Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interaction between visual perception and mental representations of imagery and memory in the early visual areas

The relationship between mental representations based on external visual percepts (i.e., information held in short-term memory or via mental imagery) and the encoding of visual input remains unsettled. What stimulates this debate is the share of overlapping neural resources between visual short-term memory (VSTM), mental imagery and visual perception in the realm of the early visual cortex (EVC). This overlap raises a number of questions: how do internal memory and imagery representations affect the perception of incoming visual information? What happens to imagery and VSTM abilities when cognitive resources need to be shared with the encoding of visual input? In short: how do visual memory/imagery and visual perception interact? This work addressed these questions by the use of behavioral paradigms coupled with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in situations where the encoding of the visual percept (measured via the tilt after effect (TAE) magnitude or the detection of sub threshold stimulus) happens either simultaneously or subsequently to holding information in VSTM/imagery. Therefore, when VSTM and the encoding of external input occurred concurrently, VSTM maintenance was found to inhibit the visual encoding, reflected as a reduction of the TAE. Using TMS, it was shown that this inhibition takes place at the level of EVC. This reduction was found when the VSTM content matched the visual input, and when they were incongruent. However, when the encoding of external input occurred after VSTM maintenance phase had ended, VSTM maintenance was found to facilitate the former only when the VSTM content matched the visual input. The subjective strength and the contrast of VSTM and mental imagery content (as reported by participants) affect visual detection of a briefly presented masked target. The reported visual contrast was positively associated with reporting target presence for both VSTM and mental imagery, in other words, inducing a more liberal bias. However, a differential effect was found for the subjective strength of the representations. Whereas the subjective VSTM strength was positively associated with the visual detection of the target, the opposite effect was observed for imagery. Finally, TMS applied at the EVC revealed a partial dissociation in the neural basis of VSTM and mental imagery by inducing delayed responses for the former selectively. Thus, while VSTM and mental imagery share neural resources, their neural mechanisms are partly dissociable at the level of early visual cortex.
Titanium and its Alloy

Iron is acknowledged as the most useful minerals ever mined from Earth, due to the various exclusive properties it has. Its physical and mechanical properties are proven desirable, is very manageable but it also has its issues like the fact that it is heavyweight, its corrosion resistance is low and its limitation in some fields, simultaneously propelling other companies and researchers to be in the lookout for other alternatives. Many have come to know of the advantages of titanium alloys in engineering applications. They are very strong and have great corrosion resistance, and can perform well at temperatures up to approximately 600oC with a density of about 60% of engineering steels and almost half that of nickel alloys. Despite its cost and supply issues, and how it is seen as an ‘exotic’ metal, the use of titanium in aerospace and military projects is on the increase. The specific properties of titanium and its alloys indicate that the cost-effective component manufacturing requires special techniques.
Capabilities and Survival: Theorizing and Examining the Temporal Contributions of Core Organizational Capabilities to New Venture Survival ABSTRACT Organizational capabilities are of central importance to the survival of new ventures. Yet, their contributions and varying temporal effects are under t

Organizational capabilities are of central importance to the survival of new ventures. Yet, their contributions and varying temporal effects are under theorized and largely unexamined. To address these issues, we extend the capabilities life cycle concept to theorize the relative contributions of three ‘core’ organizational capabilities (R&D, Operations, and Marketing) to reducing the likelihood of failure during the first ten years of a new venture. Using a sample of 2,710 firms in the high-tech manufacturing industry from 2001 to 2010, we find that high levels of R&D capabilities surprisingly appear to increase the likelihood of failure in early years, but decrease it in later years. Conversely, Operations capabilities appear to have no effect on the likelihood of failure in early years, but decrease it in later years, whereas Marketing capabilities appear to reduce the likelihood of failure both in early and later years. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for future research and practice.
Impact of sustained professional development in STEM on outcome measures in a diverse urban district

ABSTRACT Sustained professional development can support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) reform. The authors describe a 3-year study of sustained professional development for 3 diverse urban schools across the salient factors of fidelity of implementation of project-based learning, development of professional learning communities, and student achievement. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected. The students who experienced the greatest fidelity of implementation exhibited the greatest gains (d = 1.41–2.03) on standardized test scores, while those with the lowest fidelity of implementation exhibited negative gains (d = –0.16 to –0.08). Qualitative data indicated teachers perceived there were multiple benefits from the implementation of project-based learning.
Antecedents of knowledge transfer in acquisitions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of knowledge‐specific, organizational and inter‐organizational antecedents of transfer in business acquisitions. A study gives special attention to the intrinsic nature of knowledge, absorptive capacity of the acquirer and acquiree, and inter‐firm relationships as key antecedents of transfer.Design/methodology/approach – A study provides a comprehensive literature review on the antecedents of knowledge transfer in acquisitions. The paper consolidates, annotates and critiques the existing research on knowledge‐related, organizational and inter‐organizational antecedents of transfer in a specific, yet under‐researched context of acquisitions.Findings – The paper reveals four major limitations of the current body of literature: underestimated role of ambiguous and dynamic nature of knowledge in conceptual frameworks of knowledge transfer; implicit simplifying assumptions about the role of dynamic capabilities of the two combining organizations to abs.
MOLECULAR LINE EMISSION FROM A PROTOPLANETARY DISK IRRADIATED EXTERNALLY BY A NEARBY MASSIVE STAR

Star formation often occurs within or nearby stellar clusters. Irradiation by nearby massive stars can photoevaporate protoplanetary disks around young stars (so-called proplyds) which raises questions regarding the ability of planet formation to take place in these environments. We investigate the two-dimensional physical and chemical structure of a protoplanetary disk surrounding a low-mass (T Tauri) star which is irradiated by a nearby massive O-type star to determine the survivability and observability of molecules in proplyds. Compared with an isolated star–disk system, the gas temperature ranges from a factor of a few (in the disk midplane) to around two orders of magnitude (in the disk surface) higher in the irradiated disk. Although the UV flux in the outer disk, in particular, is several orders of magnitude higher, the surface density of the disk is sufficient for effective shielding of the disk midplane so that the disk remains predominantly molecular in nature. We also find that non-volatile molecules, such as HCN and H2O, are able to freeze out onto dust grains in the disk midplane so that the formation of icy planetesimals, e.g., comets, may also be possible in proplyds. We have calculated the molecular line emission from the disk assuming LTE and determined that multiple transitions of atomic carbon, CO (and isotopologues, 13CO and C18O), HCO+, CN, and HCN may be observable with ALMA, allowing characterization of the gas column density, temperature, and optical depth in proplyds at the distance of Orion (≈400 pc).
Thermal Conductivity of Papua New Guinea Balsa Wood Measured using the Needle Probe Procedure

A study was undertaken with the aim to determine thermal properties of balsa wood grown in plantations in Papua New Guinea. Thermal conductivity values were measured using the needle probe procedure according to ASTM D5334 (2008). The mean thermal conductivity results of balsa were in the range of 0.0381 W/mK to 0.0665 W/mK, similar to other materials currently used as insulators in the construction industry. A balsa sample with a density of 113 kg m3 had the lowest thermal conductivity value, 0.0339 W/mK, across the tangential and radial wood grain directions. Balsa is exported from Papua New Guinea mostly as end-grain panels to international markets to optimise its strength properties in the axial direction for applications that are exposed to compressive forces. This study revealed that there is the opportunity for Papua New Guinea balsa processors to consider producing perpendicular-grain panels for insulation markets, as the mean thermal conductivity values in this direction can be as low as 0.0381 W/mK, which is much lower than the thermal conductivity of the current end-grain panels at 0.0665 W/mK. The finding creates a potential design opportunity for balsa processors to consider entering new commercial markets to promote Papua New Guinea-grown balsa.
Moderate-Resolution Spectroscopy of the Lensed Quasar 2237+0305: A search for Ca ii Absorption Due to the Interstellar Medium in the Foreground Lensing Galaxy

The gravitational lens system 2237 + 0305 consists of a low-redshift barred spiral galaxy (z = 0.0394) centered on a more distant quasar (z = 1.695). Because the lensing galaxy is nearly face on, spectroscoPY of the background quasar affords a unique opportunity to study the interstellar medium in the galaxy's center and buW:. We report moderate-resolution spectroscopy of QS02237 + 0305 yielding a 3u upper limit of 72 rnA forthe rest equivalent width of Ca II K absorption d);le to gas in the intervening galaxy. Since gas in the Milky Way "thick disk" typically produces 220 rnA Ca II lines along lines of sight at high galactic latitude, while our line of sight to QSO 2237 + 0305 is effectively the weighted mean of four lines of sight, each of which transects an entire halo diameter in the lensl.hg galaxy rather than just a radius, our Ca II upper limit argues against the presence. of such a thick disk near the center of the lensing galaxy. Also, published studies indicate that at 8200 A, QSO 2237 + 0305 suffers roughly 0.5 mag of extinction due to the lensing galaxy. Assuming a normal gas-to-dust ratio and allowing for various sources of uncertainty, this absorption estimate combined with our Ca II Kupper limit implies that calcium is depleted with respect to hydrogen by at least 2.7-3.7 dex, compared to solar abundances. This depletion is similar to the more extreme cases seen in our own galaxy, and higher-dispersion observations may further decrease the upper limit on Ca II absorption.
Feeding habits of the blue shark (Prionace glauca) off the coast of Brazil

Stomachs from 222 blue sharks collected along the Brazilian coast were analyzed - 116 from the northeastern region and 106 from the southern region. A total of 51 prey taxa were identified. The most important prey items in the southern region were Mysticeti whales, teleosteans, the gempylid Ruvettus pretiosus and the nomeid Arioma bondi. Cephalopods were more diverse, with dominance of vertical migrants Histioteuthis spp. , Cranchiidae and the epipelagic octopus Ocythoe tuberculata. In the northeastern region, blue sharks consumed mainly teleosteans, including the alepisaurid Alepisaurus ferox and the gempylid Gempylus serpens. Among cephalopods, Histioteuthis spp. and the epipelagic octopus Tremoctopus violaceus were the dominant items. Predation upon schooling prey was occasional, as observed on Arioma bondi. Birds also were consumed in both regions; Puffinus gravis was the fifth most frequent item in the northeastern region. During the reproductive migration cycle, blue sharks likely prey in the thermocline, which is deeper in the northeastern region and closer to the surface in the southern region.
Characterization and Quantification of Holocene colluvial and alluvial sediments in the Valdaine Region ( South-France )

This study presents a Holocene sediment budget for the Valdaine Region, located at the edge of the southern French Pre-Alps. Holocene colluvial and alluvial deposition are quantified based on existing and new field data. Average sediment thickness values were calculated for different landscape units and available chronological data were used to make a time-differentiated sediment budget. Total Holocene colluvial deposition in the Valdaine (334 km2) amounts 167 10 m3, while alluvial deposition in the Roubion and Jabron catchments (in total 610 km2, including their catchment upstream the Valdaine) amounts 177 10 m3. Especially colluvial deposition is high (0.75 10 g m) compared to other catchments. Three major deposition periods (8500 – 2000 BC; 700 BC-800 AD; 1200 AD-2000 AD) and two periods of relative hillslope stability with local fluvial incision (2000 BC-700 BC; 800-1200 AD) set the framework for a time-differentiated sediment budget. Results show that depositional phases relate to intense land use and hillslope stability and fluvial incision to land abandonment. Catchment averaged colluvial deposition increases from 13 10 m m a for 8500-2000 BC to 355 10 m m a for 1200-2000 AD, while alluvial deposition increases from 16 10 m m a to 147 10 6 m m a between the same time periods. A relationship with climatic fluctuations was not found due to the limited temporal resolution of the sediment budget. The derived sediment cascade model shows how alluvial sediments change from fine (silt and clay) to coarse (sand and gravel) after 1200 AD. This went along with the establishment of a braided river pattern indicating that the main source of sediment shifted to the mountainous headwaters. Further research including fingerprinting and modeling would be necessary to further understand the sediment budget and to more accurately quantify the different source areas and the export from the catchment.
THE 60 MONTH ALL-SKY BURST ALERT TELESCOPE SURVEY OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS AND THE ANISOTROPY OF NEARBY AGNs

Surveys above 10 keV represent one of the best resources to provide an unbiased census of the population of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We present the results of 60 months of observation of the hard X-ray sky with Swift/Burst Alert Telescope (BAT). In this time frame, BAT-detected (in the 15–55 keV band) 720 sources in an all-sky survey of which 428 are associated with AGNs, most of which are nearby. Our sample has negligible incompleteness and statistics a factor of ∼2 larger over similarly complete sets of AGNs. Our sample contains (at least) 15 bona fide Compton-thick AGNs and 3 likely candidates. Compton-thick AGNs represent ∼5% of AGN samples detected above 15 keV. We use the BAT data set to refine the determination of the log N–log S of AGNs which is extremely important, now that NuSTAR prepares for launch, toward assessing the AGN contribution to the cosmic X-ray background. We show that the log N–log S of AGNs selected above 10 keV is now established to ∼10% precision. We derive the luminosity function of Compton-thick AGNs and measure a space density of 7.9+4.1− 2.9 × 10−5 Mpc−3 for objects with a de-absorbed luminosity larger than 2 × 1042 erg s−1. As the BAT AGNs are all mostly local, they allow us to investigate the spatial distribution of AGNs in the nearby universe regardless of absorption. We find concentrations of AGNs that coincide spatially with the largest congregations of matter in the local (⩽85 Mpc) universe. There is some evidence that the fraction of Seyfert 2 objects is larger than average in the direction of these dense regions.
The Uniformly Most Powerful Invariant Test for the Shoulder Condition in Point Transect Sampling

Estimating population abundance is of primary inter est in wildlife population studies. Point transect sampling is a well established methodology f r this purpose. The usual approach for estimating the density or the size of the populatio n of interest is to assume a particular model for the detection function (the conditional probability of detecting an animal given that it is at a given distance from the observer). The two most pop ular models for this function are the halfnormal model and the negative exponential model. Ho wever, it appears that the estimates are extremely sensitive to the shape of the detection f unction, particularly to the so-called shoulder condition, which ensures that an animal is almost c er ain to be detected if it is at a small distance from the observer. The half-normal model s atisfies this condition whereas the negative exponential does not. Therefore, testing whether su ch a hypothesis is consistent with the data at hand should be a primary concern in every study con cerning the estimation of animal abundance. In this paper we propose a test for this purpose. This is the uniformly most powerful test in the class of the scale invariant tests. The asymptotic distribution of the test statistic is calculated by utilising both the half-normal and ne gative exponential model while the critical values and the power are tabulated via Monte Carlo simulations for small samples. Finally, the procedure is applied to two datasets of chipping sp arrows collected at the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, Colorado.
Variations in soil seed banks of abandoned farmlands of various ages in Umukabia Umuagbom, Abia State, Nigeria

A 3 x 5 Factorial Experiment in Randomized Complete Block design Experiment was used to study seeds stocked in soils of four abandoned farmlands and a secondary forest regrowth at Umukabia, Nigeria. Soil monoliths 25.0 x 25.0 x 10.0 cm were collected from the depths 0-10 cm and 10.0-20.0 cm from four abandoned farmlands and a secondary forest regrowth in the months of August, September and October, 2008. The experiment was replicated twice at each site for each month. Sieving- floatation method was adopted and two sieves of 1.85 mm and 0.80 mm mesh opening were used to sieve each soil monolith. The left over after sieving were air dried under the room temperature. The dried soil materials for each sample were viewed with a 10 magnifying hand lens to sort and enumerate the number of seeds contained in each sample. The seeds found at both depth of 0 - 10 cm and 10 - 20 cm were identified. After collection of the seeds, the data obtained were analyzed and the differences between the treatment means were separated using Fisher’s - Least Significant differences (F-LSD) at P<0.05. The total number of seeds counted from soil monoliths collected from the depths of 0.0 – 10.0 cm and 10.0-20.0 cm were 344 and 99, respectively. For months, September with a mean of 12.90 seeds had the highest number of seeds while seven year old abandoned farmland with a mean of 14.67 seeds had the highest number of seeds amongst the various abandoned farmlands. Except seeds of Canariums chweinfurthii and Dialium guineense no other tree seeds were recorded. It was concluded that man should help in tree seeds dispersal and seedlings maintenance within abandoned farmland of the tropical rainforest to minimize the danger of most tree species being classified as being rare or endangered. © 2013 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved. Keywords: seed stocked, soil, sieving-floatation, secondary forest, regrowth.
Detection of antibiotics residues in meat of reformed and marketed laying hens in southern Benin

The presence in meat products of antibiotic residues is of toxicological risks for the consumer. In order to protect consumers through the safety of meat from reformed and marketed laying hens, a qualitative study was conducted in southern Benin. The study was conducted in twenty laying hen farms in Abomey-Calavi, Ouidah and Porto Novo towns. The survey identified antibiotics used by farmers. In each farm, five reformed chickens ready to be marketed were randomly selected. On each bird, the sternum and right thigh were collected and analyzed by the microbiological method of four plates at the Laboratory. Results showed that farmers use eight families of antibiotics: aminoglycosides, diaminopyridines, macrolides, polypeptides, quinolones second and third generation, sulfonamides and tetracyclines. Residues of tetracyclines and aminoglycosides were found only in Abomey-Calavi town with respective proportions of 25.71 ± 10.14% and 21.41± 9.93% while residues of macrolides were observed in three localities which are Abomey-Calavi, Ouidah and Porto Novo, with respective rates of 65.71 ± 9.92%, 46 ± 15.5% and 20 ± 8.36%. From the above results, we recommend to veterinarians the efficient use of antibiotics and to poultry farmers the respect of withdrawal period. Keywords : Antibiotics residues, laying hens, sternum, thigh, Benin
IMPACTS OF ALTERED PRECIPITATION ON SPIDER MEDIATED TROPHIC CASCADE

Climate change projections show that global annual precipitation rate will rise significantly, due to the pronounced rainfall events in tropical and high-latitude regions (IPCC, 2013). Projected ramifications of climate change also show that these changes have the potential to aggravate the water scarcity in some areas, but mitigate them in others (Arnell, 1999). Many studies show that these changes in climate altering the structure and functioning of tropical ecosystems, as it is in the rest of the world (Corlett, 2012). Ecosystem functions or processes are the biological, geochemical and physical processes and components that take place or occur within an ecosystem (Maynard et al., 2010). These processes such as productivity, decomposition, nutrient cycling, fluxes of nutrients and energy are indispensable for the welfare of mankind. So understanding how alterations happen to ecosystem functions is key to efforts to foresee all the consequences of climate change (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).
An Analysis of Discovery Rules

When bargainers have access to different information, they may find it impossible to reach agreements without costly impasses. Several people use this insight to build models in which asymmetrically informed litigants fail to settle disputes, choosing instead to pursue a costly trial in order to resolve a conflict. This article develops a model in which incomplete information between litigants leads to bargaining impasses; the model is then used to compare the properties of discovery rules that govern the pretrial disclosure of information.