Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Why do we expect glacier melting to increase under global warming

Media stories about global warming almost always mention ? melting glaciers? and their effects upon global sealevel. The reader might therefore ask why the title of this chapter includes a question mark. It may seem blindingly obvious that global warming will cause a rise in global sealevel with a substantial contribution from melting glaciers, but the reasons are less obvious despite the copious literature. For example, the IPCC assessment reports 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2007 all include many references to published papers on glaciers (IPCC, 2011). These are admirable summaries of who has said what, or who has done what, but they do not explain why. My purpose for the present chapter is to provide a clear narrative on why we expect glacier melting to increase with any change in temperature, whether due to global warming or to natural fluctuations. By its very nature, the why of increased glacier melting must also answer the question of how much extra melting? The present chapter demonstrates empirically that higher melt is associated with higher air temperature. I do this in three stages: (1) correlating daily melt with daily air temperature for some Arctic and/or Greenland locations, (2) linking the results to the wider literature on the degree-method, and (3) showing that recent changes in glacier mass balance in the Alps are consistent with higher air temperatures in and around the Alps.
Optimising resolution and improvement strategies for emerging geodatabases in developing countries

Geotechnical and geological data are needed for the seismic hazard assessments that inform earthquake risk management and resilient engineering design. This paper reviews information typical of that available in developing countries for the definition of the shear wave velocity in the first 30 meters of soil (VS30). This paper aims to determine optimal resolutions for different data sources in relation to the definition of VS30 maps and the identification of an optimal strategy for localisation of new site investigations (i.e., new boreholes). The context of developing countries, being characterised by endemic lack of high-quality archived data and lack of systematic financial sources, makes the scope of the study challenging and different from the geological and geotechnical approaches typically used in developed countries. Within this context, the auxiliary employment of empirical correlations for the evaluation of VS30 is also discussed as a means of defining cost-effective investigation strategies for developing countries. The Kathmandu Basin in Nepal is used as a representative case study. Preliminary data collected within the University of Bristol led project SAFER Seismic Safety and Resilience of Schools in Nepal are critically analysed to the aim of identifying (i) the critical resolution for geodatabase layers (e.g., the digital elevation model) and (ii) the best location for new borehole tests aimed at improving the quality of the VS30 model for the Basin. The approach outlined for Nepal is applicable to other seismic prone areas in the developing world.
Measuring out-of-time-order correlators on a nuclear magnetic resonance quantum simulator

The idea of the out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) has recently emerged in the study of both condensed matter systems and gravitational systems. It not only plays a key role in investigating the holographic duality between a strongly interacting quantum system and a gravitational system, but also diagnoses the chaotic behavior of many-body quantum systems and characterizes the information scrambling. Based on the OTOCs, three different concepts -- quantum chaos, holographic duality, and information scrambling -- are found to be intimately related to each other. Despite of its theoretical importance, the experimental measurement of the OTOC is quite challenging and so far there is no experimental measurement of the OTOC for local operators. Here we report the measurement of OTOCs of local operators for an Ising spin chain on a nuclear magnetic resonance quantum simulator. We observe that the OTOC behaves differently in the integrable and non-integrable cases. Based on the recent discovered relationship between OTOCs and the growth of entanglement entropy in the many-body system, we extract the entanglement entropy from the measured OTOCs, which clearly shows that the information entropy oscillates in time for integrable models and scrambles for non-intgrable models. With the measured OTOCs, we also obtain the experimental result of the butterfly velocity, which measures the speed of correlation propagation. Our experiment paves a way for experimentally studying quantum chaos, holographic duality, and information scrambling in many-body quantum systems with quantum simulators.
Type Ia supernova parameter estimation: a comparison of two approaches using current datasets

We compare the traditional χ 2 and complete-likelihood approaches for determining parameter constraints from type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) when the magnitude dispersion is to be estimated as well. The dataset we used was sample combination “e” from Kessler (2009, ApJS, 185, 32), comprising the first-year SDSS-II Supernova Survey together with ESSENCE, SNLS, HST, and a compilation of nearby SNe Ia. We considered cosmological constant + cold dark matter (ΛCDM) and spatially flat, constant w dark energy + cold dark matter (FwCDM) cosmological models and show that, for current data, there is a small difference in the best-fit values and a difference of about 30% in confidence contour areas if the MLCS2k2 light-curve fitter is adopted. For the SALT2 light-curve fitter the differences in area are less significant (<13%). In both cases the likelihood approach gives more restrictive constraints. We argue for using the complete likelihood instead of the χ 2 approach when dealing with parameters in the expression for the variance.
Rice Biotechnology: Helping or Hurting Farmers in the Philippines

Rice is a staple crop in developing countries in Asia. By examining resource-poor and smallholder rice farmers in the Philippines, this article studies the impact of rice biotechnology, by analyzing if adoption of hybrid rice varieties results in improved farmer conditions. Using a propensity score matching approach, the analysis compares the differences in total production between adopters of hybrid seed and non-adopters, while accounting for self-selection bias and the possibility of endogenous factors. From this analysis, it is not clear if rice farmers benefit from hybrid rice seed adoption, as there is a consistent change of sign in farmer benefits between seasons. In the wet season, there is a negative difference in total rice production between adopters of hybrid seed and non-adopters; whereas in the dry season, this difference is positive. Future studies examining farmer benefits of technological adoption should employ a matching approach to correctly compare the effects on adopters and non-adopters.
A finite-element study of a piezoelectric/poroelastic sound package concept

This paper presents a complete finite-element description of a hybrid passive/active sound package concept for acoustic insulation. The sandwich created includes a poroelastic core and piezoelectric patches to ensure high panel performance over the medium/high and low frequencies, respectively. All layers are modelled thanks to a Comsol environmentComsol is the new name of the finite element software previously called Femlab. The piezoelectric/elastic and poroelastic/elastic coupling are fully considered. The study highlights the reliability of the model by comparing results with those obtained from the Ansys finite-element software and with analytical developments. The chosen shape functions and mesh convergence rate for each layer are discussed in terms of dynamic behaviour. Several layer configurations are then tested, with the aim of designing the panel and its hybrid functionality in an optimal manner. The differences in frequency responses are discussed from a physical perspective. Lastly, an initial experimental test shows the concept to be promising.
Internal Marketing Activities in Higher Education

The aim of this paper is to develop valid measurements to investigate the concept of 'Internal Marketing’ (IM) inhigher education institutions. The study confirms that the measurement instrument for IM is the 28items whichcan be validly and reliably measured using the SIX multi-item components of: Employee Development, InternalMarket Research, Internal Communications, Performance Incentives, Management Support and Vision aboutExcellent Service. The effect of IM on job satisfaction, organizational commitment and student satisfaction wasalso hypothesized and tested using SmartPLS.However, the findings indicate that although IM has a significanteffect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment, its effect is not substantial, which means that there areother drivers of job satisfaction and organizational commitment.Therefore, future research is encouraged toidentify those drivers. Moreover, the effect of job satisfaction and organizational commitment on studentsatisfactionis not substantial, which means that although these two variables are necessary, they are notsufficient conditions to ensure student satisfaction.
SEQUENTIAL STREAMING REDUCES THE EFFECT OF NON-SIMULTANEOUS MASKING ON AUDITORY INTENSITY RESOLUTION

The role of auditory object formation for intensity resolution was investigated by measuring intensity difference limens (DLs) for a pure-tone standard (1 kHz, 30 or 60 dB SPL) under four different masking conditions. All maskers were 935.4-Hz tones with a level of 85 dB SPL. In a two-interval intensity discrimination task, each interval contained a forward masker, a backward masker, or both. Finally, in the streaming condition, the two target tones (standard and standard-plus-increment) were embedded in an isochronous sequence of eight maskers. Maskers and targets in the streaming condition were expected to be perceptually organized as separate auditory streams, which should facilitate selective attention to the targets. In contrast, in the remaining conditions the maskers and the target presented in each interval were expected to be grouped together on the basis of temporal proximity. Compatible with this hypothesis, the masker-induced elevation in the intensity DLs was significantly smaller in the streaming condition than in the remaining conditions. This result supports the hypothesis that the effects of non-simultaneous maskers on intensity discrimination are reduced if the standard and the masker are perceived as separate auditory objects.
Working with archived classic family and community studies: illuminating past and present conventions around acceptable research practice

This article addresses the ways that working with archived classic family and communities studies from the 1960s can throw a different light on past and present research conventions around acceptable research practice. We consider the constitution of ‘good’ methodological conduct through looking at the nature of data and acknowledgement of who generates it, culminating in a focus on the implications of acceptable and unacceptable researcher accounts. Past conventions raise questions about the merging of primary data and context alongside which is active in the research field, while present understandings of ‘good’ ethical practice become a suspect narrative.
The Central Basin Spreading Center in the Philippine Sea: Structure of an extinct spreading center and implications for marginal basin formation

[1] Newly acquired marine geophysical data along the Central Basin Spreading Center (CBSC), the extinct spreading axis of the West Philippine Basin (WPB), display along-axis variations of spreading style. We have described and analyzed the tectonic spreading fabric and segmentation patterns along a 1000-km-long section of the fossil ridge between 126°00′ and 133°30′E. “Slow-spreading features” (deep rift valleys and nodal basins, rough abyssal hills on the ridge flanks, and mantle Bouguer anomaly lows beneath segment centers) are observed in the eastern CBSC. In contrast, “fast-spreading” features (overlapping spreading centers, volcanic axial ridges, and smooth abyssal hill fabric) are identified along the western CBSC. We attribute the large morphological and geophysical variations along the CBSC to higher melt supply in the western region caused by high mantle temperature and/or mantle heterogeneity, which may be related to a relatively small-scale mantle plume forming the oceanic plateaus located in the WPB. Another prominent feature of the CBSC is the development of a deep valley oblique to the spreading fabric. Reconstructions of the plate boundary geometry through time, using abyssal hill geometry as well as other measurements, provide evidence for a later stage of amagmatic extension (i.e., reactivation) along the CBSC after the formation of the main basin. This stage is dominated by tectonic deformation with minor amounts of volcanism (mainly located in eastern segments), resulting in the observed surface brittle deformation distributed within a broad zone of ductile deformation.
Effect of Smartphone Brand Satisfaction on the Purchase of Other Smart Devices of the Same Brand

This research focuses on the effect of brand perceptions formed through the usage of a smartphone on user satisfaction and on subsequent purchasing decisions for other smart devices of the same brand, using the theoretical background of the Expectation-Confirmation Model in IT. This study showed that the brand expectation confirmation before and after using a smartphone affected brand user experiences (perceived usefulness, perceived playfulness, and perceived aesthetics) significantly. This study is meaningful in that it has defined the perceived playfulness and perceived aesthetics in the existing ECM-IT as ‘user brand experience’ factors, and confirmed the relevant correlations. Also, the confirmation that smartphone usage experience can be fully transferred a user’s intention to purchase other smart devices is what differentiates this study with other studies. The research results show that the user’s playfulness and aesthetics perception formed through smartphone brand usage experience affects both the brand usage satisfaction and the purchase intention of portable and non-portable devices.
Nutrient allocation, accumulation and above-ground biomass in grey alder and hybrid alder plantations

The aim of the present work was to investigate the nutrient (N,P,K) allocation and accumulation in grey alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench) and hybrid alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench × Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. ) plantations growing on former agricultural land and to estimate the above-ground biomass production during 4 years after establishment. In August of the 4th year, when leaf mass was at its maximum, the amount of nitrogen accumulated in above-ground biomass of grey alder stand was 142.0 kg ha–1, the amount of phosphorus 16.3 kg ha–1 and the amount of potassium 49.5 kg ha–1. The amount of nitrogen accumulated in a hybrid alder stand totalled 76.8 kg ha–1, that of phosphorus 6.2 kg ha–1 and that of potassium 28.2 kg ha–1. The smaller amounts of N,P and K bound in the hybrid alder plantation are related to the smaller biomass of the stand. Still, the amounts of N,P and K consumed for the production of one ton of biomass were similar in the case of up to 4-year-old grey alder and hybrid alder stands. In the 4th year, the amount of nutrients consumed in one ton of biomass produced were: 16.0 kg N, 1.6 kg P and 5.4 kg K for grey alder and 14.6 kg N, 1.1 kg P and 5.2 kg K for hybrid alder. In the 4th year the total above-ground biomass (dry mass) of grey alder (15 750 plants ha–1) amounted to 12.3 t ha–1, current annual increment being 6.7 t ha–1. In hybrid alder stands (6700 plants ha–1), the respective fi gures were 6.1 t ha–1 and 4.5 t ha–1. Comparison of the production capacity on the basis of mean stem mass in the 4th year revealed that the stem mass of grey alder exceeded that of hybrid alder (0.64 kg and 0.58 kg, respectively). Grey alder outpaced hybrid alder in height growth; in the 4th year after establishment, the mean height of the grey alder stand was 4.6 ± 0.9 m and that of the hybrid alder plantation 3.5 ± 0.9 m.
Early development of executive attention

Executive attention (EA) encompasses a variety of attention mechanisms implicated in the control of thoughts and behavior. The emergence of EA skills depends on the maturation of frontal brain structures. Evidence in the past years has shown that frontal brain structures related to EA are already functional in the first months of life and first signs of EA can be observed by the second half of the first year of life. Given the importance of EA to a wide range of developmental outcomes (e.g. academic and professional outcomes, socialization, psychological wellbeing, etc.), understanding early stages of development is of great interest for the promotion of EA and the prevention of EA-related deficits over the course of development. Despite its relevance, relatively little is known about the development of EA before the preschool years. This paper aims at providing a selective review of the existing literature about the early development of EA. We present the principal measures of EA for infants and toddlers available to date. We also review main findings on behavioral as well as brain mechanisms of EA in infancy and toddlerhood. Finally, we summarize research on early indicators of EA and its implication for the early detection of some developmental disorders.
Gender Disparities in Physician-Patient Communication Among African American Patients in Primary Care

This study investigates the role of gender in physician-patient communication among African American patients in primary care. Patients (N = 137) aged 33 to 67 were nested within 79 southern California primary care physicians' practices. In 48 interactions (35%), the physician was female and/or a member of a minority group. The study directly assessed gender differences through audiotaped physician-patient interactions as well as by measuring patients' and physicians' perceptions of their visit. This study employed a multi-informant design, in which independent raters assessed both physician and patient in audiotaped interactions, and both physician and patient self-reported on aspects of their visit. Discussions of prevention and health promotion were found to be significantly more common with male patients than with female patients but only when the physician was a nonminority male; these disparities disappeared when the physician was female and/or minority. Findings are discussed in terms of physician training, particularly for men and nonminorities.
The relative importance of psychological acceptance and emotional intelligence to workplace well-being

Psychological acceptance (acceptance) and emotional intelligence (EI) are two relatively new individual characteristics that are hypothesised to affect well-being and performance at work. This study compares both of them, in terms of their ability to predict various well-being outcomes (i.e. general mental health, physical well-being, and job satisfaction). In making this comparison, the effects of job control are accounted for; this is a work organisation variable that is consistently associated with occupational health and performance. Results from 290 United Kingdom workers showed that EI did not significantly predict any of the well-being outcomes, after accounting for acceptance and job control. Acceptance predicted general mental health and physical well-being but not job satisfaction, and job control was associated with job satisfaction only. Discussion focuses on the theoretical and applied implications of these findings. These include support for the suggestion that not controlling one's thoughts and feelings (as advocated by acceptance) may have greater benefits for mental well-being than attempting consciously to regulate them (as EI suggests).
Moisture‐radiative cooling instability

Radiative‐convective equilibrium (RCE)—the statistical equilibrium state of the atmosphere where convection and radiation interact in the absence of lateral transport—is widely used as a basic‐state model of the tropical atmosphere. The possibility that RCE may be unstable to development of large‐scale circulation has been raised by recent modeling, theoretical, and observational studies, and could have profound consequences for our understanding of tropical meteorology and climate. Here, we study the interaction between moisture and radiative cooling as a contributor to instability of RCE. We focus on whether the total atmospheric radiative cooling decreases with column water vapor; this condition, which we call moisture‐radiative cooling instability (MRCI), provides the potential for unstable growth of moist or dry perturbations. Analytic solutions to the gray‐gas radiative transfer equations show that MRCI is satisfied when the total column optical depth—linked to column water vapor—exceeds a critical threshold. Both the threshold and the growth rate of the instability depend strongly on the shape of the water vapor perturbation. Calculations with a realistic radiative transfer model confirm the existence of MRCI for typical tropical values of column water vapor, but show even stronger dependence on the vertical structure of water vapor perturbation. Finally, we analyze the sensitivity of atmospheric radiative cooling to variability in column water vapor in observed tropical soundings. We find that clear‐sky MRCI is satisfied across a range of locations and seasons in the real tropical atmosphere, with a partial growth rate of ∼1 month.
Attention and Optimal Sensory Codes

Neuronal activity can be modulated by attention even while the sensory stimulus is held fixed. This modulation implies changes in the tuning curve (or receptive field) of the neurons involved in sensory processing. We propose an information-theoretic hypothesis for the purpose of this modulation, and show using computer simulation that the similar modulation emerges in a system that is optimally encoding a sensory stimulus when the system is informed about the changing relevance of different features of the input. We present a simple model that learns a covert attention mechanism, given input patterns and tradeoff requirements. After optimization, the system gains the ability to reorganize its computational resources (or coding strategy) depending on the incoming covert attentional signal, using only threshold shifts in neurons throughout the network. The modulation of activity of the encoding units for different attentional states qualitatively matches that observed in animal selective attention experiments. Due to its generality, the model can be applied to any modality, and to any attentional goal.