Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rate-dependent hydroelastic response of self-adaptive composite propellers in fully wetted and cavitating flows

The objectives of this work are to investigate the fully wetted and cavitating performance of a self-adaptive composite propeller and its dependence on the propeller rotational frequency (RPM or revolution per minute) in addition to the advance coefficient and ambient pressure. Self-adaptive composite propellers are designed to take advantage of the intrinsic deformation coupling behavior of anisotropic composites to improve propeller performance via automatic, passive blade pitch adjustment in spatially or temporally varying flow. The design methodology, numerical and experimental studies of self-adaptive composite propellers in fully wetted flow can be found in [1-7]. In past studies, the primary focus was the fully wetted performance of the composite propellers operating at the design RPM. However, since the deformations of adaptive composite propellers depend on the hydrodynamic load, which in turn depends on the propeller RPM, the response of adaptive composite propellers depend on both the advance coefficient and RPM. Moreover, at high RPMs, composite propellers may be subject to resonant vibration failure due to the inherent flexibility needed to achieve the desired self-adaptive behavior, and due to the decrease in natural frequency caused by added mass effects. Hence, it is important to evaluate the rate-dependent behavior of self-adaptive composite propellers. It is also important to evaluate the cavitating performance of self-adaptive composite propellers since cavitation can lead to thrust breakdown, decrease in efficiency, as well as erosion and localized impact damage to the composite blades. In this work, a previously validated coupled boundary element method – finite element method (BEM-FEM) is used to analyze the rate-dependent response of self-adaptive composite propellers in fully wetted and cavitating flows. Implications of the rate-dependent behavior on the design and interpretation of experimental studies, particularly cavitation tunnel studies, are discussed.
The model of ethnic democracy: Israel as a Jewish and democratic state

The liberal democratic nation-state is on the decline in the West as a result of globalisation, regionalisation, universalisation of minority rights, multi- culturalism and the rise of ethno-nationalism. While Western countries are decoupling the nation-state and shifting toward multicultural civic democracy, other countries are consolidating an alternative non-civic form of a democratic state that is identified with and subservient to a single ethnic nation. This model, 'ethnic democracy', is presented; its defining features, the circumstances leading to it and the conditions for its stability are elaborated upon; and it is applied to Israel. Contrary to its self-image and inter- national reputation as a Western liberal democracy, Israel is an ethnic democracy in which the Jews appropriate the state and make it a tool for advancing their national security, demography, public space, culture and interests. At the same time, Israel is a democracy that extends various kinds of rights to 1 million Palestinian Arab citizens (16 per cent of the population) who are perceived as a threat. The criticisms against the general model and its applicability to Israel are discussed. The model has already been applied to other countries, but more applications are needed in order to develop it further.
An Empirical Investigation of the Impact of Technological Factors on Computer - Based Information Systems (CBIS) Usage by Managers in Banking Sector in Sudan

Computers are becoming more available in Sudanese banks with more sophisticated software and advanced information systems. But factors that might affect acceptance and utilization of these systems by managers need to be examined. This paper seeks to assess the influence of technological factors on computer-based information systems usage by managers in Sudanese banks with reference to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 120 randomly selected middle level managers from different banks in Khartoum State and Gezira State in Sudan. Linear and multiple regression analysis and χ 2 (chi – square) tests were conducted to determine the relationship between the dependent research variable (computer- based information system usage) and the independent research variables (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, manager involvement in system design and implementation, and availability of technical support). Findings of this study suggest that the perceived ease of using the system (PEOU) and the perceived usefulness of the system (PU) have significant influence on the computer- based information system usage by banks’ managers. The empirical evidence also proved that the perceived ease of use and the perceived usefulness were fully mediating the influence of the technological factors (manager involvement in system design and implementation and technical support). The academic and practical implications of the study were discussed and suggestions for future research was presented.
Knowing the Supreme Court? A Reconsideration of Public Ignorance of the High Court

Conventional wisdom holds that the American people are woefully ignorant about law and courts. In light of this putative ignorance, scholars and other commentators have questioned whether the public should play a role in the judicial process—for example, whether public preferences should matter for U.S. Supreme Court confirmation processes. Unfortunately, however, much of what we know—or think we know— about public knowledge of the Supreme Court is based upon flawed measures and procedures. So, for instance, the American National Election Study, a prominent source of the conclusion that people know little if anything about the U.S. Supreme Court, codes as incorrect the reply that William Rehnquist is (was) a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court; respondents, to be judged knowledgeable, must identify Rehnquist as the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (which, of course, technically, he was not). More generally, the use of open-ended recall questions leads to a serious and substantial underestimation of the extent to which ordinary people know about the nation's highest court. Our purpose in this paper is to revisit the question of how knowledgeable the American people are about the Supreme Court. Based on two national surveys— using more appropriate, closed-ended questions—we demonstrate that levels of knowledge about the Court and its justices are far higher than nearly all earlier surveys have documented. And, based on an experiment embedded in one of the national surveys, we also show the dramatic effect of question-form on estimates of levels of knowledge. Finally, we draw out the implications of political knowledge for the degree to which people support the U.S. Supreme Court. Our findings indicate that greater knowledge of the Court is associated with stronger loyalty toward the institution. We conclude by reconnecting these findings to “positivity theory,” which asserts that paying attention to courts not only provides citizens information, but also exposes them to powerful symbols of judicial legitimacy.
Chemical constituents and cytotoxicity of the leaves of Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum (A. Juss.) Miq.

The crude dicloromethane leaf extract of Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum (A. Juss.) Miq. was tested for cytotoxicity against breast cancer (MCF-7) and colon cancer (HT-29) cells and exhibited IC50 values of 7.35 and 13.19 μg/mL, respectively. Chemical investigation of the dichloromethane leaf extract afforded squalene (1), β-sitosterol (2), polyprenols (3) and triglyceride (4). The structures of 1-4 were identified by comparison of their 1H NMR data with those reported in the literature. These compounds are known cytotoxic and anticancer compounds.
Functional investigation of prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in glioma brain tumors

Gliomas are known to be the most prevalent primary tumors of the central nervous system, of which glioblastoma is the most aggressive type with a median survival less than 2 years and no available cure. Studies in this thesis investigated the significance of two potentially important proteins in glioma biology, the transcription factor PROX1 and the histone chaperone NPM1, and the interplay of the therapeutic targets p53 and mTOR. Study I combined dataset mining and experimental studies to elucidate the function of PROX1 in glioblastoma. PROX1 mRNA was significantly lower in tumors with a mesenchymal signature, and its modulation in cultures derived from a heterogeneous glioblastoma tumor, transitioned the cells between non-mesenchymal and mesenchymal gene expression-based profiles. Concomitant with this were changes in proliferation rate, cell cycle proteins and stem cell markers. Further, the results revealed PROX1 regulation by SOX2, a connection that could be controlled by a CDK2 small molecule inhibitor. The findings from this study highlight the value of PROX1 as a prognostic tool and the functional role of PROX1 in glioma tumor development. In study II, immunohistochemistry analysis confirmed a significant overexpression of NPM1 in human glioblastoma samples. Moreover, the subcellular localization of NPM1 was assessed in glioma cell lines. NPM1 displayed a cloudy nuclear staining compared with the more pronounced nucleolar staining observed in normal cells. Moreover, NPM1 depletion altered the nucleolar structure, but had no major effect on cell viability. Interestingly, enforced expression of NPM1 reduced apoptosis in histone H1.5 depleted cells, suggesting that NPM1 acts in a pro-survival manner in cells. In study III, the p53 response to drug-induced nucleolar stress and simultaneous inhibition of mTOR pathway by the use of various natural and synthetic compounds was analyzed. mTOR inhibition interfered with the p53 pathway stress response, as assessed by the impairment of p53 stabilization and reduced mRNA and protein levels of its downstream target p21. This provides information that may help improve combinatorial drug treatment regimens for cancer patients. Collectively, these studies provide novel insights into the biology of glioma brain tumors useful for patient diagnosis and more effective personalized therapies.
Characterization and agronomic evaluation of local populations of medicago minima (L.) collected in algerian steppe area

M. minima (L.) Bart. is a pasture legume native to the Mediterranean Basin and is present throughout the Algerian territory. The work reported in this study was conducted in the aim to evaluate the diversity of pheno-morphological and agronomic traits in some local populations of Medicago minima coming from a 2004 survey conducted by INRA Algeria throughout the Djelfa area. Two field experiments were conducted during two cropping seasons 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 at the experimental farm of the Research Center of Plant Science of Baraki (INRAA). Analysis of variance and Principal Components Analysis (PCA) were performed on the complete set of the data. The results obtained show high genetic differentiation among populations of M. minima for all of the recorded traits. Population from Oued Touil region was the earliest and has presented the best vegetative development in winter and in spring. On the other hand, population from Charef presented the best pod and grain yields. The PCA based on morphological and agronomic data clearly discriminated the M. minima populations. For morphological characterization, the two principal components (PC1 and PC2) explained 84.85% of the total variation and for agronomic evaluation, they describe 79.79%. The large variability observed in all traits studied gives the opportunity to select a suitable plant material to exploit to regenerate degraded rangeland and crop-livestock farming systems in Algeria.
Excavation of two burials at Galson, Isle of Lewis, 1993 and 1996

Two burials of Iron Age date were recorded at Galson during rescue excavations in 1993 and 1996, as a result of erosion of the steep, north-facing sand-dune face, which rises over 6 m between the shingle beach and a field wall. This erosion face is the site of a well-known cemetery and settlement extending in date at least from the Iron Age to the Norse period. The burials are placed in the context of past discoveries at Galson and a brief consideration of the evidence for long cist cemeteries in the Western Isles is presented. The excavations were funded by Historic Scotland.
Continued evolution of Jakobshavn Isbrae following its rapid speedup

[1] Several new data sets reveal that thinning and speedup of Jakobshavn Isbrae continue, following its recent rapid increase in speed as its floating ice tongue disintegrated. The present speedup rate of ∼5% a−1 over much of the fast-moving region appears to be a diffusive response to the initial much larger speedup near the front. There is strong seasonality in speed over much of the fast-flowing main trunk that shows a good inverse correlation with the seasonally varying length of a short (typically ∼6 km) floating ice tongue. This modulation of speed with ice front position supports the hypothesis that the major speedup was caused by loss of the larger floating ice tongue from 1998 to 2003. Analysis of image time series suggests that the transient winter ice tongue is formed when sea ice bonds glacier ice in the fjord to produce a nearly rigid mass that almost entirely suppresses calving. Major calving only resumes in late winter when much of this ice clears from the fjord. The collapse of the ice tongue in the late 1990s followed almost immediately after a sharp decline in winter sea-ice concentration in Disko Bay. This decline may have extended the length of the calving season for several consecutive years, leading to the ice tongue's collapse.
New analytical solutions for chemical evolution models: characterizing the population of star-forming and passive galaxies

E. Spitoni, V. Vincenzo, and F. Matteucci, 'New analytical solutions for chemical evolution models: characterizing the population of star-forming and passive galaxies', Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol 599, first published online 20 February 2017, available at DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201629745. Reproduced with permission from Astronomy & Astrophysics, © 2017 ESO.
Progress Toward a Circular Economy in China

Eco‐industrial initiatives, which close industrial loops by turning wastes at one point in a value chain into inputs at another point, are attracting growing interest as a solution to the problem of sustainability of industrial systems. Although Germany and Japan have made important advances in building recycling incentives into their industrial systems and sought competitive advantage from doing so, China is arguably taking the issue even further (in principle) through its pursuit of a circular economy, now enshrined in law as an official national development goal. In this article, we review a number of the eco‐industrial initiatives taken in China and compare them using a common graphical representation with comparable initiatives taken in the West and elsewhere in East Asia. Our aim is to demonstrate some common themes across the case studies, such as the transformation from the former linear economy to a circular economy and the evolutionary processes in which dynamic linkages are gradually established over time. We discuss the drivers of these eco‐industrial initiatives as well as the inhibitors, setting the initiatives in an evolutionary framework and introducing a notion of Pareto eco‐efficiency to evaluate them. We make the argument that China might be capturing latecomer advantages through its systematic promotion of eco‐industrial initiatives within a circular economy framework.
Alkaloid content and essential oil composition of Mahonia breviracema cultivated under different light environments

Light can affect the yields of alkaloid and essential oil in the synthesis of secondary metabolites directly or indirectly through plant growth. Despite Mahonia breviracema being an endemic medicinal species in China, research on the influence of light on production of alkaloid and essential oil is scarce. Thus, this research evaluated the influence of various lighting conditions on alkaloid yields and the composition and yields of the essential oils of M. breviracema. The results revealed significant differences in alkaloid yields, oil yieldsand chemical characteristics of M. breviracema grown in four different light intensities from 10 to 100% full sun shine. The total amount of alkaloids in plants under I30 and I50 was higher than that under I10 and I100 due to the higher biomass of plants. Oil yield of M. breviracema leaf increased linearly with the increase of lightincidence. Plants grown under I10 had less plastoglobuli, which coincided with the lowest oil yield (1.91 g kg-1). The plastoglobuli in chloroplasts increased when the irradiance levels increased, resulting in the highest oil yields under I100 (4.53 g kg-1). The principal components in the leaves of M. breviracema were hexadecanoic acid (10.54-72.19%) and α-ionone (1.25-42.39%). The highest hexadecanoic acid content was obtained under I50, followed by I30, and the highest α-ionone content was obtained under I100. Therefore, it is necessary to control the light environment to obtain raw materials with high quality.
Contemporary Glacier Processes and Global Change: Recent Observations from Kaskawulsh Glacier and the Donjek Range, St. Elias Mountains

With an extensive ice cover and rich display of glacier behaviour, the St. Elias Mountains continue to be an enviable natural laboratory for glaciological research. Recent work has been motivated in part by the magnitude and pace of observed glacier change in this area, which is so ice-rich that ice loss has a measurable impact on global sea level. Both detection and attribution of these changes, as well as investigations into fundamental glacier processes, have been central themes in projects initiated within the last decade and based at the Kluane Lake Research Station. The scientific objectives of these projects are (1) to quantify recent area and volume changes of Kaskawulsh Glacier and place them in historical perspective, (2) to investigate the regional variability of glacier response to climate and the modulating influence of ice dynamics, and (3) to characterize the hydromechanical controls on glacier sliding. A wide range of methods is being used, from ground-based manual measurements to space-based remote sensing. The observations to date show glaciers out of equilibrium, with significant ongoing changes to glacier area, volume, and dynamics. Computer models are being used to generalize these results, and to identify the processes most critical to our understanding of the coupled glacier-climate system.
Economic incentives to increase HIV testing among adolescents in Zimbabwe: a randomised controlled trial comparing no incentive vs. fixed incentive and participation in a lottery

Kranzer, Katharina; Simms, Victoria; Bandason, Tsitsi; Dauya, Ethel; McHugh, Grace; Munyati, Shungu; Chonzi, Prosper; Dakshina, Suba; Mujuru, Hilda; Weiss, Helen A; +1 more. Ferrand, Rashida A; (2017) Economic incentives for HIV testing by adolescents in Zimbabwe: a randomised controlled trial. The lancet HIV, 5 (2). e79-e86. ISSN 2405-4704 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S23523018(17)30176-5 Downloaded from: http://researchonline.lshtm. ac.uk/id/eprint/4645578/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(17)30176-5
On the cosmological evolution of the black hole - host galaxy relation in quasars

Quasars are useful tracers of the cosmological evolution of the black hole mass–galaxy relation. We compare the expectations of semi-analytical models (SAMs) of galaxy evolution to the largest available data sets of quasar host galaxies out to z � 3. Observed quasar hosts are consistent with no evolution from the local MBH−Lhost relation and suggest a significant increase of the mass ratio � = MBH/M� (host) from z = 0t o 3. Taken at face value, this is totally at odds with the predictions of SAMs, where the intrinsic � shows little evolution and quasar host galaxies at high redshift are systematically overluminous (and/or have an undermassive BH). However, since quasars preferentially trace very massive black holes (10 9 –10 10 M� ) at the steep end of the luminosity and mass function, the ensuing
Payout and Investment Decisions Under Managerial Discretion

In traditional signalling models, high-quality firms can separate themselves from low-quality firms by using their payout policy. Standard agency theory suggests that shareholders will pressure managers to pay out all excess cash in order to avoid overinvestment. If firms have different investment opportunities, and these investment opportunities are imperfectly known to investors, signalling a la Miller and Rock (1985) does not work. Moreover, since the actual amount of excess cash is difficult to determine, attempting to induce management to disburse cash can leave the firm with either too much or too little cash available for investment. The paper examines a framework where managers' incentives are not necessarily aligned with those of the shareholders, and where the investment opportunities of various firms are different and not known by investors. As a result, dividends become an imperfect indicator of firm quality. Looking at payout policy from this angle allows us to explain and reconcile several empirical regularities found in the literature. The role of informed investors, active shareholders and repurchases is also discussed.
Optimism and emotional intelligence as potential moderators of workplace stress

Many studies have demonstrated that organisational stress is damaging to health, costly to organisations and is on the increase. This study sets out to examine two proposed moderators of stress that operate at the individual level. These are, attributional style and emotional intelligence (EI). Participants were a non-clinical population of 60 corporate employees who completed three self-report questionnaires, ASSET, measuring individual stress, the Attributional Style Questionnaire, measuring attributional style and the Individual Effectiveness Questionnaire, measuring emotional intelligence. Correlation and multiple regression analyses showed that whilst some aspects of attributional style were significant and correlated with lower levels of stress in this research attributional style was not a potential moderator. Considering emotional intelligence, 11 of the 16 scales were significant and correlated highly with lower levels of stress. Importantly, emotional resilience was the single predictor of lower levels of stress accounting for most of the variance. It is proposed that EI is changeable and developable; therefore, the potential implications of these findings are that developing emotional resilience at the individual level may be of benefit in protecting individuals from organisational stress.
Are Cooperatives More Productive than Investor‐Owned Firms? Cross‐Industry Evidence from Portugal

We analyse empirically whether cooperatives and investor-owned fims differ in terms of productive efficiency. Using rich Portuguese panel data covering a wide range of industries, we apply two different empirical approaches to estimate potential diffferences in total factor productivity between the two groups of fi rms. The results from our benchmark random-effects model show that cooperatives are signi cantly less productive, on average, than investor-owned fi rms. This conclusion is to a large extent confi rmed by the results from System-GMM estimations. The lower productivity of cooperatives applies to a wide spectrum of industries. In six out of thirteen industries, cooperatives are outperformed by investor-owned firms in all empirical speci cations considered, while there is no industry in which cooperatives are consistently found to be the more productive type of firm.