Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Muting of Witches

Throughout history, different cultures and groups have struggled for power, with one group often prevailing over another (Hall, 1992). One effect of this process is that the narratives of the hegemonic or dominant group become widely accepted, while the voices and experiences of the subjugated are diminished and become silent (Ardener, 1978). Women make up one group that has been traditionally silenced within many cultures. According to Van Vuuren (1973), they have been historically subjugated by the Judeo-Christian institution, in which many churches, “imposed a conviction of male supremacy and superiority on Western world women,” and labeled those who sought empowerment from this oppression and spoke against it as witches and/or, “sexual consorts of the devil” (p. 249). In her symposium on women’s based academic communication programs, Cherise Kramarae (1996) reveals that to this day, many women still feel that it is not always safe or prudent to speak— especially in terms that contradict Euro-White perspectives. This particular work examines how, like Kramarae’s constrained women, modern witches in the United States sometimes find it wiser and easier to remain silent rather than contradict or directly oppose dominant societal, often Euro-white, Christian-based, values. This study offers insight into the muting of marginalized groups through a brief review of cultural studies concepts, Muted Group Theory, and then a further examination of the silencing of witches within mainstream society and some of its dominant structures or institutions. An indepth perspective will be offered from the point of view of the American, female witch, by means of the qualitative interview. Through the use of a critical analytical framework largely based on Kramarae’s (1981) Muted Group Theory and a semi-structured interviewing method, several themes emerge which will be discussed later in the paper. The rationale for this study comes from both a perceived gap in the literature and a desire to shed light on an intercultural issue that affects the first author’s personal experiences. The muting of witches is both an intercultural and critical studies issue because it involves a subordinate culture that interacts with a larger culture often dominated by different spiritual beliefs and values. As a witch, Shorey locates herself within this marginalized group, and feels that she has been stigmatized because of her spiritual beliefs. For many of the years that she has been following the spiritual path of the Goddess she has avoided talking about that aspect of her identity, except with those who are “open-minded” or have similar practices. As a result, while participating in dominant societal institutions such as school, work, and even within family, her voice and experience as a witch have been silenced. As a member of the group she and Wickelgren are studying, she is also operating as an interpretive scholar and openly acknowledging her bias, taking her experiences and allowing it to guide the research.
Molecular and morphological characterization of Amathia distans Busk and Amathia brasiliensis Busk (Bryozoa: Ctenostomata) from the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic

Morphological and molecular analyses have proven to be complementary tools of taxonomic information for the redescription of the ctenostome bryozoans Amathia brasiliensis Busk, 1886 and Amathia distans Busk, 1886. The two species, originally described from material collected by the ‘Challenger’ expedition but synonymized by later authors, now have their status fixed by means of the selection of lectotypes, morphological observations and analyses of DNA sequences described here. The morphological characters allowing the identification of living and/or preserved specimens are (1) A. brasiliensis: whitish-pale pigment spots in the frontal surface of stolons and zooids, and a wide stolon with biserial zooid clusters growing in clockwise and anti-clockwise spirals along it, the spirality direction being maintained from maternal to daughter stolons; and (2) A. distans: bright yellow pigment spots in stolonal and zooidal surfaces including lophophores, and a slender stolon, thickly cuticularized, with biserial zooid clusters growing in clockwise and anti-clockwise spirals along it and the spirality direction not maintained from maternal to daughter stolons. Pairwise comparisons of DNA sequences of the mitochondrial genes cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and large ribosomal RNA subunit revealed deep genetic divergence between A. brasiliensis and A. distans. Finally, analyses of those sequences within a Bayesian phylogenetic context recovered their genealogical species status.
Retaining key staff in S OEs in the construction industry in China

China suffers from skills shortages especially in key staff and the construction industry is no exception. The research presents the results of a retention survey undertaken with 400 managers and technical staff in construction state owned enterprises (SOEs) in relation to eleven factors that have been identified in the, mainly western, literature to influence retention. Ten of these factors were seen to support retention at different levels of intensity with fair treatment, opportunities for learning and development, and challenging and interesting work the most significantly valued. One factor, job security, was found to not correlate with retention. The authors suggest some reasons in Chinese workplace culture for this seeming anomaly and make recommendations regarding implementing retention strategies adapted from the western context, for Chinese SOEs.
Growth Kinetics of Thiobacillus denitrificans in Anaerobic and Aerobic Chemostat Culture

SUMMARY: Thiobacillus denitrificans was cultured chemolithotrophically under aerobic and anaerobic conditions in a chemostat with thiosulphate, nitrate or nitrite as limiting nutrient. Estimations of growth yields and maintenance coefficients showed that T. denitrificans grew more efficiently than other thiobacilli both aerobically and anaerobically. Relative growth yield data enabled the probable amounts of ATP generated during thiosulphate-limited aerobic growth and nitrate-limited anaerobic growth on thiosulphate to be calculated as, respectively, 6 to 7 and 4 to 5 mol ATP formed per mol thiosulphate oxidized. The energy available from tetrathionate oxidation was almost twice that from thiosulphate.
Diversity analysis of Lasiodiplodia theobromae inciting root and collar rot of Jatropha curcas using molecular tools

Jatropha ( Jatropha curcas L.) plantation is threatened by root rot and collar rot caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae Pat. (Griffon & Maubl). Nine isolates of Lasiodiplodia theobromae collected from jatropha from various regions in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh were characterized using molecular tools. Dendrogram generated by using the 14 RAPD loci formed two clusters. The highest similarity index value of 0.50 was found between Lt-5 isolate and Lt-6 isolate. The average similarity coefficient among isolates was 0.403. The data obtained from Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with 14 arbitrary primers produced 279 loci and 861 amplicons. Out of the 279 loci produced, 266 were polymorphic and hence the total polymorphism was found to be 95.60%. Average number of amplicons per primer was found to be 19.9 and average number of polymorphic loci obtained per primer (Assay Efficiency Index) was found to be 19. Out of 14 primer, 5 successfully produced 100% polymorphism.
A Tale of Two Libraries: Space and Reading in Porto Public Libraries

Until 2001, people in Porto, Portugal could only visit or borrow books from one library − São Lázaro − located where the historical centre and the eastern end of the city meet. Then, a new building, the Almeida Garrett Library, was designed and placed in an almost equidistant position between the historical centre and the western zone. Both buildings and their reading atmospheres are quite different. Readers and professionals tend to compare them. And so the question arises: how do two different architectural spaces shape reading practices, even though they are inserted in the same city and serving potentially similar readers? The question sought to explore the interaction between people and space, in other words, how a space provided for reading may be appropriated, how it shapes reading practices, and, what social relations are performed in such reading spaces. Buildings tend to reflect both public reading and local cultural policies, even though the use of the space may alter and circumvent the programmed institutional aims. This analysis of space usage takes into account such policies and actual reading practices, along with their meanings and emotions. Social issues such as class, gender, ethnicity, age and power relationships provided a context for this analysis. As the public services and public buildings were analyzed, a research approach was designed to place reading in the context of urban public space, urban conviviality and the importance of democratic places for encounter and discovery.
A Topological Reconstruction Theorem for D ∞-Modules

In this paper, we prove that any perfect complex of D∞-modules may be reconstructed from its holomorphic solution complex provided that we keep track of the natural topology of this last complex. This is to be compared with the reconstruction theorem for regular holonomic D-modules which follows from the well-known Riemann-Hilbert correspondence. To obtain our result, we consider sheaves of holomorphic functions as sheaves with values in the category of ind-Banach spaces and study some of their homological properties. In particular, we prove that a Künneth formula holds for them and we compute their Poincaré-Verdier duals. As a corollary, we obtain the form of the kernels of “continuous” cohomological correspondences between sheaves of holomorphic forms. This allows us to prove a kind of holomorphic Schwartz’ kernel theorem and to show that D∞ ' RHomtop(O,O). Our reconstruction theorem is a direct consequence of this last isomorphism. Note that the main problem is the vanishing of the topological Ext’s and that this vanishing is a consequence of the acyclicity theorems for DFN spaces which are established in the paper.
Microscopy analysis of soils at the Phoenix landing site, Mars: Classification of soil particles and description of their optical and magnetic properties

The optical microscope onboard the Phoenix spacecraft has returned color images (4 ? m pixel? 1) of soils that were delivered to and held on various substrates. A preliminary taxonomy of Phoenix soil particles, based on color, size, and shape, identifies the following particle types [generic names in brackets]: (1) reddish fines, mostly unresolved, that are spectrally similar to (though slightly darker than) global airborne dust [red fines], (2) silt? to sand? sized brownish grains [brown sand], (3) silt? to sand? sized black grains [black sand], and (4) small amounts of whitish fines, possibly salts [white fines]. Most particles have a saturation magnetization in the range 0.5? 2 Am2 kg? 1 as inferred from their interaction with magnetic substrates. The particle size distribution has two distinct peaks below 10 ? m (fines) and in the range 20–100 ? m (grains), respectively, and is different from that of ripple soils in Gusev crater. In particular medium to large sand grains appear to be absent in Phoenix soils. Most sand grains have subrounded shape with variable texture. A fractured grain (observed on sol 112) reveals evidence of micrometer? sized crystal facets. The brown sand category displays a large diversity in color including shiny, almost colorless particles. Potential source regions for these grains may be the Tharsis volcanoes or Heimdal crater (20 km east of the landing site). The black grains are suggested to belong to a more widespread population of particles with mafic mineralogy. The absence of black/brown composite grains is consistent with different formation pathways and source regions for each grain type.
MAIZE RESPONSE TO TIME AND RATE OF NITROGEN APPLICATION

To find out effective use of nitrogen (N) in autumn planted maize (Zea mays L.) hybrid, a field experiment was conducted during 2009 at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Three N split application timings depending upon various development stages were kept in main plots and five rates of N; N1 (100 kg ha -1 ), N2 (150 kg ha -1 ), N3 (200 kg ha -1 ), N4 (250 kg ha -1 ) and N5 (300 kg ha -1 ) were randomized in sub plots. Results revealed that maximum plant growth, number of kernels per cob (419) and grain yield (8.27 t ha -1 ) were recorded in N4 treatment. Contrary maximum days to maturity (103.3 days) and biological yield (16.56 t ha -1 ) were recorded in N5 treatment. Based on the results, it was concluded that application of N in three split (at V2, V16 and R1 stage) @ 250 kg ha -1 can be recommended for achieving optimum grain yield under semi arid environment of Pakistan.
Depressurization of Vertical Pipe with Temperature Gradient Modeled with WAHA Code

The subcooled decompression under temperature gradient experiment performed by Takeda and Toda in 1979 has been reproduced using the in-house code WAHA version 3. The sudden blowdown of a pressurized water pipe under temperature gradient generates a travelling pressure wave that changes from decompression to compression, and vice versa, every time it reaches the two-phase region near the orifice break. The pressure wave amplitude and frequency are obtained at different locations of the pipe's length. The value of the wave period during the first 20 ms of the experiment seems to be correct but the pressure amplitude is overpredicted. The main three parameters that contribute to the pressure wave behavior are: the break orifice (critical flow model), the ambient pressure at the outlet, and the number of volumes used for the calculation. Recent studies using RELAP5 code have reproduced the early pressure wave (transient) of the same experiment reducing the discharge coefficient and the bubble diameter. In the present paper, the long-term pipe pressure, that is, 2 seconds after rupture, is used to estimate the break orifice that originates the pressure wave. The numerical stability of the WAHA code is clearly proven with the results using different Courant numbers.
Determination of minimal duration necessary for the isolation of humic acid contained in composted pineapple leaves

Introduction . The isolation of humic acid (Ha) from decomposed organic substances such as compost is time-consuming, as it takes not less than 24 h. We investigated whether the isolation time of Ha produced from composted pineapple leaves could be reduced. Materials and methods . Ha from 10 g of pineapple compost was extracted with 100 mL of 0.10 M NaOH. Different extraction times [(4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24) h] were tested. At the end of each time, the samples were centrifuged. The dark-colored supernatant liquor containing Ha was decanted and filtered; the pH of the solution was adjusted to 1.0. After acidification, the fractionation times tested were (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24) h. At the end of each fractionation time, the supernatant liquor (fulvic acid) was siphoned off from the acidified extract. The remainder of the suspension was transferred to a polyethylene bottle. Ha was purified by suspending it in 50 mL distilled water, then centrifuged, and the supernatant was decanted. After repeating this procedure five times, the supernatant and the fulvic acid were analyzed for Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Cu, Fe and Zn. The washed Ha was oven dried at 30 °C to a constant weight and the Ha samples were analyzed for ash and mineral matter. Results and discussion . The ash content was not more than 1%, the generally acceptable maximum value. The mineral contents decreased in Ha samples with washing. The yield of Ha significantly increased with increasing extraction time, except for the (20 and 24) h extraction times, which did not show statistically different Ha yield, meaning that the exchange sites of Ha of the pineapple compost might have been saturated with Na ions from 20 h. There was no significant difference among the fractionation times, indicating that Ha of the pineapple compost requires about 3 h to equilibrate or stand immediately after acidification for the H ions to replace the Na and the other cations. There was no significant interaction between the factors extraction and fractionation. Conclusion . The isolation of humic acids from composted pineapple leaves can be achieved with an extraction time of 20 h and a fractionation time of 3 h.
Effect of Palm Oil as Corrosion Inhibitor on Ductile Iron and Mild Steel.

This work has investigated the effect of palm oil as a corrosion inhibitor on ductile iron and mild steel. The weight loss technique was employed. Palm oil was applied on each coupon before exposing it to various media representing possible applications in society. The results showed that in 1M NaOH, no noticeable corrosion occurred both on the ductile iron and mild steel samples, even throughout the 1,344 hrs (7 wks) of the experiment. When the coupons were exposed to fresh water inhibited by palm oil, the corrosion rate of DI coupons was initially high and later dropped sharply. However, for mild steel coupons, there was an initially low corrosion rate which later shot up. There was little or no corrosion loss on impregnated DI exposed to air while the impregnated mild steel exposed in air initially corroded. For simulated seawater inhibited by palm oil, there was little initial corrosion attack followed by a sharp rise in corrosion attack. It can be concluded from this research that palm oil can be a good raw material for preparation of “environmentally friendly” corrosion inhibitors. It has been proved that palm oil has demonstrated high inhibition efficiency especially on corrosion of ductile iron in 1M NaOH and air. It has also shown to be a reliable protective shield against the corrosion of mild steel in 1M NaOH.
A Comparison of Clustering Algorithms in Categorizing Economic Events Based on the Behavior of Exchange Rates

Cluster analysis is used to identify dissimilar subgroups of objects out of a set of objects based on a combination of rules. In the light of cluster analysis, it is possible to treat dissimilar individuals in an appropriate manner by taking their dissimilarity into consideration. This will be resulted in enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of estimation and prediction models. This study aims to evaluate the performance of different partitioning methods namely, k-means, k-medoids (PAM) and fuzzy and hierarchical methods namely, agglomerative nesting and divisive analysis in grouping the economic events affecting the foreign exchange market. Cluster analysis performed on economic indicators data set depicts the structure of clusters resulted from all algorithms are the same except the single linkage of agglomerative nesting. Poor quality of the clustering structure formed by the single linkage method is confirmed by the lower value of average silhouette width. Comparatively high value of agglomerative coefficient associated with the ward’s method reveals the better performance of clustering compared to other linkages. Economic indicators under study are found to be clustered in three groups as performing high, moderate and low impact on the movements of exchange rates. High impact of economic indicators on the exchange rates is reflected by the high volatility at release time and shorter prevailing time of the impact after the release. Keywords-clustering algorithms; partitioning methods; hierachichal methods; foreign exchange; volatility; economic indicators
Schmidt hammer exposure‐age dating (SHD) of late Quaternary fluvial terraces in New Zealand

Schmidt hammer (SH) R‐values are reported for surface clasts from numerically dated Holocene and Pleistocene fluvial terraces in the South Island of New Zealand. The R‐values are combined with previously obtained weathering rind, radiocarbon, terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide and luminescence terrace ages to derive SH R‐value chronofunctions for greywacke clasts from four distinct locations. Our results show that different weathering rates affect the form of the SH R‐value versus Age curve, however a fundamental dependency between the two remains constant over timescales ranging from 102 to 105 years. Power law scaling constants suggest changes in clast weathering rates are primarily affected by climatic (precipitation and temperature) and sedimentologic variables (source terrane petrology). Age uncertainties of ~22% of the surface age suggest that Schmidt hammer exposure‐age dating (SHD) is a reliable calibrated‐age dating technique for fluvial terraces. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Branching Process based Cascading Failure Probability Analysis for a Regional Power Grid in China with Utility Outage Data

Studying the propagation of cascading failures through the transmission network is key to asses and mitigate the risk faced the energy system. As complex systems the power grid failure is often studied using some probability distributions. We apply 4 well-known probabilistic models, Poisson model, Power Law model, Generalized Poisson Branching process model and Borel-Tanner Branching process model, to a 14-year utility historical outage data from a regional power grid in China, computing probabilities of cascading line outages. For this data, the empirical distribution of the total number of line outages is well approximated by the initial line outages propagating according to a Borel-Tanner branching process. Also for this data, Power law model overestimates, while Generalized Possion branching process and Possion model underestimate, the probability of larger outages. Especially, the probability distribution generated by the Poisson model deviates heavily from the observed data, underestimating the probability of large events (total no. of outages over 5) by roughly a factor of 10-2 to 10-5. The observation is confirmed by a statistical test of model fitness. The results of this work indicate that further testing of Borel-Tanner branching process models of cascading failure is appropriate, and should be further discussed as it outperforms other more traditional models.