Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation of tremor activity with tidal stress in the northern Cascadia subduction zone

[1] We analyze hourly data from five tremor episodes in the northern Cascadia subduction zone over the period 2003–2005 provided by the Tremor Activity Monitoring System (TAMS). All five tremor episodes correspond to slow slip events observed by GPS. Fourier decomposition is used to separate the hourly tremor counts for each episode into “long-period” (0 2.2 cpd) components. The tidal component of the observations is compared with theoretical stress variations at depths of 20, 30, and 40 km, with 40 km being the depth of the interpreted subduction thrust interface. The stress variations are predicted by a 2-D ocean tide loading model combined with estimates of stress variations from Earth tides. We find that the shear stress in the thrust direction and the compressive normal stress on shallow dipping surfaces correlates with the data significantly better than the confining stress over the range of depths investigated. The relative amplitudes of tidal shear stress and compressive normal stress result in positive Coulomb stress favoring slip. Peak tremor activity occurs at times of maximum tidal shear stress in the thrust direction, which would assist slow slip and would suggest that tidal tremor and slip are colocated. The response of the tremor to tidal shear stress is roughly proportional to the mean activity level, controlled by tectonic conditions of stress and pore pressure. A significant, nontidal, daily variation in tremor activity of unknown origin is identified.
Primary Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stromal Stem Cells

In addition to hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), human bone marrow (BM) contains a population of nonhematopoietic mesenchymal stromal stem/progenitor cells (MSCs) that can generate cells of the skeletal lineages in vivo. Furthermore, human BM-MSCs and their descendants are essential constituents of hematopoietic microenvironment and play pivotal roles in supporting and maintaining hematopoiesis. Despite intensive research on BM-MSCs, our knowledge about the precise phenotypic signature and functional properties of primary MSCs is still limited. In the current thesis we therefore aimed to address these issues by employing a variety of approaches. Using gene expression array analysis we have identified a new phenotype for prospective isolation of human BM-MSCs with thus fur unmet precision. Low/negative expression of CD140a on lin/CD45/CD271 cells marked a highly enriched BM stromal population, possessing all typical in vitro and in vivo BM-MSC properties. Single-cell gene expression (Fluidigm) analysis revealed homogeneity of this population in terms of the expression of selected MSCrelevant genes. Next, to evaluate stem cell properties of this putative stromal stem cell population, we utilized CFU-F assay as well as the recently developed mesensphere assay, which enables MSC amplification while preserving their immature phenotype. With both assays, we have documented clonogenicity and in vitro self-renewal capacity of CD271/CD140a cells, however, in vivo self-renewal was observed only when cells were propagated as mesenspheres. Finally, to identify the underlying cause for the observed functional differences between adherent and non-adherent cultured BM-MSCs and to compare with primary BM-MSCs, we performed comparative gene array analysis to elucidate possible differential gene expression signatures. Several distinct clusters of genes were identified with different expression patterns between primary and cultured cells, and also between adherent and non-adherent MSCs. Cluster analysis enabled the identification of a number of potentially important MSC regulatory genes as candidate markers for future studies. Taken together, we provided evidence that lin/CD45/CD271/CD140 cells present a rare homogeneous population of BM-MSCs that demonstrated all essential stroma cell properties, including hematopoietic support function, and – importantly fulfilled stringent stem cell criteria, i.e. in vitro and in vivo self-renewal and differentiation. Furthermore, we have identified profound gene expression differences between primary, adherent and non-adherent BM-MSCs. This research contributes to a greater understanding the biology of human BM-MSCs and the mechanisms that regulate their different properties.
The Transition Towards Free Flight: A Human Factors Evaluation of Mixed Equipage, Integrated Air-Ground, Free Flight ATM Scenarios

This paper describes the initial results of a simulation experiment in which the human factors implications of three Mixed Equipage, Integrated Air-Ground, Free Flight Air Traffic Management (ATM) scenarios were investigated. The experiment primarily addressed how to accommodate a fleet of mixed equipped aircraft, with and without Airborne Separation Assurance System (ASAS), in a transitional free flight era in which both air and ground players have defined responsibilities. All three transitional ATM operational concepts evaluated, were designed with the idea that equipping aircraft should be immediately beneficial to the airlines.
Dispersal strategies of benthic species and water current variability in the Corsica Channel (Western Mediterranean)

Four seasonal surveys were carried out in the Gulf of Tunis between summer 2002 and spring 2003 to study the abundance and distribution of Sardina pilchardus eggs and larvae in relation to environmental parameters. In the Gulf of Tunis, Sardina pilchardus begins spawning in autumn (23 eggs/10 m ² ) and attains its peak in winter (257 eggs/10 m ² ) when the mean SST is lowest (13.4°C). Sardine reproduction seems to be triggered by the decrease in the SST. In winter, the main spawning areas were located to the south of Zembra Island and the north of Cape Bon. Larvae were more abundant in winter (38 larvae/10 m ² ), while lower densities were collected in autumn and spring (1 larva/10 m ² ). The highest abundance of larvae (288 larvae/10 m ² ) was recorded southwest of Zembra Island. Eggs and larvae were mainly concentrated in the relatively warmer and saltier waters with high zooplankton abundance and, inversely, with a low concentration of nitrate and chlorophyll a and a low diatom abundance.
Value chains for development? Potentials and limitations of global value chain approaches in donor interventions

Value chain interventions are increasingly used by international organizations and national donor agencies in the context of their private sector development (PSD) activities. These interventions are broadly labeled as value chains for development and share common characteristics such as the focus on improving market access conditions for and upgrading opportunities of developing country firms and producers to promote market-based and often export-oriented development. They differ however also along certain dimensions, most importantly with regard to the explicit focus on broader development objectives, the scope and specific activities supported, and the type of targeted actors for the intervention (Henrikson et al. 2010; Humphrey/Navas-Aleman 2010). The global value chain (GVC) framework and the academic literature on GVCs that has developed in the last two decades are broadly used as a basis for donor-led value chain interventions. The paper argues that taking the GVC framework as a basis for interventions to support private sectors in developing countries has the potential to make PSD interventions more effective in terms of improving economic and social outcomes of participating in international trade and global production. To secure the effectiveness of value chain interventions and their development effects, two factors are however critical: First, integration in GVCs should not be seen as "a panacea" for development but as "windows of opportunity" (Phillips/Henderson 2009: 60) that can have important development effects but should be complemented by more locally and regionally based development approaches (th0at may in itself involve the development of local or regional value chains). Second, the critical tradition and broader perspective of the GVC literature needs to be brought back and taken into account when re-designing existing or initiating new generations of value chain policies and interventions (Neilson/Pritchard 2011), in particular the focus on structural and asymmetric power relationships, the ambivalent role of lead firms, the important role of institutions and particularly the state and strategic state policies, and the focus on broader socio-economic and poverty reducing effects.
Palm kernel expeller increases milk fat content when fed to grazing dairy cows

Palm kernel expeller (PKE) is a feed by-product that is used by the dairy and beef industries. This study investigated the effect of partially replacing maize with PKE in a dairy concentrate on milk and ruminal fermentation parameters of Jersey cows grazing kikuyu-ryegrass pasture. Seventy-two multiparous cows were blocked according to milk yield, days in milk, and lactation number and randomly allocated within blocks to one of four treatment concentrates: PKE0, PKE10, PKE20, and PKE30, containing 0, 100, 200, and 300 g PKE/kg dry matter (DM), respectively. Eight rumen-cannulated lactating cows were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square design. All cows grazed pasture as one group, and concentrate was fed at 5.4 kg DM/cow per day. Pasture was allocated at 11.1 kg DM/cow per day. Milk yield was lower with PKE30 than PKE0 (14.3 versus 15.6 kg/cow per day, respectively). Feeding PKE20 and PKE30 was associated with a higher milk fat content of 50.6 and 52.9 g/kg, respectively, than that of 46.3 and 49.3 g/kg of cows fed PKE0 and PKE10, respectively. However, feeding PKE30 compromised fibre degradability. Increased milk fat content and sustained milk yield indicated that 200 g PKE/kg DM can partially replace maize in a dairy concentrate, resulting in a possible added economical advantage, which is dependent on the milk payment system. The lack of a significant effect on milk fat yield and the negative linear relationship of milk protein to milk fat ratio, induced by PKE inclusion, may be unfavourable for certain milk payment systems. Keywords: By-product, fibre-based concentrate, Jersey cow, pasture, ruminal fermentation
Strategies and Techniques for Fostering Oral Communication Confidence in EFL Students

This article is concerned with strategies and techniques for fostering EFL students‟ confidence and reducing their oral communication apprehension. This paper aims to explore strategies and techniques that could be implemented in the EFL classroom to encourage students‟ oral communication and foster their confidence. The first part starts with a brief introduction to present the research topic. It states the aims, purpose, research questions, and significance of the study. The second part features the relevant literature review, focusing on the current body of knowledge. The literature review provides a detailed description of the substantive findings as well as methodological and theoretical contributions to this topic. The study furnishes a wide range of reflections on English as a foreign language, and the special needs of students learning the language. It can be described as the impact of confidence on EFL students‟ oral communication apprehension in EFL students. In the third part, the paper discusses the methodology used in this study, followed by a discussion of an analysis of the findings in the fourth part. These two areas, i.e. discussion and findings answer the research questions and justify the research hypothesis. The last part of this work provides a conclusion to the study, accompanied by some recommendations.
Evaluating the Entrepreneurship Education Programme in Nigerian Universities for Sustainable Development

The study assessed the entrepreneurship education programme in Nigerian Universities as a means for guaranteeing sustainable development in Nigeria. The study was a survey research designed guided by four research questions. All the students in Ebonyi State University, (EBSU) Abakaliki and Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI) were used for the study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select twenty (20) students each from the eight faculties in EBSU and same from five faculties in FUNAI giving a total of 260 respondents as the sample size. Researcher-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data collected were analysed using mean scores. The findings of the study revealed that there are inadequate trained lecturers/instructors, instructional facilities/materials for teaching entrepreneurship education and the entrepreneurship curricular contents are relevant for sustainable development in Nigeria but does not fully equip students with adequate knowledge, resources and skills to establish on their own. Based on the findings, it was recommended that regular training and retraining of lecturers/instructors by the institutions authorities for competence in the teaching of entrepreneurship education, provision of requisite facilities and materials by the universities, government and individuals for instructional efficiency and effectiveness as this is critical to national development. Also government and private individuals and organisations should collaborate to provide necessary resources to university graduates in order to put the basic entrepreneurial skills they have acquired into practice.
Role of the Market Orientation in the Learning Company Context

Through the process of information and knowledge accumulation a company increases its ability to change its behavior to suit the consumers' needs. The importance of learning as a source of competitive advantage has given rise to the concept of a learning company as an organization, which has implemented systems, mechanisms and processes that increase its ability to achieve sustainable competitive advantages based on the results of learning on the individual, team and organizational level. While market orientation may lead to adaptive or single-loop learning about customers, competitors, and other constituents, it will not routinely lead to generative or double-loop learning unless accompanied by a strong learning orientation, which is created within the learning company. Learning orientation enables a company to challenge its present assumptions and underlying mental models. Such framework induces the process of experimentation on how a company could meet market expectations more effectively, enabling generative or transformational learning. In this context the learning approach, i.e. the transformation towards a learning company would likely enhance the effects of the market orientation and market information processing activities towards adaptive but also generative learning that has been cited as the true source of sustained competitive advantages.
An exploration of the absence of corporate social reporting (CSR) in Bangladesh

This paper aims to broaden the present CSR literature by examining the absence of CSR within the context of a developing country. This is an area which to date is relatively under researched in comparison to the more widely studied presence of CSR within developed Western countries. For this purpose, 23 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with senior corporate managers in Bangladesh. The findings suggest that the main reasons for non-disclosure include lack of legal requirements and lack of knowledge/awareness. The other reasons mentioned are lack of resources, poor performance and fear of bad publicity and inherent dangers in additional disclosures. The paper has raised some serious public policy concerns by exploring the underlying motives for absence of CSR in general and some eco-justice issues in particular (e.g. child labour, equal opportunities and poverty alleviation). These significant issues require careful consideration by the policy makers at the national, regional and international levels.
A Quantitative Survey on Iranian English Learners' Attitudes toward Varieties of English: World English or World Englishes?

This empirical study seeks to investigate Iranian English learners' attitudes toward different varieties of English in relation to the perspective of the theory of "World Englishes". Making use of a modification of matched guise technique, 165 English learners were asked to listen to a text read by native speakers of the following accent groups: British, Persian, American, and Arabic. Subjects, then, recorded their attitudes toward each of the readers using a semantic differential scale. Based on the results, the learners considered American accent to be quite superior to the others. They, also, considered people with American accent to be better teachers. These findings reveal the fact that Iranian English learners still believe in the existence of a World English rather than World Englishes.
Thermal Stability and Mechanical Properties of Glassy and Amorphous Ni-Nb-Zr Alloys Produced by Rapid Solidification

Rapidly solidified Ni–Nb–Zr alloys in a ribbon form with a thickness of about 20 mm were prepared by a single roller melt-spinning technique. Amorphous alloys were formed in the composition range of 20 to 75 at%Ni, 0 to 60 at%Nb and 0 to 80 at%Zr. Furthermore, glassy alloys were also synthesized in the range of 50 to 70 at%Ni, 5 to 35 at%Nb and 5 to 45 at%Zr. The maximum temperature interval of the supercooled liquid region was 51 K for Ni60Nb20Zr20 alloy. The tensile fracture strength and Vickers hardness of the glassy Ni60Nb20Zr20 alloy are 2160 MPa and 700, respectively. Wide ribbons with a width of 50 mm of amorphous Ni42Nb28Zr30 and glassy Ni60Nb20Zr20 alloys were produced at a circumferential velocity of the copper roller of 20 m/s.
Factors Affecting Production and Market Supply of Haricot Bean in Southern Ethiopia

Haricot bean has been an important export commodity for the Ethiopian economy for the last 40 years. It is the smallholder farmers in the low and mid-attitude zones of the country who use haricot bean, not only as source of income but also as source of food. The present study examines factors affecting production and market supply of haricot bean in Boricha district. Cross sectional data obtained from 165 sample respondents were used to estimate the cob-Douglas production function and supply model. The result of the log linear regression shows it is possible to increase production of haricot bean by increasing the supply of seed, fertilizer, nonfarm activities and labour. These variables cetirus-paribus significantly influence production positively. From the estimates of supply function, selling price and production amount positively and significantly affect marketable supply, but consumption significantly influences market supply negatively. Hence by increasing production and selling price, market supply can be improved. The policy implications of the present findings are to have increased and diversified nonfarm activities, with increased input delivery which would have great contribution in increasing haricot bean production and market supply in the area. Hence measures should be directed towards assuring appropriate remunerative prices and increases in investment on input supply to better commercialize the crop. Keywords: Smallholders, haricot bean, production structure, market surplus
Genetic Diversity of 30 Cai-xins ( Brassica rapa var. parachinensis ) Evaluated Based on AFLP Molecular Data

Cai-xin is common Chinese name for Brassica rapa var. parachinensis that is one of very important leafage vegetables in South China. The objectives of this research were to detect genetic diversities of the selected 30 Cai-xins based on AFLP makers as well as to evaluate the feasibilities of AFLP approach for biodiverse study . In this paper, the 25 pairs of AFLP primers were employed to generate 1160 amplified bands, of which 876 bands account for 76% were polymorphic bands The average polymorphism of tested 25 primer combinations reached 80%, the mean of polymorphism information content (PIC) was about 0.0239 and the amount of polymorphic loci was about 85.33%. The parameters of genetic diversity were calculated by the aid of GenAlEx 6.4 software including the number of different alleles (Na) 1.754, the number of effective alleles (Ne) 1.544, Shannon's Information Index (I) 0.472 and He 0.363. The values of genetic distance (GD) and genetic similarity (GS) were 0.112 and 0.895, respectively. Statistic analysis revealed that almost 100 percentage of variation existed within Cai-xins based on AMOVA data. The tested Caixins can classified into four groups at the 0.17 threshold of Nei’s genetic distances by clustering analysis based on UPGMA approach . The present results indicated that the genetic diversity of the tested Cai-xins should be quite low and the genetic variations of Caixins be mostly attributed to within varieties. Whereas we confidentially have conclusions that AFLP approach might be useful, efficiency and accuracy to detect genetic diversity among varieties, landraces and lines of Caixin, especially for those which have close relationship.
Spatial and temporal analysis of fecal indicator bacteria concentrations in beach water in San Diego, California

With millions of yearly beach visitors in southern California, beach water quality represents an important factor in public health and ocean dependent economy. Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in water is much easier to measure than disease causing organisms but correlation exists between the two. For this reason, FIB concentrations are used to measure recreational water quality and related health risk of body contact with the water. The source of FIB is often related, but not limited, to surface runoff. This study analyzed beach water FIB concentrations at two San Diego beaches, Ocean Beach and Tourmaline Surfing Park, that are affected by the river and storm water discharges, and explored the land use in their adjacent watersheds. The study distinguished between wet and dry weather and compared bacterial concentrations against the watershed land use. Furthermore, the study analyzed temporal and spatial dynamics of bacterial concentrations during and after storm weather at Ocean Beach. Finally, the study examined the relationship between bacterial concentrations at seven sampling sites of San Diego River tributaries and the land use within the tributaries. Fecal indicator bacteria concentrations showed a significant rise during rainfall. Ocean Beach had significantly higher FIB concentrations during dry weather, compared to Tourmaline Surfing Park, with significantly higher FIB concentrations at the sampling location near the river discharge in wet weather. Bacterial concentrations generally decreased with the distance from the closest surface water discharge. The peak in FIB concentration rise was reached already on the first day of the storm weather at Tourmaline Surfing Park and on the second day at Ocean Beach. As little as 1 mm of rainfall was needed for a significant raise in bacterial concentrations in beach water. Watersheds with a higher percentage of residential and transport area had lower mean bacterial concentrations in beach water at the surface water discharge, compared to watershed with lower percent of residential and transport area. Higher percentage of land, used for parks or open space, undeveloped land, commercial and public services, recreation, industry and agriculture in the watershed, corresponded to higher mean indicator bacteria at the beach where the river discharges. No correlation was found between Enterococcus concentration in San Diego River and land use in the tributaries. (Less)