Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A model using marginal efficiency of investment to analyze carbon and nitrogen interactions in terrestrial ecosystems (ACONITE Version 1)

Abstract. Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles are coupled in terrestrial ecosystems through multiple processes including photosynthesis, tissue allocation, respiration, N fixation, N uptake, and decomposition of litter and soil organic matter. Capturing the constraint of N on terrestrial C uptake and storage has been a focus of the Earth System Modeling community. However, there is little understanding of the trade-offs and sensitivities of allocating C and N to different tissues in order to optimize the productivity of plants. Here we describe a new, simple model of ecosystem C–N cycling and interactions (ACONITE), that builds on theory related to plant economics in order to predict key ecosystem properties (leaf area index, leaf C : N, N fixation, and plant C use efficiency) based on the outcome of assessments of the marginal change in net C or N uptake associated with a change in allocation of C or N to plant tissues. We simulated and evaluated steady-state ecosystem stocks and fluxes in three different forest ecosystems types (tropical evergreen, temperate deciduous, and temperate evergreen). Leaf C : N differed among the three ecosystem types (temperate deciduous
Letter and numeral identification: their relationship with early literacy and numeracy skills

ABSTRACT The relationship between letter and numeral identification is reviewed to determine whether early identification of these symbols impact upon both literacy and numeracy development. Numerals and letters share similar perceptual properties such as geometric features and arbitrary labels. Through early socio-cultural experiences with surrounding print, children learn to differentiate between these symbols and name them. This knowledge prepares them for the acquisition of conventional literacy and numeracy skills. Studies show that numeral and letter identification are correlated at an early age. Moreover, numeral identification predicts early literacy skills such as word reading. Also, some evidence shows a relationship between letter identification and numeracy skills. The implications of the relationships between letter and numeral identification and subsequent literacy and numeracy skills for research and education are discussed, although further research is warranted. Practical strategies for fostering both numeral and letter identification in young children are suggested.
Revisiting the Steering Principal of Tropical Cyclone Motion

The steering principle of tropical cyclone motion has been applied to tropical cyclone forecasting and research for nearly 100 years. Two fundamental questions remain unanswered. One is why the steering flow plays a dominant role in tropical cyclone motion, and the other is when tropical cyclone motion deviates considerably from the steering. A high-resolution numerical experiment was conducted with the tropical cyclone in a typical large-scale monsoon trough over the western North Pacific. The simulated tropical cyclone experiences two eyewall replacement processes. Based on the potential vorticity tendency (PVT) diagnostics, this study demonstrates that the conventional steering, which is calculated over a certain radius from the tropical cyclone center in the horizontal and a deep pressure layer in the vertical, plays a dominant role in tropical cyclone motion since the contributions from other processes are largely cancelled out due to the coherent structure of tropical cyclone circulation. Resulting from the asymmetric dynamics of the tropical cyclone inner core, the trochoidal motion around the mean tropical cyclone track cannot be accounted for by the conventional steering. The instantaneous tropical cyclone motion can considerably deviate from the conventional steering that approximately accounts for the combined effect of the contribution of the advection of the symmetric potential vorticity component by the asymmetric flow and the contribution from the advection of the wave-number-one potential vorticity component by the symmetric flow.
SURVEY RESULTS OF TOTAL PRODUCTIVE MAINTENANCE EFFECTS ON MANUFACTURING PERFORMANCE IN MALAYSIA ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY

Many frameworks of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) elements have been proposed by different authors in the literature. However, most of them are based on studies done in countries such Japan, Italy, USA, China and India. There is a need to evaluate TPM elements/strategies and their contribution towards manufacturing performance in electrical and electronics industry in Malaysia. Towards that end, a survey was conducted where questionnaires are sent to 240 companies in the electrical and electronic industry in Malaysia with the resulting response rate of 12.5 %. The TPM element most emphasized in Malaysian electrical and electronics industry is planned maintenance management while the least emphasized element is top management leadership. Using Pearson Correlation Coefficient, the correlation between TPM elements emphasis and manufacturing performance dimension was determined. The study found that TPM elements – top management leadership, planned maintenance management, focused improvement, autonomous maintenance and education and training have significant contribution towards manufacturing performance such as lower cost, higher quality, strong delivery and increased productivity. These five elements could be used as a guideline for companies wanting to implement TPM as well as evidence to convince management of the importance of TPM towards the organization. Besides that, this study also found no significant differences of TPM element practices between electrical and electronic industry while only some elements are significant between small medium industry (SME) and large companies. In addition, the longer TPM is practiced, the more improvement resulted in manufacturing performance.
Understanding the Macroeconomic Effects of Working Capital in the UK ∗

In this paper we first document the behaviour of working capital over the business cycle stressing the large negative effect of the recent credit contraction on UK firms working capital positions. In order to understand the effects of working capital on macroeconomic variables, we solve and calibrate an otherwise standard flexible-price DSGE model that introduces an explicit role for the components of working capital as well as a banking sector which intermediates credit. We find that financial intermediation shocks, similar to those experienced post-2007, have persistent negative effects on economic activity; these effects are reinforced by reductions in trade credit. Our model admits a crucial role for monetary policy to offset such shocks. THIS PAPER IS STILL AWAITING FINAL CLEARANCE FROM THE BANK OF ENGLAND PRESS OFFICE AND THEREFORE SHOULD NOT BE QUOTED WITHOUT THE PRIOR PERMISSION OF THE AUTHORS.
Fatigue characterization of mechanical components in service

The quickly identify of fatigue limit of a mechanical component with good approximation is currently a significant practical problem not yet resolved in a satisfactory way. Generally, for a mechanical component, the fatigue strength reduction factor ( ? i) is difficult to evaluate especially when it is in service. In this paper, the procedures for crack paths individuation and consequently damage evaluation (adopted in laboratory for stressed specimens with planned load histories) are applied to mechanical components, already failed during service. The energy parameters, proposed by the authors for the evaluation of the fatigue behavior of the materials [1-5], are defined on specimens derived from a flange bolts. The flange connecting pipes at high temperature and pressure. Due to the loss of the seal, the bolts have been subjected to a hot flow steam addition to the normal stress. The numerical analysis coupled experimental analysis (measurement of surface temperature during static and dynamic tests of specimens taken from damaged tie rods), has helped to determine the causes of failure of the tie rods. The determination of an energy parameter for the evaluation of the damage showed that factors related to the heat release of the material (loaded) may also help to understand the causes of failure of mechanical components.
Vineyards in Terraced Landscapes: New Opportunities from Lidar Data

Vineyard landscapes are a relevant part of the European culture, and several authors concluded that they are the agricultural practice that causes the highest soil loss. Grape quality depends on the availability of water, and soil erosion is an important parameter dictating the vineyard sustainability; therefore, soil and water conservation measures are often implemented. Among them, the construction of terraces is the most widely used system. However, while favouring agricultural activities, terraces if not properly maintained can lead to local instabilities creating hazards for settlements and cultivations, and for the related economy. Terraced fields are also served by agricultural roads that can have deep effects on water flows triggering surface erosion. The goal of this research is to use lidar elevation data for a hydro‐geomorphological analysis of terraced vineyards. The work is divided in two parts. At first, the Relative Path Impact Index is tested in two vineyards to identify terrace‐induced and road‐induced erosions. Statistical thresholds of the Relative Path Impact Index are then defined to label the most critical areas. On the second step, using the index and the defined thresholds, we simulate different scenarios of soil conservation measures, establishing the optimal solution to reduce erosion. The results highlight the effectiveness of high‐resolution topography in the analysis of surface erosion in terraced vineyards, when the surface water flow is the main factor triggering the instabilities. The proposed analysis can help in scheduling a suitable planning to mitigate the consequences of the anthropogenic alterations induced by the terraces and agricultural roads. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gender differences in the haematotoxicity and weight changes associated with exposure to gasoline vapours in Wistar albino rats

Gender differences in haematotoxicity and weight changes associated with exposure to gasoline vapours (6hrs/day for 20 weeks) in rats was assessed in this study. The results showed that the levels of Hb, PCV and RBC counts in both male and female rats reduced significantly, while the WBC count increased significantly (P<0.05) in female and insignificantly (P>0.05) in male rats, exposed to gasoline vapours. The comparative percentage decrease in Hb, PCV, RBC were significantly higher (P<0.05) in female rats than males. Also, the comparative percentage increase in WBC in females was significantly higher (P<0.05) than males. Moreover percentage weight increase was significantly higher in males and lower in females, while percentage growth rate decreased significantly (P<0.05) in both male and female rats exposed to gasoline. The results of this study showed that haematotoxicity and weight changes associated with exposure to gasoline vapours are sex-dependent; with females being more vulnerable.
From "Wildland-Urban Interface" to "Wildfire Interface Zone" using dynamic fire modelling

The interface zone in relation to wildfires has been defined in many ways. Some definitions have been tailored for particular applications. There is no consistent way of defining the interface or demarcating it on the ground. Current definitions are based more on the ease of application rather than the likely penetration of a wildfire into a residential area. There is a need to have a more consistent and relevant definition of the interface zone for planning, warnings and regulations. The reality is that the interface zone at a particular location will vary depending on the weather, fuel, scale of fire and terrain at any one time so these factors should be included in defining the interface zone. The interface zone has been referred to in several different ways: it has been called the "I-Zone", "Wildland- Urban Interface (WUI)", "Rural-Urban Interface", "Urban-Interface", "Chaparral-Urban Interface" (Radtke, 1983) and possibly others. These names themselves contribute to a level of confusion when talking about exposure to wildfire. Interestingly, all the names are euphemisms for what is really of interest - the interface with wildfire. The term "interface" implies a zone where residential areas and wildfires will mix. The extent of the wildfire interface is therefore the extent to which a wildfire can penetrate a residential area before it either self- extinguishes or transitions into an urban fire where the progression becomes dominated by structure-to- structure ignition rather than via wildland fuels. It therefore follows that the majority of house loss caused by wildfires would occur in what we propose should be called the "Wildfire Interface Zone" (WIZ). Dynamic wildfire characterization simulators such as PHOENIX RapidFire (Tolhurst et al., 2008) have provided a means for defining the Wildfire Interface, taking into account potential fire size, intensity and ember density. PHOENIX RapidFire takes into account the spatial and temporal distribution of fuels, fire, weather, terrain, ignition time and location and modifications to fuels caused by recent fires or other fuel modification works and disruptions to fuels caused by roads, rivers, fuelbreaks, and other linear fuel-free areas.
House Prices and Job Losses

Why are house prices -80% correlated with job losses over the UK business cycle? My paper studies this striking fact together with the strong comovements between house prices and labour market variables in general. First, a regional panel is estimated to quantify the impact of house prices on the unemployment, job finding and job separation rates, whereby rejection rates of planning applications are used as instruments to find exogenous variation in house prices. Second, an orthogonalised VAR is used to estimate the aggregate impact of house price shocks. Both methods confirm the large impact of house price shocks on labour market variables and credit supply. To understand the mechanism, a general equilibrium model with collateral constraints, endogenous job separation and housing shocks is confronted with macroeconomic data via Bayesian methods. The results suggest that shocks to house prices (i) explain about 10% of output fluctuations and about 20% of fluctuations in corporate credit, unemployment and job separation rates via the collateral channel over the forecast horizon, and (ii) were a major cause in triggering the 1990 and 2008 recessions in the UK.
The Space of Virtual Solutions to the Warped Product Einstein Equation

In this paper we introduce a vector space of virtual warping functions that yield Einstein metrics over a fixed base. There is a natural quadratic form on this space and we study how this form interacts with the geometry. We use this structure along with the results in our earlier paper [HPW3] to show that essentially every warped product Einstein manifold admits a particularly nice warped product structure that we call basic. As applications we give a sharp characterization of when a homogeneous Einstein metric can be a warped product and also generalize a construction of Lauret showing that any algebraic soliton on a general Lie group can be extended to a left invariant Einstein metric.
Carbonate chemistry in the Mertz Polynya (East Antarctica): Biological and physical modification of dense water outflows and the export of anthropogenic CO2

[1] Dense shelf water (DSW) is formed in East Antarctica from enhanced sea-ice production driven by air-sea interaction in coastal polynyas. Cross-shelf export and downslope mixing of this DSW produces Antarctic Bottom Water, contributing to the lower limb of the global overturning circulation. We present biogeochemical observations from the Mertz Polynya region in summer 2007/2008, with additional observations from spring 2001 and winter 1996. The seasonal changes in mixed-layer carbonate chemistry are driven by a combination of air-sea CO2 exchange, biological activity and the formation and melt of sea-ice. The air-sea fluxes in 2008 were ∼15 mmol C m−2 d−1, and net community production, estimated from the summertime surface dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) deficit, ranged from 0.9 to 1.2 mol C m−2 yr−1. We show that biological modification of carbonate chemistry over the shelf in summer preconditions the DSW outflows from the Adelie Depression. This process appears to supply both organic material, and water depleted in CO2, and with enhanced carbonate saturation state (relative to inflowing water), to coral communities on the slope. We combined model-based transports of exported DSW with the natural and anthropogenic (Cant) carbon concentrations and estimate that the annual outflows of DIC and Cant from the Mertz Polynya range from 320 to 560 Tg C yr−1, and from 3 to 6 Tg Cant yr−1, respectively. The formation and export of dense water from this region, and by extension all similar polynyas around Antarctica, is an effective mechanism for the transfer of anthropogenic carbon into the deep ocean.
Going concern opinions are not bad news : Evidence from industry rivals

This paper examines whether going concern audit opinions (GCO) affect the stock price performance of the announcing firms and their industry rivals. Our original evidence clearly suggests that such accounting event is asymmetrically perceived by the market depending on whether the firm is qualified by the auditor or not. In particular, firms receiving a GCO earn negative abnormal returns at the audit report’s disclosure date and over the following year whereas their industry rivals exhibit positive abnormal returns at the GCO date and in the subsequent one-month period. This is in contrast with the preevent abnormal returns, which, on average, are negative and significant for all firms operating within the industry. Overall, we highlight the relevance of audit opinions and mandatory accounting information for the timing of transactions in financial markets.
Effects of Social Networking on Iranian EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Acquisition

The study aimed to scrutinize social networking effects on Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary acquisition. Eighty Iranian EFL learners at the intermediate level participated in a pretest-posttest study after taking the placement test. They were then divided into an experimental group whose participants were supposed to equip their mobile phones or tablet PCs with a social networking application, that is, Line and form an online group to take part in eighteen virtual instructional sessions. Participants of the control group, however, underwent classroom learning during which target words were presented through routine classroom activities. Results of the independent-samples t-test in the posttest indicated that participants of the experimental group outperformed those of the control group. Results have important implications for both pedagogy and theory, especially socio-cultural theories of second language development.
Effects of Plyometric and Explosive Speed Training on Recreational Marathoners

BACKGROUND: Plyometric training has been shown to improve performance in distance running events up to 5-km, but little research has been done on this type of training for marathon (42.195-km) runners. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of plyometric and explosive speed training (PLYO) on recreational marathoners. METHODS: Twenty-two subjects (ages 18-23), were randomized to either PLYO or core training (CORE) for a weekly session performed for 12 weeks, in addition to marathon training. Sprint, jump, and distance running performance variables were measured preand post-intervention. RESULTS: In the sprint tests, the PLYO group improved in both the 200-m run (P ≤ 0.001) and 60-m run (P = 0.004), and trended toward improvement in the 30-m fly (P = 0.051). The difference from CORE was significant only in the 200-m (P = 0.002). The CORE group did not change in any of the sprint or jump variables. The PLYO group was significantly different from the CORE group in the standing long jump (P = 0.024). There were no differences between groups in distance running performance. Both improved in 2-mile (3.219-km) time trial (p ≤ 0.001), VO2MAX (P = 0.026 for CORE; P = 0.002 for PLYO), and running economy (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Weekly PLYO training improves sprint speed and maintains jumping ability in recreational marathoners, but does not augment improvements in distance running performance.
Pressure, Dysfunctional Behavior, Fraud Detection and Role of Information Technology in the Audit Process

This study examines the effect of information technology and pressure such as time budget and task complexity on dysfunctional audit behavior. This study tests whether dysfunctional audit behavior affects fraud detection. Data were gathered from 81 auditors in Jakarta and were analyzed using structure equation model (SEM). The results explain that pressure (time budget and complexity task) have some impacts on dysfunctional audit behavior while information technology does not affect dysfunctional audit behavior. These results also indicate that dysfunctional audit behavior has an adverse effect on fraud detection. Jobrelated stress framework explains the conditions that make stress (stressors) will affect to individual psychology, physics, and behavior (strains) and make some result (outcome). Pressure (time budget and complexity task) is the condition that makes both positive and negative effect on individual behavior. Pressure can make individuals behave dysfunctional or motivate them to give their best shot even though their work uses a lot of energy and mind to solve the problems. Raising dysfunctional audit behavior will reduce auditor’s ability to identify material misstatement in the financial statement.
Study on Application of Ensemble Prediction System Information in Tropical Cyclone Track Forecasting

The use of ensemble prediction system (EPS) information in tropical cyclone track forecasting was studied, based on a homogeneous dataset for 2005-2006 from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) EPS and European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) EPS. No conclusive advantage was found by including the simple ensemble mean tracks of EPS in the multi-model consensus for short-range forecasts. A slight reduction in the forecast error seemed to emerge in the medium-range but the results were not statistically significant. It was found that the high correlation of forecast errors had resulted in the relatively low skill observed by adding the EPS forecasts to the multi-model consensus. The EPS, with dozens of members, was shown to be more effective in capturing the motion of tropical cyclones when compared with the multi-model consensus. Both the EPS and the multi-model consensus displayed a common tendency with the model storm vortices moving slower and slower in time, along with the development of a slight right bias in the latter part of the forecast range. Also, no clear correlation was found between the forecast spread of EPS and the forecast error, making the former an unreliable indicator for assessing the uncertainty in tropical cyclone movement.