Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Infrastructure and Development: Catalysis or Cataclysms in Africa? The case of fadama farming in Nigeria

Perhaps the greatest achievement ever attained by Hunan beings is how they ‘captured’ nature through science. Nonetheless, it seems the greatest obstacle yet to be conquered is the human being itself. This obstacle is, perhaps, informed by the former preceding the laxer since it is still the understanding of science that is being applied to the understanding of human beings! What is often concocted is the direct application of scientific theories and methodologies which, in its initial historical emergence, was never a completely worked schema. In its development garb, science is applied to human welfare inform of infrastructural projects which are assumed to be condition for the attainment of ‘human comfort’ and ‘desire’. It has always been a ‘working to the answer’ leading, in the main, to cataclysms rather than catalysing development. The paper brings this out clearly in the assessment of a World Bank sponsored project in Nigeria. It found that even though the development community no longer claims a unilineal development paradigm, couched in terms of development cooperation recognizing indigenous peculiarities, the reality on ground proves otherwise. Furthermore, rather than catalysing development, more problems are in the offing than those proposed to have been solved.
Investigation of the interaction between sources and sinks of atmospheric ammonia in an upland landscape using a simplified dispersion‐exchange model

Exchange of atmospheric ammonia (NH 3 ) with vegetation is characterized by the juxtaposition of sources and sinks at a landscape level. Such situations lead to a large fraction of the landscape being exposed to local advection effects that if not accounted for, introduce errors in standard micrometeorological measurements of NH 3 exchange with the surface. In this study, a simplified dispersion - exchange model for NH 3 (Flux Interpretation by Dispersion and Exchange over Short Range, FIDES) is evaluated and used to assess the advection fluxes at 260 m downwind of an isolated pasture, grazed with sheep, using the measurements of a classical three-point NH 3 gradient system located on adjacent moorland. The method consists of fitting the measured and modeled concentration profile by adjusting at the same time the emission strength of the local source and the exchange rate of NH 3 to the moorland area downwind. A local dispersion and surface exchange model such as FIDES has proved to be a valuable tool to estimate advection corrections, given sound estimates of background NH 3 concentrations, source location, and standard meteorological parameters. According to the model results the advection fluxes at the moorland measurement site, at 1.0 m height and 260 m downwind of the grazed pasture, were positive. For 80% of the situations they ranged between 30% and 60% of the vertical fluxes. In stable conditions the advection fluxes were large and more sensitive to the surface exchange parameters. These results demonstrate that if not accounted for, advection fluxes may lead to a severe underestimate of the NH3 deposition to seminatural ecosystems, such as moorland, in the vicinity of ground level agricultural sources.
Designing multidimensional environmental programs: Assessing tradeoffs and substitution in watershed management plans

Efforts to value particular dimensions of environmental quality may misrepresent true social values if dimensions of environmental quality interact and researchers nonetheless seek to value single dimensions in isolation. While prior work illustrates that substitution among environmental improvements may occur, questions remain regarding the practical implications of such interactions for microlevel policy evaluation and whether similar effects occur when policies unavoidably include improvements in some resources and degradations in others. This paper identifies potential effects of preference interactions among watershed management components, with an emphasis on whether resource interactions can create substantial shifts in willingness to pay for policy changes.
Tracer tests in a fractured dolomite: 1. Experimental design and observed tracer recoveries

A series of tracer tests has been conducted in a 7‐m‐thick fractured dolomite at two sites in southeastern New Mexico. The tests were designed to evaluate transport processes, especially matrix diffusion, in fractured, permeable media. Both single‐well injection‐withdrawal (SWIW) and multiwell convergent flow (MWCF) tests were conducted. Seventeen different organic tracers (he fluorobenzoic and chlorobenzoic acids) and iodide were used as conservative tracers for the tests. The MWCF tests included repeated tracer injections while pumping the central well at different rates, injection of tracers with different aqueous diffusion coefficients, and injection of tracers into both the full and partial formation thickness. This paper describes the tracer test sites and aquifer characteristics, the experimental methods, and the tracer data produced. The tracer test results provide a high‐quality data set for a critical evaluation of the conceptual model for transport. Both the SWIW and MWCF tracer test data showed gradual mass recovery and breakthrough (or recovery) curve tailing consistent with matrix diffusion. However, the SWIW recovery curves did not display the −1.5 log‐log slope expected from a conventional double‐porosity medium with a single rate of diffusion. The breakthrough curves from MWCF tests conducted at two different pumping rates showed similar peak heights, which is also not what was expected with a conventional double‐porosity model. However, the peak heights were different for two tracers with different aqueous diffusion coefficients that were injected simultaneously in one test, consistent with the effects of matrix diffusion. The complexity of the tracer test results suggests that a simple double‐ porosity conceptual model for transport in the Culebra with a single rate of diffusion is overly simplistic.
Reliability of Reduced-thickness and Thinly Veneered Lithium Disilicate Crowns

The present investigation hypothesized that the reliability of reduced-thickness monolithic lithium disilicate crowns is high relative to that of veneered zirconia (Y-TZP) and comparable with that of metal ceramic (MCR) systems. CAD/CAM first mandibular molar full-crown preparations were produced with uniform thicknesses of either 1.0-mm or 2.0-mm occlusal and axial reduction, then replicated in composite for standard crown dies. Monolithic 1.0-mm (MON) and 2.0-mm CAD/CAM lithium disilicate crowns, the latter with a buccal thin veneer (BTV) of 0.5 mm, were fabricated and then sliding-contact-fatigued (step-stress method) until failure or suspension (n = 18/group). Crack evolution was followed, and fractography of post mortem specimens was performed and compared with that of clinical specimens. Use level probability Weibull calculation (use load = 1,200 N) showed interval overlaps between MON and BTV. There was no significant difference between the Weibull characteristic failure loads of MON and BTV (1,535 N [90% CI 1,354–1,740] and 1,609 N [90% CI 1,512–1,712], respectively), which were significantly higher than that of Y-TZP (370 N [90% CI 322–427]) and comparable with that of MCR (1,304 N [90% CI 1,203–1,414]), validating the study hypothesis.
InVitro Selective Antibiotic Concentrations ofP-Lactams for Penicillin-Resis tant Streptococcus pneumoniae Populations

S.pneumoniae wasevaluated inaninvitro modelwithmixedpopulations withpenicillin susceptibilities of0.015, 0.5, 1, and2,ug/ml. Theantibiotic concentration selecting forlow-level resistance strongly reduced thesusceptible population. Increasing antibiotic concentrations tended todecrease thetotal proportion ofpenicillin-resis tant bacteria because ofreduced numbers ofthelow-level-resistant population. Theantibiotic concentration selecting forhigh-level resistance produced fewer resistant populations, butmostoftheorganisms selected represented high-level resistance. Ingeneral, amoxicillin wasa goodselector forthelow-level-resistant population andapoorselector forhigh-level resistance; cefuroxime andcefotaxime werepoorselectors for low-level resistance andbetter selectors thanamoxicillin forhigh-level penicillin resistance. Cefixime wasthe bestselector oflow-level penicillin resistance. Whenonly resistant populations weremixed, thestrains with high-level resistance wereselected evenatlowantibiotic concentrations. Determination oftheeffects ofselective antibiotic concentrations onmixed cultures ofbacteria expressing different antibiotic resistance levels mayhelp researchers tounderstand theecology andepidemiology ofpenicillin-resis tant S.pneumoniae populations. Theevolution ofpenicillin resistance inStreptococcus pneumoniae hastaken thewestern worldbysurprise. Ten years ago,theproportion ofEuropean orAmerican strains that haddeveloped resistance to 3-lactam drugs remained verylow(1,6). Spain wasthefirst western country toshow animpressive increase intherateofisolates requiring MICs of>0.1,ug/ml, whichincreased fromless than7%ofstrains in1979toamaximumof44%in1989(4). Inrecent years, the rateofpenicillin-resis tant
Comparison of cloud frequency data from the high‐resolution infrared radiometer sounder and the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II

Climatologies of cloud frequencies were compared from two satellite sensors, the high-resolution infrared radiometer sounder (HIRS) and the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II), during two summers (June, July, and August 1989 and 1990) and two winters (December, January, and February 1989–1990 and 1990–1991). Both sensors were operating simultaneously during these periods, which spanned 12 months. The two data sets generally agreed on the locations of clouds; however, SAGE II reported higher frequencies of clouds by 12–22 percentage points. The differences in the frequencies of clouds appear to be caused by differences in sensor sensitivity and scanning field of view sizes, both of which would have the same effect. SAGE II has a higher sensitivity to thinner clouds and a larger field of view than the HIRS. The vertical distributions of clouds also show close agreement except for the low levels (below 3 km) and the upper troposphere where SAGE II reported more clouds. The very thin subvisual cirrus detected only by SAGE II also were generally found in the same locations where HIRS reported denser clouds, indicating a relationship between subvisual cirrus and other cloud forms.
Vertical ozone distribution over southern Africa and adjacent

A set of four ozonesonde stations located at Ascension Island, Brazzaville, Okaukuejo, and Irene, operational during the TRACE A and SAFARI-92 experiments has provided an opportunity to investigate the vertical distribution of ozone over southern Africa and adjacent oceans. All stations display a springtime maximum in tropospheric ozone. Enhanced tropospheric ozone, which occurs between June and September at Brazzaville and between July and October at Ascension Island, is linked to dry season biomass burning. The influence of tropical biomass burning is delayed until September at Okaukuejo when a sharp increase in tropospheric ozone is experienced. The biomass burning influence at Irene is less because of its more southerly location. A general tropospheric enhancement is observed at all stations. It is manifest as an enriched layer in the upper troposphere at Okaukuejo (9-12 km) and Brazzaville (11-14 km) and in the lower troposphere (2-8 km) at Ascension Island. At Ascension Island lower tropospheric ozone values are about 20 parts per billion by volume greater than elsewhere and the tropospheric component here accounts for about 18% of the total column ozone. A series of tethersonde soundings conducted at hourly intervals at Okaukuejo revealed ozone to be well mixed in the lower boundary layer during the day, but to display marked vertical stratification at night.
Domestic holidaymaking in a Central Asian context: tourism legacies from pre-communist and Soviet times - Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

This chapter examines the concept of 'domestic tourism' in two very distinct epochs of a nation's history. In post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, it is notable that tourism development has been influenced by both pre-communist and Soviet legacies. One tourism site in particular retains national importance and has consistently maintained popularity throughout the country's history - Lake Issyk-Kul. Firstly, traditional migration patterns of a Central Asian nomadic population are considered where excursions to summer pastures or 'jailoos' have given rise to the development of modern ecotourism products offered to western tourist markets. The importance of natural environmental resources to the lifestyles of this population is noted. Secondly, Soviet internal travel within the USSR region of Central Asia is examined, highlighting some interesting issues for a broader understanding of the term 'domestic tourism' in communist ideologies. The ways in which heavily institutionalised Soviet travel patterns have affected intra-regional Central Asian tourism are considered. The chapter is centred around a single tourism site, Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan - the second largest high altitude lake in the world after Lake Titicaca in South America (UNESCO, 2002) - a site deemed to be 'The Pearl of Central Asia' (Asel, 2007).
Benthic cover map of Heron Reef derived from a high-spatial-resolution multi-spectral satellite image using object based image analysis

Providing accurate maps of coral reefs where the spatial scale and labels of the mapped features correspond to map units appropriate for examining biological and geomorphic structures and processes is a major challenge for remote sensing. The objective of this work is to assess the accuracy and relevance of the process used to derive geomorphic zone and benthic community zone maps for three western Pacific coral reefs produced from multi-scale, object-based image analysis (OBIA) of high-spatial-resolution multi-spectral images, guided by field survey data. Three Quickbird-2 multi-spectral data sets from reefs in Australia, Palau and Fiji and georeferenced field photographs were used in a multi-scale segmentation and object-based image classification to map geomorphic zones and benthic community zones. A per-pixel approach was also tested for mapping benthic community zones. Validation of the maps and comparison to past approaches indicated the multi-scale OBIA process enabled field data, operator field experience and a conceptual hierarchical model of the coral reef environment to be linked to provide output maps at geomorphic zone and benthic community scales on coral reefs. The OBIA mapping accuracies were comparable with previously published work using other methods; however, the classes mapped were matched to a predetermined set of features on the reef.
UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPY FINDINGS IN PATIENTS REFERRED WITH UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOMS IN ELDORET, KENYA: A RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW.

BACKGROUND Dyspepsia is one of the major indications for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Other indications include dysphagia, odynophagia and gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopy is an expensive procedure that is out of reach of many patients in resource constrained region such as western Kenya. We reviewed endoscopy records from both public and private health institutions spanning ten years. OBJECTIVE To determine the pattern of referral and endoscopy diagnoses in patients referred for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in Eldoret, Kenya. DESIGN Retrospective chart review. SETTING Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, private hospitals and private clinics in Eldoret, Kenya. SUBJECTS One thousand six hundred and ninety (1690) Patients who underwent upper GI endoscopy from 1993 to 2003 were reviewed after obtaining clearances from the respective institutions. Information on age, sex, symptoms, and endoscopy diagnosis were extracted and subjected to statistical analysis. RESULTS The most common symptom was dyspepsia in 1059 (62.7%) followed by dysphagia in 224 (13.3%). Others were referred with diagnosis of cancer of the stomach or oesophagus. Common endoscopy diagnoses were cancer of the oesophagus in 199 (11.8%) and duodenal ulcer in 186 (11.0%). The majority of the patients (30.4%) had normal endoscopy findings. Of the 1059 patients with dyspepsia, only 154 (14.5%) had duodenal ulcer and 34 (3.2%) had gastric ulcers, the majority, 37.2% had normal endoscopy findings. CONCLUSION Dyspepsia was main reason for referral, but the majority of such patients had normal findings. Cancer of the oesophagus was the main diagnosis in patients with dysphagia. In view of the cost of endoscopy, only those with dyspepsia and alarm symptoms be referred for the procedure.
Mars - Epochal climate change and volatile history

The epochal climate change and volatile history of Mars are examined, with special attention given to evidence for and mechanisms of long-term climate change. Long-term climate change on Mars is indicated most directly by the presence, age, and distribution of the valley networks. They were almost certainly formed by running water, but it seems more likely that they were formed by groundwater sapping than by rainfall. It is argued to be physically plausible that a higher early intensity of surface insolation caused by a CO2 greenhouse effect could have overcompensated for an early weak sun and raised temperatures to the freezing point near the equator under favorable conditions of obliquity and eccentricity. This could account for the morphological changes.
Mycorhization et application de compost urbain pour l’amélioration de la survie et de la croissance des semis de Pinus halepensis en milieu semi-aride

Titulo del Cahier: La mycorhization des plantes forestieres en milieu aride et semi-aride et la lutte contre la desertification dans le bassin mediterraneen = Mycorrhization of forest plants under arid and semi-arid conditions and desertification control in the Mediterranea
DEPTOR ubiquitination and destruction by SCF (cid:1) -TrCP

and destruction by SCF (cid:1) -TrCP Am Physiol 2012. (cid:1) -Transducin re-peats-containing protein ( (cid:1) -TrCP) is the substrate recognition subunit of the SCF (SKP1, CUL1, and F-box protein)-type E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. SCF (cid:1) -TrCP ubiquitinates speciﬁcally phosphorylated substrates to promote their subsequent de- struction by the 26S proteasome and plays a critical role in various human diseases including tumorigenesis. We and others (Duan S et al. Mol Cell 44: 317–324, 2011; Gao D et al. Mol Cell 44: 290–303, 2011; Zhao Y et al. Mol Cell 44: 304–316, 2011) recently reported that SCF (cid:1) -TrCP regulates cell growth and autophagy by controlling the ubiquitination and destruction of DEPTOR, an endogenous mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor, in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. In this review, we discuss (cid:1) -TrCP’s new downstream substrate, DEPTOR, as well as summarize the novel functional aspects of (cid:1) -TrCP in controlling cell growth and regulating autophagy, in part through
Psychological Requirements In Photo-Optical Systems In Simulation

Because of the accuracy needed in the operation of photo-optical systems of simulation, the present paper attempts to measure the differences in sensitivity of motion perception in the various portions of the retina. There is a noticeable difference between the central and peripheral retinal areas in the detection of angular movement and in threshold excitation. The peripheral area dominates the central area in motion detection because it has more rods, thus having a lower threshold excitation and a lower threshold of critical fusion frequency (c.f.f.). By measuring the c.f. f. gradient at varying visual angles on the nasal, temporal, inferior and superior coordinates, it was found that the peripheral area, specifically temporal area, has lower threshold to' motion perception than the central area.
Use of April 1 SWE measurements as estimates of peak seasonal snowpack and total cold‐season precipitation

Many previous studies of snow accumulation and ablation have been based on snow course data obtained at monthly intervals, using April 1 snow‐water equivalents (SWE) as surrogates for the total seasonal accumulation and for the maximum seasonal snowpack on the ground. This article uses daily snow pillow data to determine how well the April 1 SWEs represent the total accumulation and the maximum snowpack within the entire Rocky Mountain region and in individual subregions. April 1 SWE tends to underestimate the peak SWE by ∼6 cm (12%). April 1 SWE provides a more accurate estimate of the total seasonal precipitation, with mean errors of approximately −1.7 cm (4%) for most of the study area and approximately +2 cm (6%) in the eastern portion. The error incurred by the use of April 1 SWE in the estimation of peak SWE does not vary systematically with elevation, but errors in the estimation of total seasonal precipitation do.
Comparison of sulfide oxidizing Sulfurimonas strains reveals a new mode of 1 thiosulfate formation in subsurface environments 2 3

1 thiosulfate formation in subsurface environments 2 3 Sven Lahme1, Cameron M. Callbeck2*, Lucy E. Eland3, Anil Wipat3, Dennis Enning4, Ian M. 4 Head1 and Casey R.J. Hubert1,5 5 6 1 School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, 7 United Kingdom, 2 Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany, 3 School 8 of Computing, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, 4 ExxonMobil 9 Upstream Research Company, Spring, Texas, USA, 5 Department of Biological Sciences, 10 University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada. 11 12 Correspondence to: 13 Sven Lahme, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Devonshire Building (3rd floor) 14 Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK, Phone: +44 (0) 191 208 6011 15 Email: lahme.sven@gmail.com 16 17 18 19
Estimating the age of formation of lakes: An example from Lake Tanganyika

Age estimates for ancient lakes are important for determining their histories and their rates of biotic and tectonic evolution. In the absence of dated core material from the lake`s sedimentary basement, several techniques have been used to generate such age estimates. The most common of these, herein called the reflection seismic-radiocarbon method (RSRM), combines estimates of short-term sediment-accumulation rates derived from radiocarbon-dated cores and depth-to-basement estimates derived from reflection-seismic data at or near the same locality to estimate an age to basement. Age estimates form the RSRM suggest that the structural basins of central Lake Tanganyika began to form between 9 and 12 Ma. Estimates for the northern and southern basins are younger (7 to 8 Ma and 2 to 4 Ma, respectively). The diachroneity of estimates for different segments of the lake is equivocal, and may be due to erosional loss of record in the northern and southern structural basins or to progressive opening of the rift. The RSRM age estimates for Lake Tanganyika are considerably younger than most prior estimates and clarify the extensional history of the western branch of the East African Rift system. 31 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.