Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recovery of Resultant Magnetization Vectors from Magnetic Anomalies

A magnetic body has a resultant magnetisation that is the vector sum of its induced and remanent components. Ignoring the role of remanence may lead to erroneous resultant magnetisation direction and hence inaccurate geophysical models. Determination of this resultant magnetisation direction may be obtained from total magnetic intensity data for an isolated magnetic anomaly. We present a new method to recover the resultant magnetisation direction that proceeds by iteratively calculating an approximate source layer, and cross correlating trial magnetisation directions. This method is tested with a number of remanent component orientations for compact and elongate sources. For a compact source, the accuracy to which the correct resultant magnetisation direction can be recovered is generally found to be less than 5°. The method retains accuracy for low inclination resultant magnetisation directions, however, begins to lose sensitivity as the resultant inclination becomes steep. Application of the method to a case study of the Black Hill Norite recovered resultant magnetisation directions in agreement with paleomagnetic results. Here the resultant directions from the two methods are found to be consistent, with minor differences possibly due to limited paleomagnetic sampling of magnetisation directions that changed as the intrusion cooled. A higher bulk Q value, than found from the limited sampling, is suggested for one of the three anomalies studied, as supported by the results of other authors.
How Can International Organizations Shape National Welfare States?

How can international organizations shape national welfare states? The answer depends on why national governments comply with international organization mandates. Enforcement theories predict that states' policy preferences determine implementation, whereas managerial theories attribute noncompliance to states' capability limitations and to institutions. This article derives specific compliance mechanisms from these theories and examines the implementation of European Union social policy directives through a new quantitative data set and qualitative case studies of Greece and Spain. Countries whose preferences diverge from social policy directives, specifically countries lacking related early national legislation, and countries with low labor costs, delay implementation. However, delays from capability limitations are much greater—poor bureaucracies, federal states, coalition governments, and parliaments that do not prepare for directives cause big delays. These findings suggest that international organizations can shape national social policies by reorienting the axes of contestation from left-right to supranational-subnational.
NEW DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO IDENTIFYING CLIMATE DRIVERS IN NORTHERN CONIFERS

The Northern Forest is a complex, heterogeneous environment which is undergoing changes in response to anthropogenic forcing factors. It is, therefore, necessary to quantify how trees have responded to environmental conditions in the past and may respond in the future. Traditional tree-ring width analysis enables the creation of temporally-expansive, annually-resolved records of yearly variability in tree growth. These tree-ring archives are well suited for researching which climate drivers have impacted forest growth most significantly and for identifying changes in the temporal stability of the climate signal over the 20 and 21 century. To perform this analysis, tree-ring width chronologies were developed for an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) stand, located at the Abbey Pond site in East Middlebury, Vermont, and red spruce (Picea rubens) stand, located in the Cape National Research Area (NRA) site, near Goshen Four Corners, Vermont, using increment cores sampled in 2010. A subset of each chronology was analyzed using blue intensity analysis (BIA), a novel dendrochronological technique which has been developed as a proxy for maximum latewood density (MXD) analysis. MXD has been utilized extensively in summer temperature reconstructions as it is capable of capturing a stronger, summer temperature signal. This study represents the first attempt to use BIA with eastern hemlock and red spruce trees and the first study within the US Northeast to incorporate BIA into dendroclimatological analysis. A combination of temperature, precipitation, and novel climate datasets were assembled to explore the drivers of growth of each forest stand. Several climate datasets, namely total percent cloudiness, total percent possible sunshine, and sunshine hours, to the best of our knowledge, have not been incorporated into past dendrochronology studies conducted in Vermont or the Northeastern US. Linear mixed model analysis was used to determine how much variability in annual growth could be attributed to climate drivers. 34% of the variance (R = 0.34) in the Abbey Pond TRW chronology was accounted for using summer (JJA) precipitation and June PDSI as predictors of growth. 35% of the variance in the Abbey Pond BIA chronology was accounted for using minimum September temperatures and total percent cloudiness (TPC). Previous year temperatures in July and August and present year minimum temperatures in September accounted for 33% of the annual variance in the Cape NRA TRW chronology. Minimum spring temperatures were only able to account for 6.8% of the annual variance in the Cape BIA chronology.
Does the Egyptian Stock Exchange Follow a Random Walk? An Empirical Analysis

A battery of variance ratio (VR) tests was applied on to weekly price index data of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) to empirically test two hypotheses. First, it hypothesised that regulatory changes, taking the form of expanding the price limits and adopting trading halt for a few minutes, positively affects the informational efficiency of the EGX. Second, it hypothesised that large-capitalised stock (with availability of more information) are likely to satisfy the random walk hypothesis (RWH) whereas small-capitalised stocks are likely to violate it. During the first sub-period, extends from 2 nd of February 1997 to 21 st of July 2002, the EGX imposed tight price limits on the movements of listed shares. During the second sub-period, stretches from 22 nd of July 2002 to 29 th of June 2007, the EGX shifted to adopt wide boundaries coupled with trading halt for a few minutes if share prices hit their new limits. The VR methodologies detect deviation from the RWH by exploiting the fact that the variance of a random walk process is proportionally linear in the holing period. Results indicated that the EGX, as whole, moved towards efficiency in the second sub-period indicating that the new circuit breaker regime facilitated the price discovery process as information is efficiently incorporated into equity prices once trading is resumed after trading suspended. It was found that, in the second sub-period, prices of large-capitalized firms satisfied the RWH whereas those of small-capitalized firms violated it. It is highly recommended to avoid adopting tight price limits since they adversely affect the market efficiency. Given the structural breaks being noticed in data and misleading nature of single VR tests and the superiority of the joint exact sign test in the presence of extreme outliers, it is important to re-visit the RWH for emerging markets characterised by the presence of structural breaks.
Benthic macroinvertebrate community structure in a stream of the north-west region of Paraná State, Brazil

This study aimed to survey the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna of a first order stream located in an agricultural area, and to assess the environmental factors involved in the spatial distribution of this community. Invertebrates were gathered in November 2007 at three sampling sites distributed along the Itiz Stream, located in Marialva municipality, Parana State. At each site, we measured the physical and chemical variables of the water, and then took four samples, using Surber sampler. In order to evaluate the differences in density, richness, diversity and evenness, we employed an ANOVA and a DCA to summarize biotic data. The invertebrates were categorized into functional groups and the BMWP score was applied to calculate the biological integrity of the environment. The faunal composition was represented by 103 taxa distributed across five phyla, of which the highest occurrence was of arthropods, especially insects. Higher density values were observed for Chironomidae, Ephemeroptera, Coleoptera and Trichoptera. The richness, diversity and density, as well as the density of gathering-collectors, were higher in the intermediate course of the stream. The distribution pattern of the taxa was mainly influenced by lentic or lotic characteristics of the sampled sites and microhabitats, as evidenced by the DCA. The BMWP indices indicated that the three sampling sites presented scores of excellent and good water quality. In the Itiz Stream, the presence of preserved marginal vegetation and the distance from urban centers that generate pollution, combined with peculiarities of each sampling site, influenced the structure of the benthic community.
Evaluation of the Educational Environment at a Graduate Medical School in South Korea using the DREEM Questionnaire

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. We have changed the medical educational environments which included educational curricula, medical staffs, facilities and teaching and learning methods to improve the academic achievement of medical students and to develop good doctors in schools. Medical students have complaints with their educational environments. Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure(DREEM) consists of five domains; students’ perceptions of learning, students’ perceptions of teachers, students’ academic self-perception, students’ perceptions of atmosphere. Using DREEM, the overall mean DREEM score of our school was 106.98 and low to that of Korean medical schools and developed countries. Medical students acknowledged that the domains of teachers and academic self-perceptions were positive. Through the students’ perception, the changes of the educational environment might be needed continually to get good academic achievement of medical students.
Income vs. Consumption Inequality in South Korea: Evaluating Stochastic Dominance Rankings by Various Household Attributes

Using four rounds (1999, 2002, 2005, 2008) of the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS), this article examines determinants of household income and consumption levels and inequalities. Unconditional as well as conditional stochastic dominance (SD) tests are performed by year, by household heads' characteristics (age, education, gender, health, marital status and occupation) and by household characteristics (household type, household size, degree of urbanization). Mean least squares regression techniques are employed to predict conditional expectations. The residuals containing effects for each characteristic conditional on the remaining characteristics are then used for the SD analysis employing extended Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests of first- and second-order dominance in distribution of income and consumption. The results provide a detailed and up-to-date picture of inequality and poverty by subgroup in South Korea which helps targeting particularly vulnerable groups. Overall, while inequality in disposable income is found to be often substantial, strong savings preferences of richer households lead to relatively low consumption inequality. Households headed by elderly, uneducated, divorced or widowed, females and those with health problems are found to be the most vulnerable groups in Korea.
Corporate Governance Characteristics and External Audit Fees: A Study of Large Public Companies in Israel

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between corporate governance characteristics and external audit fees in large public companies in Israel. The results show that board independence (proportion of external directors on the board of directors) and audit committee diligence (number of meetings) are positively and significantly associated with audit fees. The results are consistent with the demand-based perspective of audit services, wherein firms with strong corporate governance characteristics demand additional assurance from the auditors and higher audit quality, resulting in higher external audit fees. The findings of this initial study in Israel, offer support for the new proposal of Amendment 10 to the Israeli Companies Law that calls for general adoption of strict principles of corporate governance, including increasing the number of independent directors on the board of directors and expanding the roles of the board’s audit committee.
Effect of stocking densities on growth, production and survival rate of red tilapia in hapa at fish hatchery Chilya Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan

Effect of stocking density on growth, production and survival of red tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus × O. niloticus) were conducted in hapa for 60 days at Chilya Thatta. Tilapia fry (4.5±0.02 cm, 2.0±0.01 g) were stocked into hapa (4.5x2.4x1 m). Three treatments with two replicates were used: T1-200; T2-250 and T3-300 fry/hapa. Fry were fed twice a daily with pelleted feed containing 35% protein, 5% of total biomass. After 60 days, the highest growth were determined in T1 (49.8±0.0 g) while in T3 lowest growth (29.09±0.0 g) was recorded. Production (9.56, 10.13 and 8.12 kg/m3/60days) in T1, T2 and T3 respectively were significantly different (P<0.05) to each other. Feed conversion ratio of 0.48, 0.48 and 0.49 in T1, T2 and T3, respectively not significantly different (P>0.05). Survival was significantly different among treatments (P<0.01). Highest survival (100%) was attained in T1 with lower stocking density, followed by T2 (98%) and T3 (95%). Water quality parameters recorded throughout the study period were found within the ranges for fish culture such as temperature 27.2 to 28.5 °C, dissolved oxygen 5.8 to 6.4 mg/l, pH 6.9 to 7.6, ammonia from 0.45 to 0.51 mg/l, hardness 106 to 110 ppm and nitrite 0.151 to 0.162 mg/l.
Competitive advantage differences between firms belonging to a business group and independent companies in the Spanish wine industry

A high percentage of companies that compete in the market belong to a business group. This paper analyses the competitive advantages between independent firms and firms belonging to a business group, focusing on the Spanish wine industry. The authors studied 339 wineries, compared their resources and capabilities, the strategies used and their business performance. The results suggest that while resources and capabilities are key for independent firms it is the business strategy that is most important for firms belonging to a business group. The study sheds more light on the application of specific elements to explain a firm’s business performance.
Multispecies Allometric Models Predict Grass Biomass in Semidesert Rangeland

Abstract Multispecies allometric models to predict grass biomass may increase field study efficiency by eliminating the need for species-specific data. We used field measurements during two growing seasons to develop single-species and multispecies regression models predicting the current year's aboveground biomass for eight common cespitose grass species. Simple and stepwise regression analyses were based on natural log expressions of biomass, basal diameter, and height, and a dummy variable expression of grazing history. Basal diameter had the strongest relationship with biomass among single-species (adjusted R2 = 0.80 to 0.91) and multispecies (adjusted R2 = 0.85) models. Regression slopes (b) for diameter among single-species (b = 1.01 to 1.49) and the multispecies (b = 1.25) models suggests that biomass will double when diameter increases ∼75%. Height and grazing history added little predictive value when diameter was already in the model. When applied to actual populations, biomass estimates from multispecies models were within 3–29% of estimates from the single-species models. Although the multispecies biomass–size relationship was robust across the cespitose life-form, users should be cautious about applying our equations to different locations, plant sizes, and population size-structures.
Seasonal patterns in butterfly abundance and species diversity in five characteristic habitats in Sites of Community Importance in Sicily (Italy)

Sicily (Italy) is one of the richest European regions in animal biodiversity. Butterflies offer good opportunities for studies on biodiversity, population and community ecology. Many species are strictly seasonal, preferring only a particular set of habitats. Five typical Mediterranean habitats: olive grove (conducted following organic farm management), mixed wood, ampelodesmos prairie (with dominance of Ampelodesmos mauritanicus), Mediterranean shrub and shrub at the coastal areas, were monitored for diversity and seasonal patterns in butterfly communities for 2 years. All habitats were inside protected areas indicated as Sites of Community Importance. Butterfly species richness was highest in ampelodesmos prairie and in olive grove. Pieris brassicae, Lasiommata megera, Maniola jurtina, Pararge aegeria have been reported in all habitats, although with different abundance whilst other species were observed only in one particular habitat. Melanargia pherusa, endemic species, and Hipparchia statilinus, listed in the IUCN Red List, respectively as “Least Concern” and “Near Threatened”, were observed in the ampelodesmos prairie. The morphotype Coenonympha pamphilus f. lyllus was reported in olive grove and ampelodesmos prairie. The majority of species showed abundance peaks in June and July, however many species showed a longer flight period than reported in literature with detection of specimens until November or December. The analysis of the similarity of communities among habitats shows a similarity between ampelodesmos prairie and olive grove and between Mediterranean shrub and Mediterranean shrub at the coastal areas, while the butterfly community in mixed wood is substantially different. The results of several diversity indexes suggest that ampelodesmos prairie has an important ecological role, as it supports butterfly abundance and species diversity.
Globular Cluster and Galaxy Formation: M31, the Milky Way, and Implications for Globular Cluster Systems of Spiral Galaxies

We find that the globular cluster (GC) systems of the Milky Way and of our neighboring spiral galaxy, M31, comprise two distinct entities, differing in three respects. First, M31 has a set of young GCs, ranging in age from a few times 102 Myr to 5 Gyr old, as well as old GCs. No such very young GCs are known in the Milky Way. Second, we confirm that the oldest M31 GCs have much higher nitrogen abundances than do Galactic GCs at equivalent metallicities, while carbon abundances appear normal for the GCs in both galaxies. Third, Morrison and coworkers have shown that M31 has a subcomponent of GCs that follow closely the disk rotation curve of that galaxy. Such a GC system in our own Galaxy has yet to be found. The only plausible scenario for the existence of the young M31 GC comes from the hierarchical-clustering-merging (HCM) paradigm for galaxy formation. We infer that M31 has absorbed more of its contingent of dwarf systems in the recent past than has the Milky Way. This inference has three implications: First, all spiral galaxies could differ in their GC properties, depending on how many companions each galaxy has and when the parent galaxy absorbs them. In this spectrum of possibilities, apparently the Milky Way ties down one end, in which almost all of its GCs were absorbed 10-12 Gyr ago. Second, it suggests that young GCs are preferentially formed in the dwarf companions of parent galaxies and then absorbed by the parent galaxy during mergers. Third, the young GCs seen in tidally interacting galaxies might come from the dwarf companions of these galaxies, rather than be made anew in the tidal interaction. However, there is no ready explanation for the marked difference in nitrogen abundance for the stars in the old M31 GCs relative to those in the oldest Galactic GCs, especially the most metal-poor GCs in both galaxies. The predictions made by Li & Burstein regarding the origin of nitrogen abundance in GCs are consistent with what is found for the old M31 GCs compared to that for the two 5 Gyr old M31 GCs.
Source parameters for 11 earthquakes in the Tien Shan, central Asia, determined by P and SH waveform inversion

The Tien Shan mountain belt of central Asia was formed in late Paleozoic time and reactivated in Tertiary time following the collision of India with Eurasia, more than 1500 km to the south. To study the style and distribution of faulting occurring today in the Tien Shan, we digitized long-period World-Wide Standard Seismograph Network P and SH waveforms of 11 of the largest Tien Shan earthquakes between 1965 and 1982 and then used a least squares inversion routine to constrain their fault plane solutions and depths. Four of the earthquakes occurred near the southern edge of the Tien Shan, and two occurred in the intermontane Fergana Basin. These earthquakes occurred at depths of 10–20 km and are associated with thrust faulting on east-west to southwest-northeast striking fault planes that dip moderately (35°–55°). The other five earthquakes, in the northern Tien Shan, were mostly deeper (15–44 km), and the fault plane solutions of four of them are similar to the events farther south. The exception, an event on June 2, 1973, probably occurred on a gently northward dipping, east-west striking fault plane. All events occur within the basement at depths of 10 km or greater. Waveforms for earthquakes near the edges of the Dzungarian, Fergana, and Kucha basins are fit best using velocity structures with thick sediment layers, implying that sediments from these basins have been and are being underthrust beneath the neighboring mountains. We examined only the relatively small (mb = 5.5–6.2) events after 1965 and did not study any of the largest events (Ms > 8) that occurred in the Tien Shan earlier in this century. Still, we can conclude that north-south shortening is presently occurring in the Tien Shan, with the formation of basement uplifts flanked by moderately dipping thrust faults. The present-day tectonics of the Tien Shan seem to be analogous to those of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah during the Laramide orogeny in Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary time.
Financial crises and Adjustment rate of firms towards target capital structure: Evidence from China

This paper examines the impact of the global financial crisis of 2007-08 on 897 Chinese listed non-financial firms by examining changes in their adjustment rate towards target capital structure from 2003 to 2012. Dynamic panel data technique has been used and it is found that there is noticeable change on both firm level and macroeconomic level determinants of target capital structure before and after the financial crisis. The study observes increased adjustment rate towards target capital structure after the financial crises. During pre-financial crises period Chinese non-financial firms adjust toward their leverage targets at an annual adjustment rate of 15-53% and fully reach their leverage targets within 2-7 years. While during post-financial crises period Chinese non-financial firms adjust toward their leverage targets at an annual adjustment rate of 24-60% and fully reach their leverage targets within 1.7-4.1 years. Keywords – Target capital structure, adjustment rate, dynamic panel data models, China.