Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulating Hodgkin-Huxley-like Excitation using Comsol Multiphysics

Most simulations concerning electrical activation of human muscles are based on the modeling approach of Hodgkin and Huxley. Calculating the response of a muscle or nerve fiber membrane to an applied electrical field, needs to consider two different potential distributions. On the one hand the “macroscopic”, extracellular potential distribution in the tissue surrounding the fiber, and on the other hand the “microscopic”, intracellular potential distribution inside the fiber. Knowledge of the potential distributions in both domains is necessary for calculating the development and the propagation of action potentials along the fiber. Consequently, the simulation is based on 2 coupled models: a simplified 1D line model of a muscle fiber and a 2D model of the surrounding thigh.
Design Genetic Algorithm Optimization Education Software Based Fuzzy Controller for a Tricopter Fly Path Planning.

In this paper, the feasibility of a Genetic Algorithm Optimization (GAO) education software based Fuzzy Logic Controller (GAO-FLC) for simulating the flight motion control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is designed. The generated flight trajectories integrate the optimized Scaling Factors (SF) fuzzy controller gains by using GAO algorithm. The proposed controller underlines the superior tracking performance over standard Fuzzy Logic Controller. It is highly adaptive and can counteract environmental disturbances while guaranteeing global asymptotic stability and robust waypoint tracking.
Absolute Calibration of TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 Using GPS Buoys in Bass Strait, Australia Special Issue: Jason-1 Calibration/Validation

An absolute calibration of the TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) and Jason-1 altimeters has been undertaken during the dedicated calibration phase of the Jason-1 mission, in Bass Strait, Australia. The present study incorporates several improvements to the earlier calibration methodology used for Bass Strait, namely the use of GPS buoys and the determination of absolute bias in a purely geometrical sense, without the necessity of estimating a marine geoid. This article focuses on technical issues surrounding the GPS buoy methodology for use in altimeter calibration studies. We present absolute bias estimates computed solely from the GPS buoy deployments and derive formal uncertainty estimates for bias calculation from a single overflight at the 40–45 mm level. Estimates of the absolute bias derived from the GPS buoys is −10 ± 19 mm for T/P and +147 ± 21 mm for Jason-1 (MOE orbit) and +131 ± 21 mm for Jason-1 (GPS orbit). Considering the estimated error budget, our bias values are equivalent to other determinations from the dedicated NASA and CNES calibration sites.
GEOMETRY AND DEVELOPMENT OF VEIN SYSTEMS IN THE

Calcite veins (Figure 1) in the paving slabs outside Plymouth City Museum (Drake Circus, Plymouth) are analysed and stages in their development are inferred. The slabs are smoothly polished, are easily accessible, and have several generations of veins which act as displacement markers. The veins appear to be at high angles to the surfaces analysed. They therefore provide an ideal opportunity to examine vein development. The Middle Devonian Plymouth Limestone (Hobson, 1978) has been used extensively as a building stone and for paving slabs in Plymouth. The limestone characteristically contains solution seams, veins and deformed fossils, particularly corals and stromatolites. Extensive deformation affected the Plymouth Limestone during the Variscan Orogeny, at the end of the Carboniferous.
Co-operation and economic relationship as determinants for competitiveness in the food sector: the Spanish wheat to bread chain

The objective of the paper is to investigate the impact of co-operation amongst stakeholders of the food chain on enterprise competitiveness. The analysis focuses on the Spanish wheat to bread chain. A theoretical model is developed which covers the main components that define competitiveness (profitability, turnover, market share, customer loyalty and product quality), quality supply chain relationship (trust, commitment and satisfaction) and the main factors explaining supply chain relationship (i.e. quality and frequency of the communication, personal bounds, etc.). The Spanish wheat to bread supply chain has been chosen to empirically test the model. This sector is very fragmented all along the chain, with a high number of wheat farmers, millers and bakers. Exchanges in the sector are mainly done in the open market but there is an increasing tendency to maintain stable relationships with suppliers to assure quality. Therefore, stakeholders in the wheat to bread chain are mainly using two types of economic relationships: “repeated market transactions” and “spot market” but the former is by far the most used. Based on data from a standardised survey with farmers, processors and retailers a structural equation modelling approach has been applied to empirically test the influence of relationship quality on stakeholders’ competitiveness in the Spanish wheat to bread chain. The main conclusion of the study is that, as the quality of the relationship in the Spanish wheat to bread chain improves the stakeholder’ competitiveness increases. The results also reveal that quality of the relationship in the Spanish wheat to bread chain is based on trust, satisfaction and commitment with buyers/sellers and strongly influenced by communication quality and quantity. In addition, the outcome shows that the quality of communication has an indirect positive effect on stakeholders’ competitiveness through the relationship quality. Finally, the only factor that will influence the quality of the relationship is the equal power distribution along the chain. Moreover, personal bounds positively influence the quality of communication in the bread Spanish supply chain.
Radioisotope study of fructose adsorption at the alumina/electrolyte interface

The mechanism, kinetic and static studies of fructose adsorption at the alumina/electrolyte interface using radiolabeled C-fructose were conducted. Pseudo 2 order model of adsorption kinetics was found to fit best to adsorption as a function of time. The fructose adsorption was found to decrease with increasing pH of the solution. Considering the changes in concentration of surface groups at the alumina/electrolyte interface, the hydrogen bonding is the most probable mechanism of interaction of fructose with the surface. This is confirmed by calorimetric titration experiments because the measured heat of adsorption was 10.8 kJ/mol. For the system studied the coverage of surface by fructose was several times smaller than the monolayer.
Predictive Model for Measuring Sustainability of Manufacturing Companies

The article describes the construction of a predictive model of corporate sustainability, the DACSI Index, for measuring sustainability. The aim of the paper is to propose a predictive model DACSI Index based on economic IEcoi and non-financial indicators IESGi and appropriately selected predictive models DAEco and DAESG for manufacturing companies according to CZ-NACE classification. Predictive models were developed with the use of Multiple Discriminant Analysis (MDA). MDA results showed that the inclusion of non-financial indicators did not result in any significant changes in the classification of companies into individual groups compared to classification on the basis of economic indicators only. From MDA results it also follows that the statistical significance of non-financial indicators is low, but they signal a causal relationship between individual economic and non-financial indicators of sustainability. The results also showed that the predictive model DACSI Index, composed of economic indicators, environmental indicators, social indicators and corporate governance indicators has a much higher accuracy than the predictive model composed of economic indicators only. The essential conclusion of our research into corporate sustainability measurement is that the traditional performance assessment using economic indicators no longer suffices and does not reflect current performance of the company from the long-term perspective, and it is therefore necessary to include both economic and non-financial indicators into the predictive model DACSI Index. And the predictive model DACSI Index is just the type of model that will provide relevant information about the company’s sustainability status to both the owners and investors.DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.5755/j01.ee. 26.4. 11480
Washback Effect of General English Test of Ph.D. Entrance Exam on Science and Humanities Students: Perceptions and Practices

Testing holds an important place in the Iranian test-oriented context where the entrance examinations have serious educational and occupational outcomes. This study aimed to explore the potential washback effects of the General English Language Test of the Ph.D. (GELTP) as part of the Ph.D. University Entrance Examination (PUEE) on the humanities and science students’ perceptions and practices. The study also examined the students’ language learning needs to examine the correspondence between the test-taker’s language needs as well as the GELTP requirement and content. To this end, the data were collected through conducting interviews with 16 Ph.D. students and the administration of a questionnaire to 560 students. Results revealed minor differences in the GELTP washback effects across the science and humanities perceptions and practices. Moreover, the findings showed some mismatch between the test-takers’ language needs and the test content that affected negatively the test washback effects. Findings can have implications for raising the education and assessment authorities’ awareness to employ the students’ feedbacks in designing and modifying high-stakes tests.
Comparative Study of the Prognosis of Ischemic Cerebral Stroke Subtypes

Background: The aim of the study was to search if prognosis of ischemic cerebral stroke is affected by its subtypes with regard to its etiology, anatomical site, radiological size, and clinical severity. Methods: This study was conducted on 43 patients of both sexes with ischemic cerebral stroke admitted to the Neurology Department of Menoufia University Hospitals. Their ages were ranging from 48 to 72 years old and the mean age of cases was 61.26 ± 5.37, while in controls was 58.50 ± 4.70. Clinical severity of stroke was assessed using National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). The etiological subtypes of stroke were classified according to Trial of Organization 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment classification. The anatomical site of stroke was evaluated by using the Oxford Community Stroke Project classification. Its size was measured by neuroimaging. Favorable outcome (FO) was defined as modified Rankin scale (0 - 2) while unfavorable outcome (UO) was defined as modified Rankin scale (3 - 6) after 3 months of onset of the stroke. Results: The UO was correlated with the large vessel stroke (P 3 mm (P = 0.007). The FO was correlated with small vessel disease (P < 0.001), mild NIHSS score (P ≤ 0.0001), lacunar infarction (P < 0.001), and infarct size < 1.5 mm (P = 0.001). Conclusion: The outcome of cerebral ischemic stroke may be affected by its subtype. This may help the clinician to tailor better individual plan of management. J Neurol Res. 2017;7(4-5):80-84 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jnr450w
Salivary superoxide dismutase activity in the consumers of paan containing tobacco

Introduction: The habit of smokeless tobacco chewing is one of the known risk factors for oral cancer among the residents of southeast of Iran. Most likely, the antioxidant defense system in dealing with free radicals induced paan and prevention of oral cancer is important. In this study, the activity of super oxide dismutase is compared in the saliva of paan consumers and non-consumers. Methods: In this study, Unstimulated saliva of 87 subjects (47 paan consumers and 40 non-consumers) who referred to the Oral Medicine Department of Dentistry School of Zahedan was collected. The activity of super oxide dismutase enzyme was measured by standard biochemical methods (Mc Cord and Fridovich) and the obtained data were analyzed by statistical software SPSS-15 through non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Results: The mean activity of super oxide dismutase was significantly higher in the paan consumers group (4.4±1.6 u/mg) compared to non-consumers (3.59±1.8 u/mg, p=0.027). Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that consumption of paan leads to increased
Mobility and Sustainability: A Computational Model of African Pastoralists

This article offers a simple computational model of mobile pastoralists. Employing an agent-based modeling (ABM) approach, the model explicitly simulates the movement patterns of pastoralists and computes the resultant natural resource access for a landscape that shows the typically unpredictable dynamics of African rangeland ecology. Extensive simulations reveal a striking level of efficiency in the exploitation of resource endowments that mobile pastoralists can achieve in otherwise inhospitable environments. The simulations also illuminate the serious welfare consequences of the disruption of pastoral mobility under tight land constraints. These quantitative results are consistent with the rich qualitative evidence from the empirical literature on African pastoralism. Moreover, the article reports on several sets of i®policy experimentsi¯ that evaluate the effect of rangeland interventions on the mobility and livelihoods of pastoralists. These endeavors will pave the way for empirically richer and more policy-relevant analyses of dryland pastoralism.
Opposite policy implications in the theory of money and banking

The recent financial crisis creates a demand for welfare-based models of financial regulation and liquidity shortages. In this paper, we review policy implications from two cornerstone models and show that they imply different responses in terms of intertemporal returns of financial liabilities. In the first case, a version of the Cavalcanti and Wallace (1999), random-matching model, monitored agents are led to promote inflation in bank-issued money. In the second case, a sequential-service version of the Diamond and Dybvig (1983) model of bank runs with insolvency, increases in long-run returns can prevent bank runs by reducing the provision of liquidity.
Is the Internet creating a ‘learning gap’ among students? Evidence from the Italian PISA data

The notion of a digital divide between Internet haves and have-nots has now evolved into the broader concept of digital inequality. Based on this framework, people get greater or fewer opportunities from Internet use according to their cultural, social and professional resources. However, empirical research has focused mainly on the description of Internet usage between different social groups, without testing whether these differences actually translate into social inequalities. In this study we use learning outcomes as a proxy for high-school students' future social opportunities. Using the Italian dataset of the PISA 2009 survey we test whether students from advantaged social backgrounds gain more benefits from Internet use than their less privileged counterparts. The results show that using the Internet for schoolwork does not prove to have different impacts on students' learning outcomes depending on their social background. The challenges of these results for theories of digital inequality are discussed.
Parameterization of Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) and Absorption Angstrom Exponent (AAE) with EC/OC for Aerosol Emissions from Biomass Burning

Abstract. Single-scattering albedo (SSA) and absorption Angstrom exponent (AAE) are two critical parameters in determining the impact of absorbing aerosol on the Earth's radiative balance. Aerosol emitted by biomass burning represent a significant fraction of absorbing aerosol globally, but it remains difficult to accurately predict SSA and AAE for biomass burning aerosol. Black carbon (BC), brown carbon (BrC), and non-absorbing coatings all make substantial contributions to the absorption coefficient of biomass burning aerosol. SSA and AAE cannot be directly predicted based on fuel type because they depend strongly on burn conditions. It has been suggested that SSA can be effectively parameterized via the modified combustion efficiency (MCE) of a biomass burning event and that this would be useful because emission factors for CO and CO2, from which MCE can be calculated, are available for a large number of fuels. Here we demonstrate, with data from the FLAME-4 experiment, that for a wide variety of globally relevant biomass fuels, over a range of combustion conditions, parameterizations of SSA and AAE based on the elemental carbon (EC) to organic carbon (OC) mass ratio are quantitatively superior to parameterizations based on MCE. We show that the EC ∕ OC ratio and the ratio of EC ∕ (EC + OC) both have significantly better correlations with SSA than MCE. Furthermore, the relationship of EC ∕ (EC + OC) with SSA is linear. These improved parameterizations are significant because, similar to MCE, emission factors for EC (or black carbon) and OC are available for a wide range of biomass fuels. Fitting SSA with MCE yields correlation coefficients (Pearson's r) of ∼ 0.65 at the visible wavelengths of 405, 532, and 660 nm while fitting SSA with EC / OC or EC / (EC + OC) yields a Pearson's r of 0.94–0.97 at these same wavelengths. The strong correlation coefficient at 405 nm (r = 0.97) suggests that parameterizations based on EC / OC or EC / (EC + OC) have good predictive capabilities even for fuels in which brown carbon absorption is significant. Notably, these parameterizations are effective for emissions from Indonesian peat, which have very little black carbon but significant brown carbon (SSA = 0.990 ± 0.001 at 532 and 660 nm, SSA = 0.937 ± 0.011 at 405 nm). Finally, we demonstrate that our parameterization based on EC / (EC + OC) accurately predicts SSA during the first few hours of plume aging with data from Yokelson et al. (2009) gathered during a biomass burning event in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
Vulnerability, scar, or reciprocal risk? Temporal ordering of self-esteem and depressive symptoms over 25 years

Three models have been proposed to explain the temporal interrelation between self-esteem and symptoms of depression: vulnerability (self-esteem predicts future depressive symptoms), scar (depressive symptoms predict future self-esteem), and reciprocal risk (self-esteem and depressive symptoms predict each other in the future). This study tested these three models over 25 years in a sample of high school seniors surveyed six times from age 18 to 43 (n = 978) and in a separate sample of university graduates surveyed five times from age 23 to 30 (n = 589). In both samples, autoregressive cross-lagged modeling results were that self-esteem and symptoms of depression prospectively predicted each other at every measurement occasion. Additionally, the cross-lagged association from self-esteem to symptoms of depression and the corresponding link from depressive symptoms to future self-esteem were equally strong. These results provide support for the reciprocal risk model.
Web communication of CSR and financial performance : A study of catalan meat companies

Purpose: The objective was to examine the relationship between CSR communication on corporate websites and the financial performance of Catalan meat companies. Design/methodology: A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the CSR communication variables of corporate websites was carried out to identify the companies with the best CSR web communication practices, and an economic and financial comparative analysis was undertaken. The financial returns were modelled to determine whether CSR communication, as an independent variable, affects the net profit generated in relation to the investment of stakeholders. A set of 130 Catalan meat companies was analysed. Findings: The report provides a diagnosis of the CSR web communication and the financial health of the companies in the study period. The study contributes to the discussion of the relationship between CSR and financial performance. Research limitations/implications: Longer periods of economic and financial analysis would be beneficial, as would a more in-depth study of the online communication strategy to incorporate the views of those responsible for the strategy and stakeholders.
Evaluation of the first‐order approximations for transport in heterogeneous media

Longitudinal dispersion coefficients in given realizations of the transport computed by two currently used approximations of the first‐order in velocity variance are compared with accurate global random walk simulations. The comparisons are performed for the same ensemble of realizations of the Darcy velocity field, approximated by a quasiperiodic random field, for lognormal hydraulic conductivity with small variance and finite correlation lengths. The results show that at finite times of about one dispersion timescale, the mean coefficient is underestimated by ≈20%, and the fluctuations are overestimated by ≈80%. At larger times the errors decrease monotonously, and the first‐order approximations yield fairly good predictions for the mean and the fluctuations of the dispersion coefficient.
Optimal Pass-Through of Oil Prices in an Economy with Nominal Rigidities

In many developing and emerging market economies, governments intervene to limit the degree to which oil-price increases are passed through to domestic fuel prices. This paper investigates whether, and to what extent, this intervention is warranted in an oil-importing economy characterized by nominal rigidities in the goods and labor markets. Our results indicate that, to the extent that monetary policy is capable of stabilizing the economy, government intervention in the oil market must be avoided. On the other hand, when complete stabilization is not attainable as a result of sub-optimal monetary policy, the government can improve social welfare by limiting the degree of pass-through of oil prices. We find, however, that the welfare gain from pursuing such a policy is negligible.
Dripping or delamination? A range of mechanisms for removing the lower crust or lithosphere

c is small, a dripping, planar sheet will only transition into 3-D drips if the initial triggering perturbation is less than a third of the dense material’s thickness. This transition occurs more easily at large η ′ c , so rheological heterogeneity may be responsible for morphological transitions through time. We also calculate the rates at which delamination grows too slowly to outpace cooling of the upwelling asthenosphere, resulting in stalling and switching to dripping. Common lithospheric viscosities and observed timescales indicate that both instability transitions are feasible. Overall, the timescale and persistence of delamination depends on three parameter groups, which characterize the properties of the anomalously dense material, weak lower crustal layer and relative rate of thermal diffusion. These scalings appear to unify the varying results of previous delamination studies.
A Study of the Testing Effect in an Engineering Classroom

A Study of the Testing Effect in an Engineering Classroom Dr. Monica H. Lamm, Iowa State University Monica Lamm is an Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. Miss Shuting Yan, Iowa State University Clark R. Coffman Dr. Carly L. Manz, Iowa State University Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University Dr. Robert D Reason, Iowa State University Dr. Reason is professor of education in the School of Education at Iowa State University.