Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sm-Nd and C-isotope chemostratigraphy of Ordovician epeiric sea carbonates, midcontinent of North America

Interpreting and correlating epeiric sea sequences is key to understanding ancient marine environments. As a result, ε Nd , δC and Sm/Nd profiles are developed as tools for interpreting epeiric sea carbonates. Previously, ε Nd and δC profiles in epeiric sea carbonates have been used to study changes in the Nd isotope balance and C-cycle of adjacent ocean water. Instead, ε Nd , δC and Sm/Nd profiles of Ordovician Midcontinent carbonates of North America demonstrate that fluctuations in sea level and depth are driving local changes in the ε Nd , δ13C and Sm/Nd composition of epeiric seawater. Dissolved Nd derived from the Transcontinental Arch, Taconic Highlands and the Iapetus Ocean determine the ε Nd composition of Midcontinent seawater. As sea level fluctuated, submergence of the Arch and an influx of Iapetus ocean waters adjusted the Nd isotope balance of epeiric seawater. As a result, ε Nd profiles can be used to track the submergence history of the Late Ordovician Midcontinent. Comparison of stratigraphic variations in carbonate Sm/Nd ratios with sea level curves, conodont paleoecology, and the ε Nd profiles also suggests that variations in Sm/Nd ratios are related to changes in depth. However, processes effecting Sm/Nd ratios in epeiric seas may be varied and require further investigation. Sea level fluctuations and the waxing and waning of cool, nutrient rich, oxygen poor Iapetus waters onto the craton adjusted productivity and organic carbon burial rates on the Ordovician Midcontinent. Close to the Transcontinental Arch sea level rise caused an increase in organic carbon burial and productivity, while close to the Sebree Trough, and the influx of Iapetus waters, sea level rise caused a decrease in organic carbon burial and productivity. Differences in local C-cycling across a single epeiric sea encourage caution ii when using δC profiles from epeiric sea carbonates to track changes in the C-cycle of adjacent oceans. Because of their connection to sea level fluctuations, variations in the ε Nd , δ13C and Sm/Nd profiles can also used to correlate Ordovician Midcontinent carbonates. However, the ability to correlate coeval strata using these profiles is limited by changes in depositional environment across the craton, which cause excursions to be absent, dampened, or magnified.
Telematics in education : the Dutch case

In the Netherlands and elsewhere, the rapid technological developments in society and the rapidly escalating interconnectiveness within Europe and with the rest of the world are reflected in the sorts of educational developments that are taking place. Even in a small country as The Netherlands, the need for and use of telecommunications in education is becoming a premise. An ongoing dilemma for educational policy makers in general is that the tasks of stimulating innovations and preparing for future trends in society are often difficult to harmonize with tasks related to the ongoing needs and demands present in the educational system (Collis, Veen, & De Vries, 1993). This dilemma becomes particularly challenging with respect to telecommunications. The Dutch government has given low priority to telecommunications in its overall policy for information technology in education. In this article we will examine the current situation in The Netherlands for tl1e use of telecommunications in education. Most of the findings are based on a recent year-long study (Collis, Veen, & De Vries, 1994a&b) by the same authors.
The latest Cretaceous‐Early Paleogene rapid growth of accretionary complex and exhumation of high pressure series metamorphic rocks in northwestern Pacific margin

Episodic growth of accretionary complexes along the northwestern Pacific margin is well documented from detailed biostratigraphy and radiometric dating of metamorphic rocks. The latest Cretaceous to early Paleogene rapid growth of the accretionary complexes observed in Hokkaido and Sakhalin Islands was caused by the supply of a large amount of terrigenous sediments from an intracontinent collision zone: the Mongolia-Okhotsk zone in the northern Asian continent. Rapid growth of the accretionary prism resulted in episodic tectonic events in the forearc and magmatic arc. Rapid underplating caused uplift and exhumation of previously accreted complexes along with high pressure series metamorphic rocks, now exposed as the Kamuikotan complex in Hokkaido and the Susunai complex in Sakhalin. The forearc basin shallowed as a result of the uplift. The uplift collapsed the old accretionary complex and supplied olistoliths onto the forearc region. Magmatic activity along the continental margin was also active at the same time. Subduction of a large amount of terrigenous sediments into the mantle may have contributed to active magmatism at that time. A large supply of water trapped in the subducted sediments entered the mantle and increased partial melting of the mantle wedge.
Effect of salinity stress on plant fresh weight and nutrient composition of some Canola (Brassica napus L.) cultivars

Soil salinity is a major limitation to crop production in many areas of the world. A pot experiment was carried out with rapeseed cultivars in order to investigate the effects of salinity stress on plant development and nutrient composition. For the salinity studies, 150 mM NaCl concentration was applied to12 rapseed cultivars (Marinca, Kosa, Spok, Semu DNK207 NA, Tower, Liraspa, Star, Tobin, Helios, Semu 209/81, Regent and Lirawell) under the greenhouse conditions. All the cultivars were harvested after 45 days from planting. Green plants parts were weighted. Harvested rapeseed plants were separated into root, shoot and leaf parts for nutrient (K + , Na + , K + /Na + , Ca 2+ and Cl ) analysis. As shown in this study, salinity stress affected negatively all the canola cultivars investigated. Generally, salinity reduced the green parts’ weight. K + , Ca 2+ and K + /Na + contents in plants decreased by salt stress, but Na + and Cl content in the roots, shoots and leaves of all the cultivars significantly increased. In the salt treatment, the K + and Ca 2+ concentrations were the highest in the leaf samples as compared to root and shoot samples. Furthermore, the highest concentration of Na + and Cl was observed in the leaf and shoot. Under salinity, Regent and Lirawell cultivars retained the highest K + and Ca 2+ content in leaves, with respect to the K + content. The effect of NaCl treatment on the canola cultivars’ growth was not considerable.
Inland fisheries : ecology and management

Fish from inland waters provide a major source of animal protein, particularly in areas far removed from the sea. The current high demand for fish, and the increased awareness of the role of the environment in supporting human well being, have led to a situation where attitudes to inland water resources are rapidly changing. This change is part of a larger preoccupation for the long-term stability of ecosystems as well as a concern for the capacity of existing freshwater resources to meet human needs. Compiled by Robin Welcomme for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with contributions from several internationally known and respected scientists, this exciting book covers, in depth, the nature of inland waters, the fish populations that live within them, their utilization by fishing industries, and the fishing techniques that these industries use. Comprehensive coverage is also given to evaluation of resources and social and economic issues, management of fisheries and environment, biodiversity and conservation, enhancement, rehabilitation and legislative issues. Fully international in its coverage, "Inland Fisheries" is an essential reference manual for all those involved in inland waterway and fisheries management including fisheries officers, environmental scientists and ecologists, aquatic scientists, those working in rivers and lakes authorities and fish and wildlife departments of governments and universities.
Master Computer Science Centrality-based NSGA-II method for optimal sensor placement in water distribution networks

Monitoring the water distribution network to maintain the security of the water supply is meaningful and challenging work. Placing sensors in the network to detect the contamination event is a common and eﬀective way to achieve the goal. It is a multi-objective optimization problem (MOP) to decide where to install sensors. Many studies have been conducted on developing approaches for MOP; however, scant attention has been paid to centrality metrics. Moreover, the centrality-based approach simply used nodes, leading to limited search space and diversity. In this study, we pro-pose an approach to combining the two approaches, aiming to explore a large enough decision space and beneﬁt from the centrality metric. To this end, we select two objectives as our optimization objectives, namely the minimum detection and the detection likelihood (coverage). We use a preselected subset of nodes as candidates to reduce the computation load. NSGA-II is used as the backbone optimization algorithm; in addition, we analyze the distributions of centrality and use them as heuristic information to design the mutation operator. We test the algorithm on the benchmark network, BWSN1. After experiments, Pareto fronts and hypervolume indicators are used to analyze the performance results, and we found that combined centrality methods show better performance.
Mechanisms of shallow rainfall-induced landslides in residual soils in humid tropical environments

Landslide mechanisms and processes, particularly within the basal deformation region during failure, are poorly understood in the current knowledge. The aim of this research is to understand the initiation processes of shallow rainfall-triggered landslides under humid, tropical conditions. The major objectives are (1) to investigate the actual processes of rainfall-triggered landslides; and (2) to examine the relationship between the rates of pore water pressure increase and the rates of soil movement. Field sampling has been undertaken at two landslide sites on weathered volcanic slopes on Lantau Island, Hong Kong (22 N， 114(^o)E). Reinflation tests have been conducted on the undisturbed soil samples using a triaxial stress path cell to replicate the field conditions during rainstorm events. Various rates of increasing pore water pressure have been designed with reference to the field monitoring data. Landslide initiation processes have been deduced by examining the relationship between the increasing pore water pressures and soil deformation. The results demonstrate that rainfall-induced landslide development on weathered slopes undergoes three stages with distinctive movement patterns towards failure. The key controlling mechanism appears to be plastic deformation. The varied velocities are dependent on the stress state (changes in the mean effective stress, under constant shear stress), the pore water pressure reinflation rate and soil permeability, stage 1 represents a perfectly plastic state below yield. Velocity remains low or at zero as the soil particles are strongly interlocked. The fluctuating to constant strain rates at stage 2 are primarily controlled by the reinflation rate and permeability after exceeding the yield state, with localised interparticle sliding. Rapid acceleration to failure occurs at stage 3, facilitated by the general remoulding process. The systematic movement patterns have also been observed in shallow rainfall- induced landslides in plastic soil materials. The steady-state behaviour could be a precursor for the acceleration to the final failure.
Spatial distribution of disasters caused by natural hazards in the samala river catchment, guatemala

Abstract Understanding the conditions of the locations where disasters are reported and applying that knowledge to disaster risk reduction actions is essential and especially needed on the local scale. This study assessed how important the physical configuration is as cause of disasters by studying the links between the locations where disasters have been reported and the physical attributes of those locations. The amala iver catchment in uatemala was used as a case study because it is a relatively small but complex area exposed to multiple natural hazards. Disasters of hydro‐meteorological origin were addressed for the study because they are the most frequent type of disasters reported in the area. The method proposed in this work classified the study area into geomorphological units that were used to analyze where disasters were reported, the physical conditions of the particular locations of disaster reports, and to what degree disasters are spatially linked to slope and temporally to precipitation. We found that analyzing the study area based on the geomorphological configuration was useful and allowed analyses on comparatively homogeneous zones and to hypothesize on the particular geomorphological processes related to the occurrences of disasters. For steep geomorphological units we found a clear spatial relationship between the number of disasters reported and the slope of the locations, with higher frequency of disasters in the less sloping areas of the unit. The need to consider social factors for understanding this relationship was emphasized. As expected there was a very strong temporal relationship between disaster occurrence and wetness, as estimated from the antecedent rainfall, with high risk for disaster at high wetness. The applied methodological approach provides a tool for disaster research on physically complex areas, which is common to active tectonic and volcanic regions.
The Brent Geese of France, with special reference to the Golfe du Morbihan

The status of the Dark-bellied Brent Goose Branta b. bernicla wintering in France is outlined There are 20 to 25 sites in the main bays of the western English Channel and the Atlantic: only ten sites carry more than 100 geese; the main ones being Golfe du Morbihan, Ile d'Olron-Baie d'Yves, Baie de Bourgneuf, Bassin d'Arcachon. Observations from 1960-1961 to 1974-1975 in the Golfe du Morbihan show that Brent Geese are present from October to March, with a winter peak in January now exceeding 17,000. The numbers in the Golfe represent about 20% of the world population and more than 50% of those wintering in France. The Golfe is primarily a wintering area, and secondarily a migration stop. It has a vital role as a wintering area for family parties. The Brent Geese only use the eastern part of the Golfe, feeding over some 2,000 ha of Zostera beds uncovered at low tide and resting on open water nearby.
Compresión de índices para bases de datos textuales

Mientras que en bases de datos tradicionales los ı́ndices ocupan menos espacio que el conjunto de datos indexados, en bases de datos de texto el ı́ndice generalmente ocupa más espacio que el texto pudiendo necesitar de4 a20 veces el tamaño del mismo. Una alternativa para reducir el espacio ocupado por el ı́ndice es buscar una representación compacta del mismo, manteniendo las facilidades de navegación sobre la estructura. Pero en grandes colecciones de texto, el ı́ndice aún comprimido suele ser demasiado grande como para residir en memoria principal. En estos casos, la cantidad de accesos a memoria secundaria realizados durante el proceso de búsqueda es un factor crı́tico en la performance del ı́ndice. En este trabajo estamos interesados en el diseño de ı́ndices comprimidos y en memoria secundaria para búsquedas en texto, un tema de creciente interés en la comunidad de bases de datos. Palabras claves: Bases de Datos de Texto, Índices, Compresión, Memoria Secundaria.
Overall, specific, and metastasis‐free survival of Afro‐Caribbean men with pathological Gleason 6 prostate cancer

Several studies in the Caucasian population have shown that patients with Gleason 6 prostate cancer, based on surgical specimens, have low or no risk of metastasis. However, there is no data for men of African ancestry. The objective of this study was to estimate the overall, specific, and metastasis‐free survival (MFS) of patients with a Gleason 6 score, based on the surgical specimen.
Sea cave development in an alternating sequence of nearly horizontal basaltic hyaloclastite-and compact lava layers in Dyrhólaey, Iceland

The most frequent postgenetic lava caves develop in rocks of sea cliff exposed to sea abrasion. Many impressive examples of sea caves can be found on the Icelandic coast. In some particular places of Dyrholaey the cliff consists of a nearly horizontal layered basalt lava delta sequence of 10-15 cm thick compact, jointed lava flow layers and intercalated easily eroding hyaloclastite layers of 50-100 cm on average. This lava delta sequence creates ideal conditions for the sea cave enlargement. Here, the effective upward, inward, and sideways enlargement of the cave takes place in the looser volcanic hyaloclastite layers. The stability of the cave’s roof and sidewalls is due to the layers of compact lava flows. As a result of cave enlargement of this kind, the cave’s inner cross section is higher and wider than its entrance.
Frequency and size of quaternary surface ruptures of the pitaycachi fault, northeastern Sonora, Mexico

Movements along the Pitaycachi fault since the Miocene juxtaposed different alluvial units and created 2- to 45-m-high fault scarps downslope from a pedimented mountain front prior to 1887. In 1887, a major earthquake formed a 75-km-long, 1 2 - to 4-m-high scarp along the trace of prehistoric surface ruptures. Diverse evidence from many study sites indicates that about 200,000 yr elapsed between the prior (youngest Pleistocene) event and the 1887 surface rupture. Cumulative displacements of Pliocene(? ) to mid-Pleistocene alluvial fans and stream terraces decrease with decreasing age. The trace of the prior rupture was largely buried by sheets of late Pleistocene and Holocene piedmont alluvium. Late Pleistocene soils are offset about the same amount as the height of the 1887 scarp. Valleys that are as much as 40 m deep and 0.5 to 0.9 km wide have been eroded since the prior event; they contain multiple late Pleistocene and Holocene stream terraces that were not faulted until 1887. Pre-1887 alluvial fault scarps were degraded to 2° to 9° slopes before the 1887 event, even in resistant materials such as clay-rich soil horizons with unweathered rhyolite cobbles and calcrete. Scarp height-maximum slope regressions and diffusion-equation analyses for reconstructed pre-1887 scarp profiles indicate that the prior event occurred more than 100,000 yr ago. Acceleration of scarp degradation rates during the Holocene, and/or relatively resistant materials exposed in the scarps, would increase the age estimates to 200,000 yr or more. Very long recurrence intervals are the characteristic style of movement on the Pitaycachi fault. At one site, six ages of diverse valley fills were inset into pedimented granodiorite upslope from the fault between the prior and 1887 events. Only 3 m of relief remained before the 1887 rupture increased the scarp height from 3 to 6 m. Some hillslopes have triangular talus facets of carbonatecemented colluvium that resulted from infrequent fault movements and intervening periods of erosion. Smooth hillsides of resistant volcanic rocks between the facets show that virtually all of the prior surface-rupture event scarps had been removed by prolonged slope degradation.
Performance of software agents in non-transferable payoff group buying

Software agents can be useful in forming buyers’ groups since humans have considerable difficulties in finding Pareto-optimal deals (no buyer can be better without another being worse) in negotiation situations. What are the computational and economical performances of software agents for a group buying problem? We have developed a negotiation protocol for software agents which we have evaluated to see if the problem is difficult on average and why. This protocol probably finds a Pareto-optimal solution and, furthermore, minimizes the worst distance to ideal among all software agents given strict preference ordering. This evaluation demonstrated that the performance of software agents in this group buying problem is limited by memory requirements (and not execution time complexity). We have also investigated whether software agents following the developed protocol have a different buying behaviour from that which the customer they represented would have had in the same situation. Results show that software agents have a greater difference of behaviour (and better behaviour since they can always simulate the obvious customer behaviour of buying alone their preferred product) when they have similar preferences over the space of available products. We also discuss the type of behaviour changes and their frequencies based on the situation.
Constraints on inner forearc deformation from balanced cross sections, Fila Costeña thrust belt, Costa Rica

The Fila Costeña thrust belt in the forearc of Costa Rica is accommodating a significant portion of the convergence of the Cocos plate and Panama microplate. Geologic mapping of the thrust belt depicts a duplex with three horses that incorporate Eocene limestones and Oligocene to early Miocene clastics inboard of the subducting Cocos Ridge axis. By constructing a cross section at this location along a NE–SW trending transect perpendicular to the thrust belt, we constrain a shortening rate of approximately 40 mm/a and propose that as much as 50% of the total plate convergence rate is taken up in the inner forearc. The Eocene limestones at the base of the thrust sheets pinch out in both directions away from the onland projection of the Cocos Ridge axis owing to decrease in slip on faults and a lateral ramp in the basal décollement. The thrust belt terminates near the Panama border at the onland projection of the subducting Panama Fracture Zone. These observations suggest that shortening is propagating to the east with the migration of the Panama triple junction and the onset of shallow subduction of the thickened edge of the Cocos plate. The absence of similar features in the Nicaraguan forearc, where the subducting crust is older, subducts more steeply, and lacks incoming ridges and seamounts, indicates that deformation of the forearc basin in Costa Rica reflects greater coupling between the converging plates inboard of the Cocos Ridge.
Two Approaches to the Study of Experts' Characteristics

This chapter differentiates two approaches to the study of expertise, which I call the “absolute approach” and the “relative approach,” and what each approach implies for how expertise is assessed. It then summarizes the characteristic ways in which experts excel and the ways that they sometimes seem to fall short of common expectations. Two Approaches to the Study of Expertise The nature of expertise has been studied in two general ways. One way is to study truly exceptional people with the goal of understanding how they perform in their domain of expertise. I use the term domain loosely to refer to both informal domains, such as sewing and cooking, and formal domains, such as biology and chess. One could choose exceptional people on the basis of their well-established discoveries. For example, one could study how Maxwell constructed a quantitative field concept (Nersessian, 1992). Or one could choose contemporary scientists whose breakthroughs may still be debated, such as pathologist Warren and gastroenterologist Marshall's proposal that bacteria cause peptic ulcers (Chi & Hausmann, 2003; Thagard, 1998; also see the chapters by Wilding & Valentine, Chapter 31, Simonton, Chapter 18, and Weisberg, Chapter 42). Several methods can be used to identify someone who is truly an exceptional expert. One method is retrospective. That is, by looking at how well an outcome or product is received, one can determine who is or is not an expert.