deal values, valuation multiples and payment modes differ for acquisitions by emerging market firms when compared with acquisitions by developed market acquirers; for diversified acquisitions vis-a-vis non-diversified acquisitions; or during a recessionary phase. We find that mean deal values differ with the economy of the acquirer and target (emerging market/developed market). Contrary to expectations, valuation multiples are not impacted by either the economy of the acquirer and target or during recession. Bidders pay similar premiums when they make related and unrelated acquisitions. Payment is more likely to be in the form of cash for unrelated acquisitions and in the form of stock for higher deal values. Recession and economy of acquirer and target do not impact the payment method. There are several research studies which have looked at characteristics of acquirers, targets and market reactions to acquisition announcements. However, understanding emerging market firms' deal characteristics vis-a-vis developed market firm's deals and understanding the impact of recession on deal characteristics raises a significant research question which we explore. We thank FOBE 2012 organizers at IMT Ghaziabad, India for comments on an earlier version of the paper.
How countries link REDD+ interventions to drivers in their readiness plans: implications for monitoring systems

Countries participating in the REDD+ scheme are in the readiness phase, designing policy interventions to address drivers of deforestation and forest degradation (DD). In order for REDD+ interventions to be effective, it is essential that they take into account the specific drivers that they aim to address. Moreover it is crucial to design systems that monitor the effectiveness of the planned interventions. In this article we provide a comprehensive and comparative assessment of interventions proposed by 43 REDD+ countries in 98 readiness documents. We summarize the types of interventions and assess if they are formulated referring to the drivers of DD that they are aiming to address. Based on this assessment we consider the implications for systems for monitoring effectiveness of proposed interventions. Most countries reviewed link proposed interventions to specific drivers of DD. The majority of the countries making this link have better driver data quality, in particularly those that present their data in ratio or ordinal terms. Proposed interventions focus not only on activities to reduce deforestation, but also on other forest related REDD+ activities such as sustainable forest management, which reduce forest degradation and enhance forest stocks. Moreover, driver-specific interventions often relate to drivers not only inside but also outside the forest sector. Hence we suggest that monitoring systems need to assess not only deforestation rates through remote sensing, but also degradation and other carbon stock changes within the forest, using more detailed ground level surveys and measurements. In addition, the performance of interventions outside the forest need to be monitored, even if the impacts of these cannot be linked to specific changes in forest carbon stock in specific locations.
Optimization of simultaneous power production and trading by stochastic integer programming

We develop a two-stage stochastic integer programming model for the simultaneous optimization of power production and day-ahead power trading. The model rests on mixed-integer linear formulations for the unit commitment problem and for the price clearing mechanism at the power exchange. Foreign bids enter as random components into the model. We solve the stochastic integer program by a decomposition method combining Lagrangian relaxation of nonanticipativity with branch-and-bound in the spirit of global optimization. Finally, we report some first computational experiences.
Enhanced stratospheric water vapor over the summertime continental United States and the role of overshooting convection

Abstract. The NASA ER-2 aircraft sampled the lower stratosphere over North America during the field mission for the NASA Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS). This study reports observations of convectively influenced air parcels with enhanced water vapor in the overworld stratosphere over the summertime continental United States and investigates three case studies in detail. Water vapor mixing ratios greater than 10 ppmv, which is much higher than the background 4 to 6 ppmv of the overworld stratosphere, were measured by the JPL Laser Hygrometer (JLH Mark2) at altitudes between 16.0 and 17.5 km (potential temperatures of approximately 380 to 410 K). Overshooting cloud tops (OTs) are identified from a SEAC4RS OT detection product based on satellite infrared window channel brightness temperature gradients. Through trajectory analysis, we make the connection between these in situ water measurements and OT. Back trajectory analysis ties enhanced water to OT 1 to 7 days prior to the intercept by the aircraft. The trajectory paths are dominated by the North American monsoon (NAM) anticyclonic circulation. This connection suggests that ice is convectively transported to the overworld stratosphere in OT events and subsequently sublimated; such events may irreversibly enhance stratospheric water vapor in the summer over Mexico and the United States. A regional context is provided by water observations from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS).
Patterns of Domestic Grain Flows and Regional Comparative Advantage in Grain Production in China

Regional grain flows in China have been expanding with the growth of grain production and the development of grain markets. However, is the current pattern of regional grain flows consistent with regional comparative advantage in grain production in China? This paper examines this question by using a binomial logit model with a discrete dependent variable of provincial net grain flows, and the independent variables of regional comparative advantage indicators and other factors affecting the supply and demand in grain markets. The study reveals that the current pattern of China’s regional grain flows is consistent with the regional comparative advantage in grain production, measured by the comparative advantage indicators of Domestic Resource Costs Coefficient (DRCC) and Net Social Profitability (NSP). However, the Efficiency Advantage Indices (EAI), measured by relative grain yield, and the Scale Advantage Indices (SAI), measured by relative grain sown area, are not statistically significant determinants of the observed pattern of regional grain flows in China. This implies that government intervention in grain production is still an obstacle for the Chinese farmers to optimise their grain production mix.
The Best Part of Life : Subsistence Hunting, Ethnicity, and Economic Adaptation among Young Adult Inuit Males

This paper examines the economic adaptations and subsistence hunting involvement of households between the ages of 20 and 35 in the Copper Inuit community of Holman. Social, economic, and political changes throughout the Canadian Arctic have made it impossible for young adults to pursue the same mixed economic strategies as previous generations. A general decrease in subsistence hunting involvement is characteristic of the younger generation. Nevertheless, some young householders have made a conscious effort to remain active in subsistence hunting and fishing to provide for themselves and related households. Some have even increased subsistence hunting involvement as their own parents age and become increasingly infirm. Other householders are less active in hunting and fishing, but continue to view land-based harvesting as central to a sense of Inuit identity. The motivations, economic position, and family background of a sample of active and less active young adult hunters are explored in an attempt to understand the pressures experienced by young adults as they strive to make a place in a northern society radically different from that of their parents at a similar age. While the authors recognize the economic value of subsistence harvesting and the foods that result from it, we also emphasize the less easily quantified dimensions of subsistence ideology and its impact upon physical health, psychological well-being, and community integration. Key words: subsistence, harvest effort, Inuit identity, young adults, food sharing, health, self-esteem
Economic Valuation of Recreational Fishing in Western Australia: Statewide Random Utility Modelling of Fishing Site Choice Behaviour

Allocation of fish resources is a controversial subject. This is partly because of our limited understanding of the values of fishing opportunities. This study investigates fishing site choices in Western Australia using national survey data covering eight major fishing regions and forty‐eight fishing sites. We estimate a random utility model (RUM) of site choice with a supporting negative binomial model of angler‐specific expected catch rates. Value estimates for fish types, fishing site attribute changes and access values are presented and discussed.
EU-Wide (Regional and Farm Level) Effects of Premium Decoupling and Harmonisation Following the Health Check Reform

This article investigates the income effects of decoupled payments distributed at the farm-type or uniformly at the regional level within the European Union. The analysis was conducted using detailed information on the implementation of the Health Check policy package for agricultural activities in each of the 27 member states, which is included in the Common Agricultural Policy Regionalised Impact (CAPRI) model. In the simulation experiments, the transition from individual to uniform per-hectare rates at the country level was explicitly modelled. The results show significant income shifts only for single products, such as durum wheat. Moreover, income was redistributed away from traditional â€œGrandes Culturesâ€ crop production to fodder production, an effect primarily caused by the capitalisation of decoupled premiums on previously unsubsidised land. Cattle, sheep and goat production was primarily affected in the animal sector. Land values are expected to increase considerably, especially those of grasslands. Der Artikel untersucht die Einkommenswirkungen von entkoppelten Zahlungen, die nach Betriebstypen oder einheitlich auf regionaler Ebene der EuropA¤ischen Union verteilt werden. Die Analyse wird durchgefA¼hrt basierend auf detaillierten Informationen A¼ber die Implementierung des Health-Check-Reform-Paketes pro landwirtschaftlicher AktivitA¤t in jeder der 27 Mitgliedstaaten, die dann im CAPRI (Common Agricultural Policy Regionalized Impact)-Modell einflieAŸen. In den Szenarien wird der Aœbergang von individuellen zu einheitlichen HektarprA¤mien auf der Ebene der MitgliedslA¤nder explizit modelliert. Ergebnisse zeigen signifikante EinkommensA¤nderungen nur fA¼r einzelne Produkte wie Hartweizen. AuAŸerdem wird Einkommen von den traditionellen Grandes Cultures zum Futterbau umverteilt, ein Effekt, der hauptsA¤chlich durch die Kapitalisierung der entkoppelten Zahlungen von Land, welches vorher nicht subventioniert war, zustande kommt. Im tierischen Sektor sind besonders Rindfleisch, Schafe und Ziegenproduktion betroffen. Es wird erwartet, dass Landrenten deutlich steigen, insbesondere fA¼r GrA¼nland.
The predictive mind and chess-playing: A reply to Shand

In a recent Analysis piece, John Shand (2014) argues that the Predictive Theory of Mind provides a unique explanation for why one cannot play chess against oneself. On the basis of this purported explanatory power, Shand concludes that we have an extra reason to believe that PTM is correct. In this reply, we first rectify the claim that one cannot play chess against oneself; then we move on to argue that even if this were the case, Shand�s argument does not give extra weight to the Predictive Theory of Mind.
Contribution of the location and spatial pattern of initial error to uncertainties in El Niño predictions

With the Zebiak-Cane model, the contribution of the location and spatial pattern of initial error in sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) to uncertainty in El Nino predictions is investigated using an approach based on conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP), which seeks to find the initial error (i.e., the CNOP error) that satisfies a given constraint and that causes the largest prediction error at the prediction time. The computed CNOP error of SSTA has a dipole pattern in the equatorial central and eastern Pacific. The initial error from the equatorial central and eastern Pacific tends to grow more significantly than those from other locations. Because of the contribution of annual mean states the location of the initial error plays an important role in the error evolution; e. g. , the shallow annual mean thermocline in the eastern Pacific favors feedback between the thermocline and sea surface temperature. Meanwhile, the specific dipole structure of the initial error is also crucial for optimal error growth. Even with the same magnitude as the CNOP error, random initial error in the equatorial central and eastern Pacific does not evolve significantly over time. Initial errors of SSTA with a similar spatial pattern to the CNOP error (i.e., the dipole pattern of SSTA error) give rise to larger prediction errors than those without similar spatial pattern do. Consequently, the magnitude of the prediction error at the prediction time depends on the combined effects of the location and spatial pattern of the initial error. If additional observation instruments are deployed to observe sea surface temperature with limited coverage, they should preferentially be deployed in the equatorial central and eastern Pacific.
Self-assembly of Palm Kernel Oil Wax Esters in Aqueous Media: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Experimentally determined phase diagram of palm kernel oil-based wax esters (PKOEs) nano-emulsion was selected to explore an atomic insight into the self-assembly of PKOEs nano-emulsion using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technique. A model system including PKOEs molecules and nonionic Tween80 surfactant in aqueous solution was prepared. We used MD to explore a detail atomic insight into the self-assembly process of and the shape of the micelle formed. MD simulation was performed for 20 ns. MD results involving the radius of gyration, the solvent accessible surface areas, the number of clusters formed, and the moment of inertia analysis revealed that the model prepared showed a stable prolate ellipsoid shape.
Output Feedback Adaptive Dynamic Surface Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor with Uncertain Time Delays via RBFNN

This paper focuses on an adaptive dynamic surface control based on the Radial Basis Function Neural Network for a fourth-order permanent magnet synchronous motor system wherein the unknown parameters, disturbances, chaos, and uncertain time delays are presented. Neural Network systems are used to approximate the nonlinearities and an adaptive law is employed to estimate accurate parameters. Then, a simple and effective controller has been obtained by introducing dynamic surface control technique on the basis of first-order filters. Asymptotically tracking stability in the sense of uniformly ultimate boundedness is achieved in a short time. Finally, the performance of the proposed control has been illustrated through simulation results.
A flexible motion tracking system based on inertial sensors

As a newly emerging human-computer interaction, motion tracking technology offers a way to extract human motion data. This paper presents a series of techniques to improve the flexibility of the motion tracking system based on the inertial measurement units (IMUs). First, we built a most miniatured wireless tracking node by integrating an IMU, a Wi-Fi module and a power supply. Then, the data transfer rate was optimized using an asynchronous query method. Finally, to simplify the setup and make the interchangeability of all nodes possible, we designed a calibration procedure and trained a support vector machine (SVM) model to determine the binding relation between the body segments and the tracking nodes after setup. The evaluations of the whole system justify the effectiveness of proposed methods and demonstrate its advantages compared to other commercial motion tracking system.
Evolution of Earth's climatic system: Evidence from ice ages, isotopes, and impacts

Multiple glaciations took place near the beginning and end of the Proterozoic Eon. Neoproterozoic (Cryogenian) glacial deposits are more widespread than those of older (Paleoproterozoic) glacial episodes. Paleomagnetic results suggest that most Proterozoic glaciogenic rocks were deposited at low paleolatitudes. Some contain enigmatic evidence of strong seasonal temperature variations, and many formed at sea level. These attributes inspired both the snowball Earth hypothesis and the high obliquity theory, but only the latter explains strong seasonality at low latitudes. The Proterozoic glaciations may have been triggered by drawdown of atmospheric CO 2 during enhanced weathering of elevated supercontinents. Multiple glaciations resulted from a negative feedback loop in the weathering system that ended when the supercontinent broke apart. A radical reorganization of the climatic system GSA Today, v. 23, no. 10, doi: 10.1130/GSATG183A.1. Evolution of Earth’s climatic system: Evidence from ice ages, isotopes, and impacts took place in the Ediacaran Period. In contrast to previous glaciations, these ice sheets developed in high latitudes and many follow mountain building episodes. During the Ediacaran Period, Earth’s climatic zonation and controls appear to have undergone a radical change that persisted throughout the Phanerozoic Eon. The change may coincide with the world’s greatest negative dC excursion, the Shuram event, here interpreted as the result of a very large marine impact that decreased the obliquity of the ecliptic, causing the Earth’s climatic system to adopt its present configuration. Attendant unprecedented environmental reorganization may have played a crucial role in the emergence of complex life forms.
DAMAGE IDENTIFICATION THROUGH THE USE OF HIGHORDER STATISTICS

Abstract. Structural Health Monitoring is based on the development of reliable and robust indicators capable to detect, locate, quantify and predict damage. Studies related to damage detection in civil engineering structures have a noticeable interest for researchers in this area. Indeed, the detection of structural changes likely to become critical can avoid the occurrence of major dysfunctions associated with social, economic and environmental consequences. Recently, many researchers have focused on dynamic assessment as part of structural diagnosis. Most of the studied techniques are based on time or frequency domain analyses to extract compressed information from modal characteristics or based on indicators built from these parameters. This work has as its main interest the use of highorder statistics (HOS) coupled with clustering techniques i.e. the k-means algorithm to detect structural modification (damage). The approach is applied directly to dynamic measurements (accelerations) obtained on site. In order to attest the efficiency of the proposed methodology,two investigations are carried out: a numerical model of a simply supported beam and a real case railway bridge, in France. It is shown that HOS coupled with clustering methods is able to distinguish structural conditions with adequate rates. Keywords: Damage detection, High-Order Statistics, Clustering methods, Raw