Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Affecting Beech Fagus sylvatica Bark Stripping by Red Deer Cervus elaphus in a Mixed Forest

Bark stripping by large herbivores is widespread, yet poorly understood. Our study was carried out in a 2000-ha area situated in the Vosges Mountains, France, where beech Fagus sylvatica bark is heavily bark stripped by red deer Cervus elaphus. We tested whether the seasonal variation in the frequency of beech bark stripping by red deer was correlated with bark nutritive value or bark mechanical properties (using an index of bark detachability). We also evaluated whether red deer selected beech trees based on the chemical composition of their bark (e.g. carbohydrates and minerals). Bark-stripped trees had slightly higher carbohydrate contents than non-stripped trees, but this difference resulted from a physiological reaction of the tree to bark stripping. Bark composition was similar between stripped and non-stripped trees spring and summer, but was easier to detach during these periods than during autumn and winter. Therefore, beech bark stripping by red deer in the Vosges Mountains does not appear to be driven by nutritional needs, but it may help deer in improving digestion efficiency.
Extreme eigenvalues of Toeplitz forms and applications to elliptic difference equations

and obtained some partial results. These enabled us to obtain estimates on the rates of convergence of the "two-line" iterative methods of the Laplace and biharmonic difference equations in rectangular domains(2). In the case of Laplace's equation we obtained an exact asymptotic result. However, in the case of the biharmonic equation we obtained only a "one-sided" estimate. The purpose of this report is two-fold. In ? 2, 3, and 4 we extend the results of Kac, Murdoch and Szego, and Widom. We will make very strong use of Widom's results and technique. In ? 5 we discuss the application of the preceding results to the general problem of the extreme eigenvalues of "block" Toeplitz matrices. These include the matrices of elliptic difference equations Presented to the Society, January 26, 1961; received by the editors October 18, 1960. (') Some of these results were obtained while the author was at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, summer 1959. (2) The "two-line" iterative methods for the Laplace and biharmonic difference equations were studied by R. S. Varga [18] at the same time. His approach is totally different from the one we investigated in [14]. His approach to the solution of the iteration equations is more general and probably preferable. Varga also estimated the rate of convergence in the Laplace case using the theory of non-negative matrices. That theory does not apply to the biharmonic case.
Nighttime D region electron density measurements from ELF‐VLF tweek radio atmospherics recorded at low latitudes

[1] Dispersive atmospherics (tweeks) observed during 2010 simultaneously at two low-latitude stations, Allahabad (geomagnetic latitude, 16.05°N) and Nainital (geomagnetic latitude, 20.48°N), have been used to estimate the nighttime D region electron density at the ionospheric reflection height under the local nighttime propagation (21:00–02:00 LT or 15:30–20:30 UT). The analysis of simultaneously recorded tweeks at both the stations on five international quiet days during one month each from summer (June), winter (January), and equinox (March) seasons shows that the D region electron density varies 21.5–24.5 cm−3 over the ionospheric reflection height of 85–95 km. The average values of Wait lower ionospheric parameters: ionospheric reference height h′ and sharpness factor β are almost same during winter (85.9–86.1 km, 0.51–0.52 km−1) and equinox (85.6–85.7 km, 0.54 km−1) seasons. The values of h′ and β during summer season are about 83.5 km and 0.60 km−1at both stations. Overall, equivalent electron density profile obtained using tweek method shows lower values of electron density by about 5–60% than those obtained using the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2007) model and lower/higher by 2–68% than those obtained using rocket technique. The electron density estimated using all three techniques (tweek, IRI-2007, and rocket) is consistent in the altitude range of 82–98 km. The estimated geographic locations of causative lightnings of tweeks were matched with the locations and times of lightnings detected by the World-Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). The WWLLN detected about 27.5% of causative lightnings of tweeks simultaneously observed at both the stations.
Role of mineral aerosol as a reactive surface in the global troposphere

A global three-dimensional model of the troposphere is used to simulate the sources, abundances, and sinks of mineral aerosol and the species involved in the photochemical oxidant, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles. Although the calculated heterogeneous removal rates on mineral aerosol are highly uncertain, mainly due to poorly known heterogeneous reaction rates, the reaction of SO2 on calcium-rich mineral aerosol is likely to play an important role downwind of arid source regions. This is especially important for regions in Asia, which are important and increasing emitters of sulfur compounds. Our results indicate that the assumption that sulfate aerosol follows an accumulation mode size distribution, is particularly in Asia likely to overestimate the sulfate aerosol climate-cooling effect. An even larger fraction of gas phase nitric acid may be associated with and neutralized by mineral aerosol. Interactions of N2O5, O3, and HO2-radicals with dust are calculated to affect the photochemical oxidant cycle, causing ozone decreases up to 10% in and nearby the dust source areas. Comparison of these results with limited available measurements indicates that the proposed reactions can indeed take place, although due to a lack of measurements a rigorous evaluation is not possible at this time.
The Political Geography of the Eurocrisis

abstract:The European Union provided a mixed response to the 2008 financial crisis. On the one hand, it refused to pursue fiscal integration through a common budget; on the other, it introduced significant transfers between countries that were designed to produce financial stabilization. The authors analyze this response as the outcome of democratic constraints on EU leaders. Given the EU's current institutional structure, citizens' preferences pose a binding constraint on what leaders can do as these preferences limit the scope of riskpooling among members and the degree of political tolerance for different courses of action. The authors show that citizens' preferences reflect differences in the geography of income, production regimes, and institutional organization. The heterogeneity of constituencies' redistribution preferences combined with a diverse economic geography helps to explain why political constraints on national governments prevent them from engaging in further fiscal integration. By contrast, externalities among member states shift the preferences of citizens who may experience negative effects and make international redistribution politically feasible. The authors analyze these two mechanisms and present novel empirical results on the determinants of preferences for fiscal integration and international redistribution in the aftermath of the eurocrisis.
Prevention of Breast Cancer Could Be a Consequence of Pregnancy: A Review

The genomic profile of parous women has shown that genes which are activated only within the first five years after pregnancy, may contribute to the increased risk of breast cancer in certain women. At the same time, pregnancy’s protective effect is induced by a long-lasting genomic signature. This signature reveals that the differentiation process is centered around chromatin remodeling and represents a safeguard mechanism at genomic and post-transcriptional levels that maintains the fidelity of the transcription process, which could be the ultimate step mediating the protection of the breast conferred by full term pregnancy.
Clinicoetiological profile of neonatal seizures in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Seizure is one of the most frequently observed clinical sign in neonatal period and may be the only sign of a central nervous system disorder. Its recognition is of paramount importance and a newborn with seizures is in a true medical emergency requiring prompt intervention. Objective: To determine the clinical and etiological profile of seizures among neonates admitted to neonatal unit in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective, observational, hospital-based study conducted over a period of 1 year (December 2014-November 2015). Nearly, 63 babies either admitted with neonatal seizures or who developed seizures after admission were studied to find the clinical and etiological profile. Detailed history including gestational age, mode of delivery, birth events, Apgar scores and antenatal problems, age of onset, and frequency of seizures was also noted. Seizures were classified on the basis of detailed description by pediatric resident on duty in a predesigned pro forma. Informed written consent of parents was taken before enrolling a baby in study. Results: Sepsis was the most common cause of neonatal seizures (64.9%), followed by birth asphyxia, i.e., hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) (48.3%). Hypoglycemia was seen in 21.6% and hypocalcemia in 18.3% cases. Subtle seizures were the most common type of seizures seen in 65% babies, followed by tonic (31.6%), myoclonic (16.6%%), and clonic (6.67%) type. Subtle seizures were commonly seen in cases of HIE. Conclusion: The recognition of clinicoetiology of neonatal seizures is often helpful with respect to prognosis and treatment. The most common etiology for neonatal seizure is sepsis. Onset of seizures during first 3 days of life has significant correlation with HIE as etiology. Subtle seizures are the most common type of clinical seizures, which is difficult to identify; therefore, careful observation of at risk newborns is necessary.
Limit theorems for nearly unstable Hawkes processes

Because of their tractability and their natural interpretations in term of market quantities, Hawkes processes are nowadays widely used in high-frequency finance. However, in practice, the statistical estimation results seem to show that very often, only nearly unstable Hawkes processes are able to fit the data properly. By nearly unstable, we mean that the $L^1$ norm of their kernel is close to unity. We study in this work such processes for which the stability condition is almost violated. Our main result states that after suitable rescaling, they asymptotically behave like integrated Cox-Ingersoll-Ross models. Thus, modeling financial order flows as nearly unstable Hawkes processes may be a good way to reproduce both their high and low frequency stylized facts. We then extend this result to the Hawkes-based price model introduced by Bacry et al. [Quant. Finance 13 (2013) 65-77]. We show that under a similar criticality condition, this process converges to a Heston model. Again, we recover well-known stylized facts of prices, both at the microstructure level and at the macroscopic scale.
HFX studio: haptic editor for full-body immersive experiences

Current virtual reality systems enable users to explore virtual worlds, fully embodied in avatars. This new type of immersive experience requires specific authoring tools. The traditional ones used in the movie and the video games industries were modified to support immersive visual and audio content. However, few solutions exist to edit haptic content, especially when the whole user's body is involved. To tackle this issue we propose HFX Studio, a haptic editor based on haptic perceptual models. Three models of pressure, vibration and temperature were defined to allow the spatialization of haptic effects on the user's body. These effects can be designed directly on the body (egocentric approach), or specified as objects of the scene (allocentric approach). The perceptual models are also used to describe capabilities of haptic devices. This way the created content is generic, and haptic feedback is rendered on the available devices. The concept has been implemented with the Unity®game engine, a tool already used in VR production. A qualitative pilot user study was conducted to analyze the usability of our tool with expert users. Results shows that the edition of haptic feedback is intuitive for these users.
On the heat kernel comparison theorems for minimal submanifolds

In [3], Cheng, Li and Yau proved comparison theorems (upper bounds) for the heat kernels on minimal submanifolds of space forms. In the present note we show that these comparison theorems together with a series of corollaries remain true for minimal submanifolds in ambient spaces with just an upper bound on the sectional curvature.
Thermal diffusivity of upper mantle rocks: Influence of temperature, pressure, and the deformation fabric

[1] Thermal diffusivity measurements of seven naturally deformed upper mantle rocks were made as a function of pressure (up to 1 GPa), temperature (up to 1250 K), and the deformation fabric of the samples. For each sample the strain-induced crystal preferred orientations of olivine and pyroxenes were measured, and petrophysical models, based on the thermal diffusivity tensors of the olivine and enstatite crystals, were used to evaluate the three-dimensional distribution of the thermal diffusivity. Both model predictions and measurements show that the anisotropy of thermal diffusivity remains large at the rock scale: 15–28%, depending on the strength of the olivine crystallographic fabric. The direction of maximum thermal diffusivity is parallel to the lineation (flow direction), and the minimum of thermal diffusivity is normal to the foliation plane (flow plane). This anisotropy is preserved at high temperature and pressure. However, measured thermal diffusivities are 20–30% lower than model predictions. This discrepancy between measurements and model predictions cannot be explained by the presence of cracks in the samples because the closure of these void spaces, evaluated through the high-pressure experiments, is found to have a negligible effect on measured thermal diffusivities. Thermal diffusivity for all samples displays a weak linear dependence on pressure of ∼10% GPa−1. Thermal diffusivities observed in the high-temperature experiments (1000–1250 K) are compatible with a weak radiative contribution to the total heat diffusion.
Elizabeth and John: sound patterns of men's and women's names

In one respect parents are never careless or indifferent about naming a child: if the child is a girl, they choose a girl's name, but if it is a boy, they choose a boy's name. Euphony, cultural coherence, fashion and family tradition all play a role in the choice of a name; but such factors only determine selection within the appropriate sex-marked set. With very few exceptions, English first names for men and for women do not overlap, and only custom enables us to know which is which. Although in many languages male and female names are distinguished by characteristic suffixes or other sound patterns, this is not in general true in English. There are semi-productive processes which derive female names from male names, but the majority of names are not derived, and there are no linguistic principles we can call upon to determine the sex of John versus Jane, Mary versus Gary, Kevin versus Karen. There are, however, certain predictions one might make about the phonological form of English names in general. These predictions are derived from the structure of the English vocabulary as a whole. English consists predominantly of words beginning with strong syllables (Cutler & Carter, 1987), and the most common word pattern in English is a bisyllable with initial stress, such as common, pattern, English (Carlton, Elenius, Granstrom & Hunnicutt, 1985). Monosyllables are almost as frequent as bisyllables. Among polysyllables, 70% begin with a strong (primary or secondary
Trust between Boundary-Spanning Agents: The Role of Relational Competencies

Against the background of principal-agent and transaction-cost theoretical considerations, this study addresses the question whether relational competencies relate to trust within cooperative relationships, taking into account also situational and personal factors. In its conclusion, the study presents an experimentally confirmed model (n = 282) that shows the strong causal relationship between relational competencies and trust allowing boundary-spanning agents to exert influence on the development and maintenance of complex cooperative relationships characterized by long-term objectives.
Evaluation of activated and non-activated tar sands for the removal of phenol and cadmium from aqueous solutions

Locally available tar sands were used for the removal of phenol and cadmium ions from their aqueous solutions. Batch sorption experiments showed that tar sands did not remove phenol from aqueous solutions, but they were effective in cadmium adsorption. Cadmium uptake was found to increase with an increase in initial concentration of the metal ions, temperature, pH and sorbent amount. On the other hand, the presence of ions such as sodium, Na + , suppressed the uptake of cadmium ions. Physical activation of the tar sands influenced the adsorption process negatively. The sorption process was relatively fast and the equilibrium isotherm data were well represented by the Langmuir model.
Service Quality Performance Scale in Higher Education: Culture as a New Dimension

SERVQUAL was modified to suit a particular study context time and again. Some researchers contented SERVQUAL’s accuracy to measure service quality; others argued SERVPERF to be better scale to measure the service quality. SERVPERF was modified to measure service quality in higher education and HEdPERF evolved. HEdPERF scale was developed between 2004 through 2006 which further had to be tested under different study contexts for better validity and acceptability as done for both SERVQUAL and SERVPERF scales. This study introduced Arab cultural aspects within the existing HEdPERF scale. CUL-HEdPERF, HEdPERF, SERVPERF scales were compared using student perceptions about higher education performance. Data was analyzed using multiple regression, the calculated R 2 , ? 2, RMSEA, NNFI, IFI, NFI, CFI, AGFI revealed that CUL-HEdPERF scale scored better fitness to measure service quality in higher education among student perception in Saudi Arabian context than HEdPERF and SERVPERF. Fitness was tested for significance using ANOVA.
New absolute contrast for pulsed thermography

In this paper, a new absolute thermal contrast method is proposed for pulsed infrared thermography. It is based on the computations of reconstructed defect-free images so that no a priori knowledge of a sound area on the sample is necessary. Moreover, a correction is applied to take into account possible delays in the acquisition time. Results are presented both on Plexiglas and graphite-epoxy specimens. Comparisons with Pulsed Phase Thermography phase images are also presented along with a discussion on the advantages of the proposed method.
USE OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS TO REPAIR STEEL STRUCTURES VULNERABLE TO FATIGUE DAMAGE

In study, the performance of various methods to prevent and repair fatigue damage in welded connections was evaluated. Fatigue is a recurring problem that affects a significant number of steel bridges in the National inventory. Results from experimental tests and analytical simulations of specimens with welded connections reinforced with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) overlays and loaded in three-point bending are presented. Some of the specimens were reinforced with prefabricated multi-layered CFRP overlays, while others were reinforced with sprayed CFRP overlays. Specimens were tested under cyclic loading to evaluate the fatigue-crack initiation life of the welded connections reinforced with CFRP overlays. Experimental results were compared with results from similar specimens treated using other techniques to strengthen welded connections, namely Ultrasonic Impact Treatment (UIT) and weld surface smoothing. Test results showed that when bond between the CFRP overlay and the steel was maintained, the reduction in stress demand was sufficient to extend the fatigue life of the welded connections from AASHTO category E performance to the infinite fatigue life range. It was found that bond was critical to the performance of this repair technique, and additional fatigue tests were performed to evaluate the fatigue life of the interface layer used to attach the CFRP overlays to the steel. Test results showed that the fatigue strength of the bond layer was drastically improved by introducing breather cloth material within the interface layer.
Informationssysteme für das Umweltmanagement

ECO-Integral" erm? glicht, quasi als "Trojanisches Pferd", die integrierte Informationsverarbeitung aller relevanten Betriebsdaten im Kontext des betrieblichen Umweltschutzes. Unverzichtbar f? r alle, die im Bereich Informationsmanagement des betrieblichen Umwelschutzes arbeiten.
Simulating Sediment Transport in a Flume with Forced Pool-Riffle Morphology: Examinations of Two One-Dimensional Numerical Models

One-dimensional numerical sediment transport models DREAM-1 and DREAM-2 are used to simulate seven experimental runs designed to examine sediment pulse dynamics in a physical model of forced pool-riffle morphology. Comparisons with measured data indicate that DREAM-1 and -2 closely reproduce the sediment transport flux and channel bed adjustments following the introduction of fine and coarse sediment pulses, respectively. The cumulative sediment transport at the flume exit in a DREAM-1 simulation is within 10% of the measured values, and cumulative sediment transport at flume exit in a DREAM-2 simulation is within a factor of 2 of the measured values. Comparison of simulated and measured reach-averaged aggradation and degradation indicates that 84% of DREAM-1 simulation results have errors less than 3.3 mm, which is approximately 77% of the bed material geometric mean grain size or 3.7% of the average water depth. A similar reach-averaged comparison indicates that 84% of DREAM-2 simulation results have errors less than 7.0 mm, which is approximately 1.7 times the bed material geometric mean grain size or 11% of the average water depth. Simulations using measured thalweg profiles as the input for the initial model profile produced results with larger errors and unrealistic aggradation and degradation patterns, demonstrating that one-dimensional numerical sediment transport models need to be applied on a reach- averaged basis.