Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Succession of plant community composition and leaf functional traits in responding to karst rocky desertification in the Wushan County in Chongqing, China

Karst rocky desertification (KRD) is a process of soil desertification, which leads to the decline of soil quality and biomass. We conducted a plant community survey in KRD areas in Chongqing, China. Our aims were to determine key soil properties that shape plant communities and to identify essential leaf functional traits (LFTs) in responding to the progression of KRD. The vegetation survey was carried in a total of twenty study sites (five replicates for four stages of KRD) in the Wushan County in Chongqing, China. Leaves were collected from all the species in every site and measured/calculated for five LFTs, namely, specific leaf area, leaf area, leaf thickness, leaf tissue density, and leaf dry matter content. Soil samples were collected in triplicates in each site to measure soil properties. We found that the overall richness and diversity of community decreased along with the progression of KRD. Phanerophytes predominated in all the KRD areas. Soil pH was the main determinant of vegetation structure. Leaves with lower area yet higher density had the optimal adaptability in KRD regions, which can be planted as pioneer vegetation to restore land in KRD regions.
Taxpayers’ Motivations Relating to Tax Compliance: Evidence from Two Representative Samples of Austrian and Dutch Self-Employed Taxpayers

Tax compliance is assumed to be shaped by three main motivations to comply: enforced, voluntary, and committed motivation. Taxpayers, who hold an enforced motivation to comply, only pay taxes because of audits and fines for non-compliance. Voluntary motivated taxpayers respect the law and pay taxes because it is the easiest option. Committed motivation represents an intrinsic motivation, whereby taxpayers feel a moral obligation and responsibility to be honest. However, little and inconsistent empirical research exists on the relationship between motivations and tax compliance. The present paper empirically examines the connection between motivations and reported tax compliance based on data from two representative samples of 500 self-employed Austrian taxpayers and 1,377 Dutch entrepreneurs. Results show that an enforced motivation is negatively related to tax compliance, whereas a committed motivation is positively related to compliance. Contrary to expectations, voluntary motivation is not related to tax compliance. Based on the present outcomes it is suggested that tax authorities should present themselves as legitimate and benevolent in order to decrease enforced motivations and to foster committed motivations and subsequent high tax compliance.
A global analysis of temporal and spatial variations in continental water storage

While continental water storage plays a key role in the Earth's water, energy, and biogeochemical cycles, its temporal and spatial variations are poorly known, in particular, for large areas. This study analyzes water storage simulated with the Watergap Global Hydrology Model. The model represents four major storage compartments: surface water, snow, soil, and groundwater. Water storage variations are analyzed for the period 1961–1995 with 0.5° resolution, for the major global climate zones, and for the 30 largest river basins worldwide. Seasonal variations are the dominant storage change signal with maximum values in the marginal tropics and in snow‐dominated high‐latitude areas. Interannual variations are associated with large‐scale oscillations such as El Niño Southern Oscillation. The contribution of individual water storage compartments to total storage change varies with the climate region and the timescale under consideration. In most regions, a prominent role of storage variations in surface water bodies is found. Surface water reduces markedly the spatial correlation lengths of water storage fields. The simulation results are evaluated against storage variations of combined atmospheric‐terrestrial water balance studies and other global models. This study contributes to an improved understanding of continental water storage for which the consistent integration of model results and new observations such as from time‐variable gravity data of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission is required.
Cement technology for plugging boreholes in radioactive-waste-repository sites. Progress report, October 1, 1978-September 30, 1979

Laboratory evaluations were made of several borehole plug formulations proposed for the Bell Canyon field test. Measurements included compressive strength, permeability, density, and thermal conductivity. A few preliminary tests with saltcrete formulations showed no significant difference in physical properties of the solid as a function of fly ash or cement composition. The saltcrete proposed for the field test gave acceptable pushout strength and permeability values using miniature borehole plugs in anhydrite. Similar laboratory tests made with a freshwater formulation indicated high permeability. Electron micrographs showed dissolution cavities or cracks at the plug-wall interface. These studies showed that the reactions occurring between the borehole plug and the adjacent rock wall are an important factor in obtaining a good seal and that laboratory tests are useful to indicate the possibility of success or failure of field tests.
Numerical Simulation of Smoke Downdrag due to a Sprinkler Spray using FDS

Sprinkler interaction with a moving smoke layer, which might lead to smoke downdrag, is numerically simulated by using a large eddy simulation (LES) computational fluid dynamics model, Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). The simulations have focused on computing the gas temperature and the smoke layer depth induced by sprinkler discharge into a hot smoke layer. Results are presented for different water flow rates in addition to a simulation of a „no sprinkler‟ case. The results of the simulations are compared to measurements from a set of full-scale experiments conducted in previous research and they show that FDS gives fairly good predictions for the upper layer temperature. However FDS underestimates the stability of smoke layer and leads to smoke downdrag regardless of the water flow rate so that the lower region temperatures are higher than those measured in the experiments.
The Effect of Social and Consumption Analytics on Residential Water Demand

In this paper, the effects of Dropcountr on water usage were examined using household- level panel data for the City of Folsom, California, from January-2013 to September- 2016. Results suggest that the introduction of the Dropcountr services for the population of households participating in Dropcountr causes an aggregate treatment effect of 7% reduction in water usage with a significant variation in the effect across households dependent on baseline consumption quintile. In response to the Dropcountr services, households in the highest quintile of baseline consumption reduce water usage by an estimated 13%.
PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION OF KARANJA BIODIESEL ENGINE USING TAGUCHI APPROACH AND MULTIPLE REGRESSIONS

The objective of this work is to optimize the direct injection (DI) single cylinder diesel engine with respect to brake power, fuel economy and emissions through experimental investigations and DOE methods. A single cylinder 5.2 kW diesel engine was selected for test. Five parameters, Power (P), Static injection pressure (IP), Injection timing (IT), Fuel fraction (B) and Compression ratio (CR) was varied at four levels and the responses brake power, fuel economy and emissions were investigated. The optimum n values of the response could be predicted using Signal - Noise ratio(S/N ratio) and optimum combination of control parameters were specified. Results of confirmation tests showed good agreement with predicted quantities. Thus the relationship between the diesel engine parameter, brake power, b.s.f.c and Emissions could be understood using design of experiments. The best results for brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake thermal efficiency (BTHE) were observed at increased CR, IP, and IT. The emissions CO, HC were reduced while NOx emissions increase. The results of the study revealed that the combination of a blend of 30% karanja biodiesel (B30), a compression ratio of 17.9, a nozzle opening pressure of 230 bar, injection timing of 27° bTDC and at 70% load produces maximum multiple performance of diesel engine with minimum emissions from the engine.
The Effect of Elementary Grade Retention on Subsequent School Achievement and Ability

This study compared the achievement and ability of a group of retained elementary students with that of a group of continually promoted elementary school students. The two samples were matched on the basis of gender, school entry reading achievement, grade, and regular school program. Short-term and long-term comparisons between the groups were made using Grade 1 Edmonton Public Schools’ Reading Comprehension Test scores, Grade 3 and Grade 6 Canadian Cognitive Ability Test (CCAT) scores, and Grade 6 subject matter achievement tests. The author concluded that grade retention was inef- fective for improving achievement and ability. Cet article traite d’une etude qui comparait le rendement et les aptitudes d’un groupe de doubleurs au primaire avec celles d’un groupe d’eleves continuellement promus d’une classe a l’autre, egalement au primaire. Les deux echantillons ont ete apparies en tenant compte du sexe, de l’aptitude a la lecture a l’entree a l’ecole et de la classe; tous les eleves etaient inscrits dans le programme scolaire ordinaire. Des comparaisons a court terme et a long terme ont ete effectuees entre les deux groupes a l’aide du Grade 1 Edmonton Public School’s Comprehension Test, du Grade 3 and Grade 6 Cognitive Ability Test (CCAT) et de divers tests de rendement ayant aux matieres de la 6e annee. L’auteure conclut que le redoublement n’ameliore ni le rendement de l’eleve ni ses aptitudes.
Estimation of Population Total Using Spline Functions

This study sought to estimate finite population total using spline functions. The emerging patterns from spline smoother were compared with those that were obtained from the model-based, the model-assisted and the non-parametric estimators. To measure the performance of each estimator, three aspects were considered: the average bias, the efficiency by use of the average mean square error and the robustness using the rate of change of efficiency. We used six populations: four natural and two simulated. The findings showed that the model-based estimator works very well in terms of efficiency while the model-assisted is almost unbiased when the model is linear and homoscedastic. However, the estimators break down when the underlying model assumptions are violated. The Kernel Estimator (Nadaraya-Watson) is found to be the most robust of the five estimators considered. Between the two spline functions that we considered, the periodic spline was found to perform better. The spline functions were found to provide good results whether or not the design points were uniformly spaced. We also found out that, under certain conditions, a smoothing spline estimator and a Kernel estimator are equivalent. The study recommends that both the ratio estimator and the local polynomial estimator should be used within the confines of a linear homoscedastic model. The Nadaraya-Watson and the periodic spline estimators, both of which are non-parametric, are highly robust. The Nadaraya-Watson however is even more robust than the periodic spline.
CORRELATION AND PATH COEFFICIENT ANALYSIS IN GROUNDNUT (ARACHIS HYPOGAEA L.) UNDER MONSOON AND POST MONSOON.

Htin Kyaw 1 , Kyi Winn 2 , Thet Lin 3 and Nyo Mar Htwe 4 . 1. Master Candidate, Department of Plant Breeding, Physiology and Ecology, Yezin Agricultural University (YAU). 2. Principal and Associate Professor of Kyaukse Campus, Yezin Agricultural University. 3. Principal and Lecturer of Phyu Campus, Yezin Agricultural University. 4. Associate Professor, Department of Plant Breeding, Physiology and Ecology, Yezin Agricultural University. Manuscript Info Abstract . Manuscript History
The Study on the Impact of Teachers' Creativity Training on Improvement of Creativity in Students and Their Insights on Teacher Training Curriculum

The current study examines the impact of teachers' creativity training on growing creativity in students and their insights on teacher training curriculum. This research has been carried out by semi- experimental method and it is aimed at interpretation of necessity for paying attention to training of creativity in curricula of teachers' training centers. For this purpose, two groups (n1=n2=90) of students from first graders in primary schools in Tehran City Area no 7 were chosen by means of randomized cluster sampling technique in academic year 2010-11. The given data were gathered by means of Form- B of Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) at two stages of pre- test and post-test. The results derived from revision of data and or by application of covariance analysis indicated that there is a significant difference among tested and control groups (p= 0.05). In other words, the growth rate of creativity in students who were taught by well- trained teachers in creativity field was higher than those children that were taught by the teachers who had not been trained in this educational field.
Effect of foliar urea application on quality, growth, mineral uptake and yield of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L., var. italica)

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of foliar urea applications on quality, growth, mineral content and yield of broccoli under field conditions in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Broccoli cultivars AG 3317 and AG 3324 were treated with foliar urea applications at different concentrations (0.0, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.0%). Foliar applications of urea, especially 0.8 and 1.0% resulted in larger heads, weightier heads and plants as well as higher plants. Conversely, the greatest head and leaf dry matter contents were obtained with no fertilizer-nitrogen application. SPAD chlorophyll readings that were measured in the third year increased with elevated urea concentrations. In regard to the nutrient content, it can be interfered that soil nitrogen fertilization and foliar urea applications increased the content of almost all nutrients in leaves and heads of both broccoli cultivars in three experiment years. Generally, the greatest values were obtained from 1.0% urea application for both cultivars. It results from the study that for optimum yields 0.61 and 0.96% concentrations of urea sprays could be successfully used to obtain better growth and yield in broccoli cultivars AG 3317 and AG 3324, respectively.
Risks, Farmers' Suicides and Agrarian Crisis in India: Is There a Way Out?*

Poor returns to cultivation and absence of non-farm opportunities are indicative of the larger socio-economic malaise in rural India. This is accentuated by the multiple risks that the farmer faces - yield, price, input, technology and credit among others. The increasing incidence of farmers' suicides is symptomatic of a larger crisis, which is much more widespread. Risk mitigation strategies should go beyond credit. Long term strategies requires more stable income from agriculture, and more importantly, from non-farm sources. Private credit and input markets need to be regulated. A challenge for the technological and financial gurus is to provide innovative products that reduce costs while increasing returns. The institutional vacuum of organising farmers needs to be addressed through a federation of self-help groups (SHGs) or alternative structures. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
IMPACT OF HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: A STUDY AMONG SERVICE SECTOR EMPLOYEES IN PAKISTAN

This paper examines the impact of human resource practices on the organizational commitment of the service sector employees of Pakistan. This study operationally defined human resource practices as perceived organization support, communication training and development, compensation, organizational climate, work life policies, career development opportunities, empowerment. The data were collected through the circulation of a uniform questionnaire amongst 600 employees through a convenience sampling. Data was analyzed using correlation and regression analysis. The results show the positive relationship of above mentioned HRM practices with organizational commitment. Conclusions as well as directions for future research are discussed. Keywords: Human resource practices, organizational commitment, perceived organization support, communication training and development, compensation, organizational climate, work life policies, career development opportunities, empowerment. This paper analyzes the imperative aspects of the human resource practices that enhance the organizational commitment among the employees working in the service sector of Pakistan. Human resource practices deviates from organization to organization. Every business has its own set of rules, procedures and practices which makes employees to be reactive in a particular way in their employment environment. Whether they have positive and negative in their approach or committed or non -committed towards their organization in which they are serving? The endeavor of the paper is to uncover the impact of different aspects of human resource practices on the organizational commitment level of the employees. Its widely accepted fact that human resource practices has a strong influence on the performance of the employees which is pursued by the organizational commitment, our main aim is to delineate the impact of human practices of an organization with inclusion of new dimensions which could have a wider and an expended recognition. This will also assist the managers in considering the organization in which they are working not only for the formulation of the strategies and dealings but for evaluating the human conducts and keeping human assets in the paramount way. Moreover it also helps the academic researchers to expand the research area focusing the identification of the human resource practices to upraise the level of commitment the service sector employees, as there is gap of knowledge. The present study attempts to fill up the space in the body of knowledge.
Intraseasonal Variability in the South Equatorial Current of the East Indian Ocean

Abstract Satellite altimeter data reveal that the strongest intraseasonal variability in the southeast Indian Ocean occurs in the South Equatorial Current (SEC) during the second half of the year. The length scale of the variability is 100–150 km, with a westward phase speed of 15–19 cm s−1 and dominant periods between 40 and 80 days. A continuously stratified quasigeostrophic model is solved to analyze the baroclinic stability of the climatological SEC. Large growth rate of the instability waves (with e-folding timescale of less than 50 days) can be found east of the active region of intraseasonal variability during the July–September season, when the SEC and the Pacific to Indian Ocean throughflow are at their strongest. Geostrophic current shear in the upper 200-m ocean is crucial for the growth of the instability. The results suggest that the baroclinic instability draws most of its energy from the available potential energy associated with the throughflow, and, to a lesser degree, by local Ekman pump.
A computational study of high-speed microdroplet impact onto a smooth solid surface

Numerical solutions of high-speed microdroplet impact onto a smooth solid surface are computed, using the interFoam VoF solver of the OpenFOAM CFD package. Toward the solid surface, the liquid microdroplet is moving with an impinging gas flow, simulating the situation of ink droplets being deposited onto substrate with a collimated mist jet in the Optomec Aerosol Jet printing process. The computed values of maximum spread factor, for the range of parameters of practical interest to Aerosol Jet printing, were found in very good agreement with some of the correlation formulas proposed by previous authors in the literature. Combining formulas selected from different authors with appropriate modifications yields a maximum spread factor formula that can be used for first-order evaluations of deposited in droplet size during the Aerosol Jet technology development. The computational results also illustrate droplet impact dynamics with lamella shape evolution throughout the spreading, receding-relaxation, and wetting equilibrium phases, consistent with that observed and described by many previous authors. This suggests a scale-invariant nature of the basic droplet impact behavior such that experiments with larger droplets at the same nondimensional parameter values may be considered for studying microdroplet impact dynamics. Significant free surface oscillations can be observed when the droplet viscosity is relatively low. The border line between periodic free surface oscillations and aperiodic creeping to capillary equilibrium free surface shape appears at the value of Ohnesorge number around 0.25. Droplet bouncing after receding is prompted with large contact angles at solid surface (as consistent with findings reported in the literature), but can be suppressed by increasing the droplet viscosity.
High abundance of the jellyfish Aurelia aurita excludes the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi to establish in a shallow cove (Kertinge Nor, Denmark).

The population dynamics of the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, which showed mass occurrence in Kerteminde Fjord (Denmark) for the first time in 2007, and the indigenous common jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, was followed in the fjord system Kerteminde Fjord/Kertinge Nor during late 2008 and 2009. The population density of A. aurita was always highest in Kertinge Nor while the density of M. leidyi was always highest in Kerteminde Fjord, indicating recruitment of the ctenophore from the adjacent sea (Great Belt). In the shallow cove of Kertinge Nor, the first A. aurita ephyrae appeared in March, by the end of May the medusae had obtained their maximum umbrella diameter of only 30 mm due to food limitation, and the estimated half-life of zooplankton was very low, <1 day from May to September 2009. The high predation impact explains why the holopelagic ctenophore, which presumably survives the winter in the adjacent open sea, is likely to be outcompeted in Kertinge Nor where the polyp stage of A. aurita every spring ensures a very large population of very small medusae. The population density of jellyfish, in Kertinge Nor, during the summer period is dependent on the extend of flush-out due to density-driven water exchange. A survey of data obtained every year in August since 1991 indicates that the unusually high population density (36 ± 34 ind. m -3 ) and the small umbrella diameter (56 ± 5 mm) of A. aurita have remained unchanged during the last 20 years, and further, that a relatively high population density of jellyfish in certain years is correlated with a relatively small mean umbrella
FETI-DP domain decomposition methods for elasticity with structural changes: P-elasticity

We consider linear elliptic systems which arise in coupled elastic continuum mechanical models. In these systems, the strain tensor e P := sym (P -1 ∇u ) is redefined to include a matrix valued inhomogeneity P (x ) which cannot be described by a space dependent fourth order elasticity tensor. Such systems arise naturally in geometrically exact plasticity or in problems with eigenstresses. The tensor field P induces a structural change of the elasticity equations. For such a model the FETI-DP method is formulated and a convergence estimate is provided for the special case that P -T = ∇ψ is a gradient. It is shown that the condition number depends only quadratic-logarithmically on the number of unknowns of each subdomain. The dependence of the constants of the bound on P is highlighted. Numerical examples confirm our theoretical findings. Promising results are also obtained for settings which are not covered by our theoretical estimates.