Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How the Continents Deform: The Evidence From Tectonic Geodesy*

Space geodesy now provides quantitative maps of the surface velocity field within tectonically active regions, supplying constraints on the spatial distribution of deformation, the forces that drive it, and the brittle and ductile properties of continental lithosphere. Deformation is usefully described as relative motions among elastic blocks and is block-like because major faults are weaker than adjacent intact crust. Despite similarities, continental block kinematics differs from global plate tectonics: blocks are much smaller, typically ∼100–1000 km in size; departures from block rigidity are sometimes measurable; and blocks evolve over ∼1–10 Ma timescales, particularly near their often geometrically irregular boundaries. Quantitatively relating deformation to the forces that drive it requires simplifying assumptions about the strength distribution in the lithosphere. If brittle/elastic crust is strongest, interactions among blocks control the deformation. If ductile lithosphere is the stronger, its fl.
In situ Raman spectroscopy measurements of MgAl2O4 spinel up to 1400 °C

Abstract In-situ Raman measurements using a gated spectroscopy system revealed irreversible changes at 800-1000 °C in a natural red spinel (with 2 cation mol% Cr and 1 cation mol% Zn) and at 1100-1200 °C in a natural clear spinel (without Cr or Zn). Our observations of rapid broadening of a mode at 409 cm−1 and the appearance of two weak modes at 210 and 520 cm−1 at the transition temperature confirm the association of these features with cation disordering proposed by previous quench studies. Furthermore, we found that the frequencies of modes at 313 and 666 cm−1 change at the transition temperature. The discontinuous frequency decrease of the mode at 313 cm−1 and the increase in the frequency of the mode at 666 cm−1 can be explained by the entrance of heavier Al atoms into the tetrahedral sites and the entrance of lighter Mg atoms into the octahedral sites, respectively. Our study demonstrates that in-situ Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for studying cation disordering in spinel-structured minerals at high temperature.
Partial purification, characterization and hydrolytic activities of amylases from Bacillus licheniformis and Aspergillus niger cultured on agricultural residues

α-Amylase and amyloglucosidase produced by amylolytic Bacillus licheniformis and Aspergillus niger isolated from plantain and yam peels media were partially purified and characterized. Following cultivation of the microbial isolates on the agricultural residue media, crude enzyme solutions were obtained by filtration and centrifugation techniques. Crude α-amylase and amyloglucosidase produced were partially purified with salting-out process, involving ammonium sulphate, after which their pH and thermal characteristics were determined using standard biochemical methods. Partially purified amylases were subsequently employed in hydrolysis of each of starch samples of cassava, maize, sorghum and millet prepared in the laboratory. The results show the specific activity, pH and thermal stabilities of the α-amylase to be 32.75 U, 5.6 to 7.0 and 20 to 60°C, respectively. Partially-purified amyloglucosidase exhibited a specific activity of 2.93 U, pH (4.2 to 5.6) and thermal stabilities (20 to 50°C). Hydrolysates of the four starch samples were also found to be mainly maltose and glucose as revealed on the TLC plates. Key words : α-Amylase, amyloglucosidase, partial-purification, hydrolysate, starch.
Purification, refolding, and characterization of recombinant human paraoxonase-1

A high density lipoprotein (HDL)-linked enzyme with antioxidant and antiatherogenic properties, paraoxonase-1(PON1), prevents the formation of atherosclerotic lesions in humans. In the present study, a recombinant hPON1 gene was produced using a small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) fusion protein expression system. To that end, the hPON1 gene was amplified from human liver-ready cDNA, cloned into the expression vector pET SUMO, and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The predominance of the expressed fusion SUMO-hPON1 protein was inclusion bodies and purified using 6xHis affinity chromatography under natural and denaturing conditions. Subsequently, the enzyme was purified and refolded directly on the affinity matrix under redox conditions to obtain a bioactive protein in a single step. The inclusion bodies were solubilized with urea, guanidine hydrochloride, and Triton X-100 and refolded in vitro. After purification, 0.045 mg/mL protein in soluble fraction and 0.108 mg/mL protein from inclusion bodies were obtained. Optimum temperature, pH, and ionic strength for rhPON1 activity were determined as 40 $^{\circ}$C, 10.0, and 100 mM, respectively. The kinetic parameters K$_{m}$ and V$_{\max}$ for rhPON1 were determined as 0.94 mM and 110.01 EU/mL, respectively, by using Lineweaver-Burk plots.
An investigation of stability on certain toric surfaces

We investigate the relationship between stability and the existence of extremal K\"ahler metrics on certain toric surfaces. In particular, we consider how log stability depends on weights for toric surfaces whose moment polytope is a quadrilateral. We introduce a space of symplectic potentials for toric manifolds, which induces metrics with mixed Poincar\'e type and cone angle singularities. For quadrilaterals, we give a computable criterion for stability with 0 weights along two of the edges of the quadrilateral. This in turn implies the existence of a definite log-stable region for generic quadrilaterals. This uses constructions due to Apostolov-Calderbank-Gauduchon and Legendre.
Evidence for heavy fuel oil combustion aerosols from chemical analyses at the island of Lampedusa: a possible large role of ships emissions in the Mediterranean

Abstract. Measurements of aerosol chemical composition made on the island of Lampedusa, south of the Sicily channel, during years 2004–2008, are used to identify the influence of heavy fuel oil (HFO) combustion emissions on aerosol particles in the Central Mediterranean. Aerosol samples influenced by HFO are characterized by elevated Ni and V soluble fraction (about 80% for aerosol from HFO combustion, versus about 40% for crustal particles), high V and Ni to Si ratios, and values of Vsol>6 ng m−3. Evidence of HFO combustion influence is found in 17% of the daily samples. Back trajectories analysis on the selected events show that air masses prevalently come from the Sicily channel region, where an intense ship traffic occurs. This behavior suggests that single fixed sources like refineries are not the main responsible for the elevated V and Ni events, which are probably mainly due to ships emissions. Vsol, Nisol, and non-sea salt SO42− (nssSO42−) show a marked seasonal behaviour, with an evident summer maximum. Such a pattern can be explained by several processes: (i) increased photochemical activity in summer, leading to a faster production of secondary aerosols, mainly nssSO42−, from the oxidation of SO2 (ii) stronger marine boundary layer (MBL) stability in summer, leading to higher concentration of emitted compounds in the lowest atmospheric layers. A very intense event in spring 2008 was studied in detail, also using size segregated chemical measurements. These data show that elements arising from heavy oil combustion (V, Ni, Al, Fe) are distributed in the sub-micrometric fraction of the aerosol, and the metals are present as free metals, carbonates, oxides hydrates or labile complex with organic ligands, so that they are dissolved in mild condition (HNO3, pH1.5). Data suggest a characteristic nssSO42−/V ratio in the range 200–400 for HFO combustion aerosols in summer at Lampedusa. By using the value of 200 a lower limit for the HFO contribution to total sulphates is estimated. HFO combustion emissions account, as a summer average, at least for 1.2 μg m−3, representing about 30% of the total nssSO42−, 3.9% of PM10, 8% of PM2.5, and 11% of PM1. Within the used dataset, sulphate from HFO combustion emissions reached the peak value of 6.1 μg m−3 on 26 June 2008, when it contributed by 47% to nssSO42−, and by 15% to PM10.
Palindrome Patterns in Genomes

Motivation: It has been of great interest to know whether some simple nucleotide-level patterns or permutation structures can give rise to genome-wide general properties. In this study, we wish to find such patterns or structures. For this purpose, we develop a representation method different from those used to detect long range correlations (LRCs) in genomes. Specifically, we propose a set of crystalline-like walking spaces in which DNA sequences can be coded into a set of 3D curves by following a set of walking rules. Results: Our representation method reveals that genomic DNA sequences in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes have linear trends and discernable orientations in the walking spaces. Some Palindrome sequences are then found to have the trends and orientations similar to those found in genomic DNA sequences. After a series of verifications and simulations, we speculate that these patterns may be derived from a very old ancestral genome and some of the patterns might still possess certain functions in present-day genomes. These patterns may explain the existence of LRCs in genomes and why Chargaff's second parity rule holds approximately in many genomic regions. Availability: The supplementary material can be found at http://www.iis. sinica.edu. tw/~arthur/INPR_in_Genomes.
The effect of blowing agents on the effectiveness of poly(vinyl chloride) extrusion

The cellular extrusion is a method for manufacturing profiles, bars, low density cellular coatings and other cellular products that have no hollow cavities on the surface and show minimal processing shrinkage, while their properties are similar to those of products produced by conventional extrusion. The paper deals with cellular extrusion of PVC. The investigation of the process was conducted using state-of-the-art endothermic and exothermic blowing agents that were dosed in up to 1.5% by weight. The experiments involved measuring output, energy consumption and energy efficiency of the process.
EXPERIMENTAL MEASUREMENT OF TWO-PHASE RELATIVE PERMEABILITY IN VERTICAL FRACTURES

Relative permeability characteristics in porous media have been extensively studied and are reasonably well understood. However there have been comparatively few studies of relative permeability in fractures. Given that geothermal reservoir permeabilities are almost always dominated by fractures, understanding of fracture relative permeabilities is essential for accurate geothermal reservoir simulation. Nitrogen-water relative permeabilities were measured in a manufactured vertical fracture and two-phase flow structures were observed and correlated with different flow regimes.
Towards Understanding How To Build Strategic Flexibility Of An IT Organization

IT organizations need to react to changes in the business, the domain (e.g., regulatory issues), and the technological development. While some of these changes can be handled by adopting agile practices, others might have large, irreversible effects on the organization as a whole. While flexibility and agility have found their way into software project methodologies, IT organizations struggle with their adaptation at organizational level. This paper presents preliminary results of a grounded-theory study aimed at understanding how experienced managers handle flexibility. The results are a rich empirical source for improving flexibility of an IT organization at the strategic level and also a good starting point for further research towards generalizing agile ideas beyond software projects.
Economic decision-making in free-to-play games: A laboratory experiment to study the effects of currency conversion

: We present initial results from a controlled laboratory experiment where the economic decision-making typical in free-to-play games was studied. The participants were presented with a series of scenarios, where they rated how much they were willing to pay (in euros, in hard currency, or in soft currency) for common in-app virtual goods (booster, unlock, timer). The goal of the study was to examine how the multiple currency conversions and the amount of resources affect the perceived value of the virtual goods and the willingness to pay for them. The results don’t support the notion that the currency conversions would lead to increased spending. When comparing the willingness to pay in different currencies by first converting them to a unitary currency, the participants were willing to use highest amount of resources when considering purchases in euros and least when considering purchases in soft currency. However, when considering purchases with euros, the participants were willing to pay most when they had moderate amount of virtual currency. But with gold the willingness to pay was highest when the amount of resources was the highest. This finding highlights the differences in how the players may process real money and in-game currencies. In addition, the results imply that regardless of the currency type, the participants were willing to pay most for unlocking of new game content. It is suggested that the economic decision making in free-to-play games could be studied also with abstract and simplified laboratory experiments.
Foreign Aid, Investment and Fiscal Policy Behavior: Theory and Empirical Evidence

The paper provides theoretical and empirical justifications for the instrumentality of foreign aid in stimulating private investment and fixed capital formation through fiscal policy mechanisms. We propose an endogenous growth theory based on an extension of Barro (1990) by postulating that the positive effect of aid mitigates the burden of the taxation system on the private sector of recipient countries. The empirical validity is based on 53 African countries for the period 1996-2010. While the findings on the tax effort channel are overwhelmingly consistent with theory across specifications and fundamental characteristics, those of the government expenditure channel are a little heterogeneous but broadly in line with the theoretical postulations. Justification for the slight heterogeneity and policy implications are discussed.
Interfirm Collaboration and Firm Value in Software Ecosystems: Evidence From Cloud Computing

In a rapidly evolving cloud computing industry, legacy software vendors are racing to transform their existing business models to compete against both established and emerging cloud “native” software vendors. To cope with these challenges, vendors are forming partnerships with other firms to access and leverage new and complementary resources, capabilities, and knowledge. Building on prior work on two traditionally distinct literature streams—interfirm networks and software ecosystems—we theorize that structural characteristics of a software vendor's partner network can influence its firm value. Specifically, we argue and find empirical support that partner network size, interconnectedness, and diversity impact firm value, measured by market capitalization for publicly listed firms and total funding for privately held firms, and that the association between structure and firm value differs by vendor type (legacy versus cloud-native). We explore these associations using a data-driven ecosystem analysis of 5429 firms, apply text analytic methods to differentiate vendors by technology stack focus (infrastructure, platform, software), and complement our empirical analyses with visualizations of the collaborative structure of the cloud computing ecosystem. We conclude with theoretical, methodological, and managerial implications.
Influence of Spatial Comfort and Environmental Workplace Ergonomics on Job Satisfaction of Librarians in the Federal and State University Libraries in Southern Nigeria

This study examined the influence of spatial comfort and environmental workplace ergonomics on the job satisfaction of librarians in the Federal and State University libraries in Southern Nigeria. The study adopted the survey research design. The total enumeration technique was used to survey the 500 librarians from the 37 federal and state universities libraries in Southern Nigeria. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data collected. The findings revealed that there was a positive relationship between ergonomics (spatial comfort and environmental workplace factors) and job satisfaction. It was recommended that ergonomic measures be introduced and implemented in the design of spatial comfort and environmental workplace factors in the libraries for a greater job satisfaction of the library workforce in Nigerian University libraries.
Testing the Promise : A Randomized Trial of a Promise College Scholarship for Urban Public School Students

Promise programs seek to increase college access by assuring students early in high school that they will have the financial resources to pay for college. Given dramatic tuition increases recent years, college increasingly seems out of reach for low-income students—and the reality is that few of them achieve college success. By increasing the real and perceived affordability of college, and clearly communicating the path to college, the theory is that these “early commitment” programs improve academic preparation and social capital during high school and thereby increase college entry and completion. Promise programs are widely used and feasible alternatives to traditional “late commitment” grant and loan programs that wait until students are leaving high school—when many are already off track.
Aerial and surface rivers: downwind impacts on water availability from land use changes in Amazonia

Abstract. The abundant evapotranspiration provided by the Amazon forests is an important component of the hydrological cycle, both regionally and globally. Since the last century, deforestation and expanding agricultural activities have been changing the ecosystem and its provision of moisture to the atmosphere. However, it remains uncertain how the ongoing land use change will influence rainfall, runoff, and water availability as findings from previous studies differ. Using moisture tracking experiments based on observational data, we provide a spatially detailed analysis recognizing potential teleconnection between source and sink regions of atmospheric moisture. We apply land use scenarios in upwind moisture sources and quantify the corresponding rainfall and runoff changes in downwind moisture sinks. We find spatially varying responses of water regimes to land use changes, which may explain the diverse results from previous studies. Parts of the Peruvian Amazon and western Bolivia are identified as the sink areas most sensitive to land use change in the Amazon and we highlight the current water stress by Amazonian land use change on these areas in terms of the water availability. Furthermore, we also identify the influential source areas where land use change may considerably reduce a given target sink's water reception (from our example of the Ucayali River basin outlet, rainfall by 5–12 % and runoff by 19–50 % according to scenarios). Sensitive sinks and influential sources are therefore suggested as hotspots for achieving sustainable land–water management.
Micro-Doppler analysis of vibrating targets in SAR

Vibrating targets cause phase modulation of the azimuth phase history for a SAR system. The phase modulation may be seen as a time-dependent micro-Doppler frequency. It is useful to analyse such signals with Cohen's class time - frequency methods due to their superior resolution potential. The method must be chosen with care, as the effective time integration window of the kernel should not be longer than about a cycle of the modulation signal. Using the adaptive optimal kernel method (AOK), the authors obtained good results from a controlled experiment where two oscillating corner reflectors were placed within a SAR scene collected by the US Navy APY-6 radar. The oscillation frequency and amplitude were calculated from the time -frequency distributions and the results agree well with available ground truth. To resolve the instantaneous frequencies, the kernel time extent had to be sufficiently short. quadratic time - frequency methods. The methods are useful due to the high time -frequency resolution that may be obtained. We show that the method must be chosen with care if the aim is to reveal the time-dependent Doppler frequency caused by the phase modulation. Generally, the method must not use a time window longer than about one cycle of the modulation. With these considerations in mind, the adaptive optimal kernel (AOK) method has been applied to an APY-6 SAR collection containing two oscillating corner reflectors. The oscillations, although being only millimetres in amplitude, are clearly seen in the resulting time - frequency distributions. The results agree well with ground truth. 2 Theory A stationary point target within a SAR scene will trace out a unique phase history as the SAR antenna is moved relative to the scene (2). The phase history is related to the position of the point target, and the SAR processor estimates the position and complex amplitude from the given phase history. If the position of the point target changes during the time of data collection for the SAR image, a target motion- related phase term is introduced into the phase history. In this paper we consider the case of small sinusoidal motions.
ALL ABOUT MAX : A MALE ADULT VOXEL PHANTOM FOR MONTE CARLO CALCULATIONS IN THE AREA OF RADIATION PROTECTION DOSIMETRY

The Male Adult voXel (MAX) phantom has been developed from an already existing human voxel model, in order to arrive at a representation of the human body as close as possible to the anatomical specifications of the ICRP Reference Adult Male. MAX can be used in the area of computational dosimetry with regard to internal and external exposures of the human body to ionizing radiation, as to determine equivalent dose to organs and tissues for the purposes of radiation protection. After a review of recent human phantom dosimetry, this paper describes the construction of the MAX phantom with respect to the masses of the soft-tissue organs, the design of a the special dosimetric model applied to the skeletal tissues, and the creation of a computational exposure model made of the MAX phantom and the EGS4 Monte Carlo code. Conversion coefficients between equivalent dose to the red bone marrow as well as effective dose and air-kerma free in air for external photon irradiation from the front and from the back, respectively, are presented and compared with similar data from other human phantoms. From this comparison it can be concluded that the MAX/EGS4 exposure model is suitable for equivalent dose calculation in the area of radiation protection
Perception and Attitude towards Pre-Retirement Counselling Among Nigerian Civil Servants

Retirement is usually a period of major changes in the lives of public servants. Most times, some people see such changes as devastating and traumatic. In this study, public servantsâ€™ perception of retirement and their attitude towards pre-retirement counselling was surveyed. A representative sample of 1200 civil servants was selected using purposive sampling approach. Responses were elicited from them using a self-structured questionnaire to test one major proposition that guided the study. Data analysis were carried out using one-way ANOVA and tested at 0.05 alpha levels. Results of the study showed that civil servantsâ€™ perception of retirement significantly influence their attitude towards pre-retirement counselling with respect to income and expenditure management, health related issues, management of loneliness and change in physical environment. It was recommended among other things that pre-retirement seminars and workshops should be organized for civil servants on a regular basis to prepare them for life at retirement.