Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discriminating silt-and-clay from suspended-sand in rivers using side-looking acoustic profilers

The ability to accurately monitor suspended-sediment flux in rivers is needed to support many types of studies, because the sediment that typically travels in suspension affects geomorphology and aquatic habitat in a variety of ways (e.g. bank and floodplain deposition, bar morphology, light penetration and primary productivity, tidal wetland deposition in the context of sea-level rise, sediment-associated contaminants, reservoir sedimentation and potential erosion during dam removal, among others). In addition, human-induced changes to the landscape have resulted in substantially altered suspended-sediment loads (Syvitski et al., 2005). Thus, accurate monitoring of suspended-sediment flux is necessary for informed resource management of rivers.
RIF1-Long promotes G1 phase 53BP1 nuclear bodies to protect against replication stress

Human cells lacking RIF1 are highly sensitive to replication inhibitors, but the reasons for this sensitivity have been enigmatic. Here we show that RIF1 must be present both during replication stress and in the ensuing recovery period to promote cell survival. Of two isoforms produced by alternative splicing, we find that RIF1-Long alone can protect cells against replication inhibition, but RIF1-Short is incapable of mediating protection. Consistent with this isoform-specific role, RIF1-Long is required to promote the formation of the 53BP1 nuclear bodies that protect unrepaired damage sites in the G1 phase following replication stress. Overall, our observations show that RIF1 is needed at several cell cycle stages after replication insult, with the RIF1-Long isoform playing a specific role during the ensuing G1 phase in damage site protection.
Soil Fertility, Fertilizer, and the Maize Green Revolution in East Africa

This paper investigates the reasons for the low application of external fertilizers on farms in Kenya and Uganda. The analysis uses a large panel of household data with rich soil fertility data at the plot level. The authors control for maize seed selection and household effects by using a fixed-effects semi-parametric endogenous switching model. The results suggest that Kenyan maize farmers have applied inorganic fertilizer at the optimal level, corresponding to the high nitrogen-maize relative price, in one of the two survey years and also responded to the price change over time. In Uganda, even the low application of inorganic fertilizer is not profitable because of its high relative price. The authors conclude that policies that reduce the relative price of fertilizer could be effective in both countries, while the efficacy of policies based on improving farmers' knowledge about fertilizer use will be limited as long as the relative price of fertilizer remains high.
Study of Love and Rayleigh waves from earthquakes with fault plane solutions or with known faulting Part 2. Application of the phase difference method

The method described in Part 1 of this paper was applied to about 30 earthquakes in various parts of the world. The modified single couple hypothesis proposed in Part 1 appears to explain the observations generally better than the double couple hypothesis. Surprisingly consistent pictures of tectonics were obtained in the Mediterranean region and in Japan on the basis of the modified single couple hypothesis.
Impacts of Tourism Development

INTRODUCTION Tourism is an important mechanism for economic development and the creation of employment opportunities in many countries. Many developing countries have also tried to exploit the tourism industry for economic stimulation by getting foreign investment, capital and surplus from currency exchange. In particular, government involvement in tourism development in Malaysia began in the 1970s following an economic downturn and the decline in popularity and demand for commodity products. Beginning with the establishment of the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC) in 1972, the first Tourism Master Plan was completed in 1975. The federal government also outlined several strategies for tourism planning and development in the national Five Year Plan by providing statistics and budget allocations for tourism development in every state in Malaysia.
Methane flux: Water table relations in northern wetlands

Water table position, through the creation of aerobic and anaerobic conditions in the soil profile, plays an important role in controlling CH 4nflux from wetlands. A laboratory study of peat columns revealed that CH 4emission rates initially increased and then decreased as the water table was lowered from the peat surface to a depth of 50 cm, with the release of CH 4ntrapped in pores. There was a strong hysteresis between CH 4nflux on the falling and rising water table limbs (falling g rising). When expressed as seasonal average values, there was a strong relationship (rs 0.08 n 0.74) between log CH 4nflux and water table position for sites within 5 wetland regions in boreal‐subarctic Canada. The regression coefficients were similar among regions (0.022 n 0.037), but there were differences in the regression constants (0.47 n 1.89). CH 4nflux from drained, forested peatland soils decreased as the water table depth increased, and several sites were transformed from sources to sinks of CH 4. Global CH 4nemissions to the atmosphere may have been reduced by a 1 Tg yr m1nby peatland drainage during the last 100 yr.
Spectral width of premonsoon and monsoon clouds over Indo‐Gangetic valley

[1] The combined effect of humidity and aerosol on cloud droplet spectral width (s) in continental monsoon clouds is a topic of significant relevance for precipitation and radiation budgets over monsoon regions. The droplet spectral width in polluted, dry premonsoon conditions and moist monsoon conditions observed near the Himalayan Foothills region during Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement EXperiment (CAIPEEX) is the focus of this study. Here s is small in premonsoon clouds developing from dry boundary layers. This is attributed to numerous aerosol particles and the absence/suppression of collision-coalescence during premonsoon. For polluted and dry premonsoon clouds, s is constant with height. In contrast to premonsoon clouds, s in monsoon clouds increases with height irrespective of whether they are polluted or clean. The mean radius of polluted monsoon clouds is half that of clean monsoon clouds. In monsoon clouds, both mean radius and s decreased with total cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC). The spectral widths of premonsoon clouds were independent of total droplet number concentrations, but both s and mean radius decreased with small droplet (diameter < 20 mm) number concentrations in the diluted part of the cloud. Observational evidence is provided for the formation of large droplets in the adiabatic regions of monsoon clouds. The number concentration of small droplets is found to decrease in the diluted cloud volumes that may be characterized by various spectral widths or mean droplet radii.
Robust Control Based on Input-Output Feedback Linearization for Induction Motor Drive: Real Time Implementation

This chapter proposes a design of hardware architecture of an improved Direct Torque Control (DTC) for a real-time implementation on a Xilinx FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA). The first contribution in this chapter consists in combining the DTC with a Space Vector Modulation (SVM) technique and an Input-Output Feedback Linearization (IOFL) approach. In fact, the classical DTC has remarkable performance in terms of fast torque response and less dependence on the system parameters. Despite the cited advantages, the classical DTC is penalized by high torque ripples and inverter-switching-frequency variations. In this context, the SVM is added to the DTC structure in order to keep the switching frequency constant and to reduce ripples. Furthermore, the nonlinear IOFL is proposed to achieve a decoupled flux and torque control. The novel structure is named in this chapter as DTC-IOFL-SVM. Moreover, this chapter presents a hardware implementation of the suggested DTC-IOFL-SVM strategy utilization. The hardware implementation is chosen in order to reduce the sampling period of the system thanks to the parallel processing of the FPGA. In order to demonstrate the performance of the FPGA implementation of the proposed DTC-IOFL-SVM, numerous simulation results are presented using the Xilinx system generator under a Matlab/Simulink.
Use of Selected Antioxidant-Rich Spices and Herbs in Foods

Free radicals are chemicals that play a role in the etiopathogenesis of ischemia–reperfusion injury. To prevent or reduce this damage, many protective or therapeutic antioxidants are used effectively in alternative medicine. These antioxidants include immunological or pharmacological agents, vitamins, food and herbal products, and spices. Herbs and spices have been used for a long time as coloring or preservative agents by adding to the content of foods, and at the same time to increase the nutritional value of foods. More recently, the nutritional effects of herbs and spices have become more perceived and the area of interest for these products has increased. Concordantly, the biological contents of herbs and spices have begun to be studied in more detailed way at the cellular and molecular level. Sample plants are classified according to different chemical families, with the diet. Therefore, they have different levels of antioxidant capacity. These products also have potent anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, glucoregulatory, antithrombotic, anticarcinogenic and so forth effects. These properties are used in the treatment of some chronic diseases. In this review, the antioxidant properties of various herbs and spices used to add flavor to foods or to extend their shelf life have been examined in the light of large-scale nutritional epidemiological studies, in vitro cellular/animal studies and clinical trials.
Molecular characterization of juvenile fish from the Amazon estuary using DNA barcoding approach

The efficiency of the DNA barcoding relies on sequencing fragment of the Cytochrome C Subunit I (COI) gene, which has been claimed as a tool to biodiversity identification from distinct groups. Accordingly, the goal of this study was to identify juvenile fish species along an estuary of Caeté River in the Brazilian Blue Amazon based on. For this purpose, we applied the DNA barcoding and discuss this approach as a tool for discrimination of species in early ontogenetic stages. A 500-bp fragment was obtained from 74 individuals, belonging to 23 species, 20 genera, 13 families and seven orders. About 70% of the 46 haplotypes revealed congruence between morphological and molecular species identification, while 8% of them failed in identification of taxa and 22% demonstrated morphological misidentification. These results proved that COI fragments were effective to diagnose fish species at early life stages, allowing identifying all samples to a species-specific status, except for some taxa whose COI sequences remain unavailable in public databases. Therefore, we recommend the incorporation of DNA barcoding to provide additional support to traditional identification, especially in morphologically controversial groups. In addition, periodic updates and comparative analyses in public COI datasets are encouraged.
Interfacial waveforms in chiral lattices with gyroscopic spinners

We demonstrate a new method of achieving topologically protected states in an elastic hexagonal system of trusses by attaching gyroscopic spinners, which bring chirality to the system. Dispersive features of this medium are investigated in detail, and it is shown that one can manipulate the locations of stop-bands and Dirac points by tuning the parameters of the spinners. We show that, in the proximity of such points, uni-directional interfacial waveforms can be created in an inhomogeneous lattice and the direction of such waveforms can be controlled. The effect of inserting additional soft internal links into the system, which is thus transformed into a heterogeneous triangular lattice, is also investigated, as the hexagonal lattice represents the limit case of the heterogeneous triangular lattice with soft links. This work introduces a new perspective in the design of periodic media possessing non-trivial topological features.
Geological record of ice shelf break-up and grounding line retreat, Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica

The catastrophic break-ups of the floating Larsen A and B ice shelves (Antarctica) in 1995 and 2002 and associated acceleration of glaciers that flowed into these ice shelves were among the most dramatic glaciological events observed in historical time. This raises a question about the larger West Antarctic ice shelves. Do these shelves, with their much greater glacial discharge, have a history of collapse? Here we describe features from the seafloor in Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica, which we interpret as having been formed during a massive ice shelf break-up and associated grounding line retreat. This evidence exists in the form of seafloor landforms that we argue were produced daily as a consequence of tidally influenced motion of mega-icebergs maintained upright in an iceberg armada produced from the disintegrating ice shelf and retreating grounding line. The break-up occurred prior to ca. 12 ka and was likely a response to rapid sea-level rise or ocean warming at that time.
Dynamic evolution of policy mix in response to COVID-19: Practice from China

COVID-19 is a global pandemic. In response to this unprecedented crisis, Chinese government formulated a series of policies. This research is dedicated to exploring the dynamic evolution of China’s policy mix in response to COVID-19 in different crisis response stages from a network perspective. First, a three-dimensional analysis framework of “policy subject-policy target-policy instrument” was developed. Then, based on the data sets collected by textual analysis, the dynamic evolution of policy subject, policy target, policy instrument in China’s policy mix in response to COVID-19 was discussed by using the method of SNA. This study concluded that the core policy subject, policy instrument, and policy target of China’s response to COVID-19 changed with time. National Health Commission (NHC), Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Transport (MOT) and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) have important influences in the network of policy subjects. Other subjects are more at the edge of the network, and there are few joint issuances among policy subjects. The study also found that the core policy target was adjusted over time, with phased dynamic characteristics. At the initial stage of China’s response to COVID-19, “reduce infection and mortality” and “steadily carry out economic and social work” were the core policy targets. With the COVID-19 under control, “enterprise development and work resumption” becomes a new core policy target. In addition, this study also revealed the dynamic evolution and unbalanced use of China’s policy instruments in response to COVID-19 in different stages. The combination of policy instruments is mainly composed of “mandatory administration instruments” and “economic incentive instruments”, and supplemented by “health promotion instruments” and “voluntary plan instruments”. These findings may enrich the literature on COVID-19 policy to help researchers understand the dynamics of policy from a network perspective. Moreover, these findings may provide several valuable implications for policymakers and other countries to formulate more effective policies for epidemic response.
Relationship between phase velocities and polarization in transversely isotropic media

Most techniques used to estimate anisotropy from multiple‐source offset VSP data assume angles measured from particle motion as an incidence angle. However, the difference between P‐wave polarization and the propagation direction for an anisotropic medium can be higher than 8 degrees. This difference provides a nonnegligible error in the estimation of anisotropy parameters from phase velocities. An exact model, proposed to describe P‐ and SV‐phase velocity variations for a transversely isotropic medium (TIM), takes into account the polarization angles. This model is a function of two anisotropy parameters (η and τ), of the vertical P‐ and SV‐wave phase velocities and of the polarization angle γ. However, η and τ can be used to express the polarization angle equation in a much simpler way. To quantify the error in estimated anisotropy parameters due to the assumption that the polarization angle is equal to the incidence angle, I study five TIMs. Each medium has an anisotropy that is representative of those.
The impact of wearing facemask on COPD patients: A protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, irreversible but preventable disease characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms. The mortality rate of COPD is predicted to reach 5.4 million by the year 2060. Despite its heavy burden on healthcare expenditure worldwide, only 15% of cases are medically identified. The potential benefits of facemask-wearing for COPD patients remain a topic of debate. Methods We will conduct a systematic review of all randomized trials and non-randomized controlled trials to evaluate the impact of facemasks on COPD patients. Our review will be based on literature obtained through a comprehensive search strategy across multiple electronic databases, including the Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, the Chinese Biomedical Database (SinoMed), and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), with no restrictions on language or date of publication. Two independent researchers will extract and assess all relevant data using pre-designed data extraction forms. The included studies will be assessed using the Cochrane RoB2 tool and the suggested risk of bias criteria proposed by the Effective Practice and Organization of Care reviews group of the Cochrane collaboration. The quality of evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. We will use Review Manager 5.4 software for statistical analysis. Discussion In the context of COVID-19, it is important for COPD patients to wear facemasks. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the impact of facemasks on the physiology and activity of COPD patients. Trial registration PROSPERO registration number CRD42022326265.
Periodic sulphur dioxide degassing from the Soufrière Hills Volcano related to deep magma supply

Abstract Soufrière Hills Volcano produced prodigious quantities of sulphur dioxide (SO2) gas throughout 1995–2013. An unprecedented, detailed record of SO2 flux shows that high SO2 fluxes were sustained through eruptive pauses and for two years after the end of lava extrusion and are decoupled from lava extrusion rates. Lava extrusion rates have exhibited strong 1- to 2-year cyclicity. Wavelet analysis demonstrates periodicities of c. 5 months and c. 2 years within the SO2 time series, as well as the shorter cycles identified previously. The latter period is similar to the wavelength of cycles in lava extrusion, albeit non-systematically offset. The periodicities are consistent with pressure changes accompanying deformation in a coupled magma reservoir system whereby double periodic behaviour may arise from limited connectivity between two reservoirs. During periods of lava extrusion SO2 is released together with the lava (yielding the c. 2 year period), albeit with some offset. In contrast, when magma cannot flow because of its yield strength, SO2 is released independently from lava (yielding the c. 5 month period). Our results have implications for eruption forecasting. It seems likely that, when deep supply of magma ceases, gas fluxes will cease to be periodic.
The consequences of global expansion for knowledge, creativity and communication: an analysis and scenario

There are striking parallels between the stories that were told to justify economic policy over the past decade in Britain and America and the stories that have been told about the benefits of globalisation and the knowledge economy. Just as we have been told that the business cycle could be abolished – the end to boom and bust – so the advent of the „knowledge‟ economy was accompanied by claims that for those that invested in education the rewards would be great. Peter Drucker (1993), the management guru, declared that we were on the threshold of a new form of capitalism in which knowledge workers would replace the owners of capital as the locus of power. He argued that we were in a new stage of post-capitalist development that would lead to a fundamental shift in power from the owners and managers of capital to knowledge workers. Not only would they assume power but with it would come greater autonomy, creativity and rewards. This is a story that politicians and policy makers have sold to the public and it has placed education at the centre of questions of economic competitiveness and social justice. In this scenario, his thinking echoes the pioneering work of Bell (1973) who predicted that the growing importance of „knowledge‟ work, reflected in the historical shift from blue-collar to white-collar work, would significantly raise the demand for educated workers, who would enjoy greater autonomy in their work.
Effects of Sea Level Rise on Salinity Intrusion in St. Marks River Estuary, Florida, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT Hong, X. ; Huang, W. ; Johnson, E. ; Lou, S. , and Wan, W. , 2014. Effects of sea level rise on salinity intrusion in St. Marks River estuary, Florida, U.S.A. Effects of sea level rise on salinity intrusion in St. Mark River estuary has been investigated by the application of a 3D hydrodynamic model. The estuary receives freshwater inputs from two upstream tributaries, Wakular River and St. Mark River. The model has been calibrated by using the observed data measured in the estuary. Under the sea level rise of 0.85m, numerical modeling under the flow for the 4-month period in 2000 indicate that, the sea level rise can cause substantial increase of salinity near the lower Wakulla River, with the increase of 9.2 ppt for surface salinity and 12.7 ppt for bottom salinity. At mid estuary, surface salinity increases by 5.6 ppt, and bottom salinity increases by 3.8 ppt. Because the existence of freshwater and brackish marshes through much of the Wakulla River, the substantial increase of salinity by sea level rise of 0.85 m may have significant impact on the ecosystem in Wakala River tributary.