Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Viscous sintering of unimodal and bimodal cylindrical packings with shrinking pores

Calculations, based on exact solutions, of the viscous sintering of simple packings with unimodal and bimodal distributions of particle sizes with shrinking pores are performed. The case of square unit cells is considered in detail. It is found that, for the most part, pore shrinkage times have very weak dependence on the precise details of the pore shape and that accurate estimates of total pore shrinkage times can be obtained based only on knowledge of the initial relative density (green density) and unit cell size. An exception is found when the particle packing is loose, the enclosed pore having a large perimeter-to-area ratio. By studying two different square packings of equal-sized particles it is shown that the looser packing can exhibit dilation, rather than densification, in the early stage of sintering.
Some Formulae for Norms of Elementary Operators

We present a formula for the norm of an elementary operator on a C ∗ -algebra that seems to be new. The formula involves (matrix) numerical ranges and a kind of geometrical mean for positive matrices, the tracial geometric mean, which seems not to have been studied previously and has interesting properties. In addition, we characterise compactness of elementary operators. We consider an elementary operator T x = P l=1 ajxbj (with x ∈ A a C ∗ -algebra and aj, bj ∈ M(A), with M(A) the multiplier algebra of A). We denote the class of elementary operators T : A → A by El(A). Specifically, we address the question of finding a concrete formula for the operator norm k T k . This problem has been considered (at least implicitly) over a long period by several authors and there are solutions known under various special circumstances (generalised derivations [25], antiliminal by abelian C ∗ -algebras [5], for example). See [19] for a recent survey of the problem, or see [3, §5.4] for a brief summary of its importance. One way to view the literature that relates to the problem is to separate two strands of problems. One strand concentrates on elementary operators of a rather special form (with l ≤ 2) and the other (for arbitrary l) has relied largely on dealing with the completely bounded norm k T k cb and the Haagerup tensor norm estimate k T k cb ≤ P l=1 aj ⊗ bj h .
SKA weak lensing – I. Cosmological forecasts and the power of radio-optical cross-correlations

We construct forecasts for cosmological parameter constraints from weak gravitational lensing surveys involving the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Considering matter content, dark energy and modified gravity parameters, we show that the first phase of the SKA (SKA1) can be competitive with other Stage III experiments such as the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and that the full SKA (SKA2) can potentially form tighter constraints than Stage IV optical weak lensing experiments, such as those that will be conducted with LSST, WFIRST-AFTA or Euclid-like facilities. Using weak lensing alone, going from SKA1 to SKA2 represents improvements by factors of $\sim10$ in matter, $\sim10$ in dark energy and $\sim5$ in modified gravity parameters. We also show, for the first time, the powerful result that comparably tight constraints (within $\sim5\%$) for both Stage III and Stage IV experiments, can be gained from cross-correlating shear maps between the optical and radio wavebands, a process which can also eliminate a number of potential sources of systematic errors which can otherwise limit the utility of weak lensing cosmology.
Rain and Rodents: Complex Dynamics of Desert Consumers

W is the lifeblood of the desert. It comes in rains that are typically scant and sporadic, but can be so intense as to cause flooding. Because water is the resource in shortest supply, the amount and timing of precipitation directly limits plant growth and primary production. Seasons of exceptionally heavy and frequent rains produce the spectacular desert blooms shown in nature films and magazines. Seasons of exceptionally high rainfall are also thought to cause increases in rodent populations and outbreaks of rodentborne diseases such as hantavirus and plague. El Niño is supposed to cause exceptionally heavy winter rainfall in the deserts of southwestern North America, leading in turn to plant growth, abundant seeds and insects, high populations of small mammals, density-dependent increases in parasites and diseases, and increased contact between rodents, their pathogens, and humans, resulting in disease epidemics. Thus, the outbreak of the Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus that killed 27 people in the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States in the summer of 1993 was attributed to the rains, plant production, and rodent increases triggered by the El Niño events of 1991–1992 and 1992–1993 (Harper and Meyer 1999). Ecologists have long been interested in these kinds of complicated pathways of interactions and particularly in how relationships between resources and consumers affect the structure and dynamics of ecosystems. The “bottom-up” pattern of regulation described above occurs when pulsatile resource inputs are transmitted up food chains, causing increases first in plants and then in successively higher trophic levels. This contrasts with “top-down” regulation, in which the feeding activities of top carnivores cascade down food chains to affect successively lower trophic levels (e.g., Hairston et al. 1960, Oksanen et al. 1981, Carpenter and Kitchell 1988). But ecological systems are complex, and there is reason to believe that resource–consumer relationships can exhibit chaotic or other forms of complicated nonlinear dynamics (e.g., Schaffer and Kot 1985, Hanski et al. 1993, Hastings et al. 1993, Lima et al. 1999). Long-term ecological studies provide unique opportunities to study resource–consumer relationships in realistically complex natural settings. Since 1977 we have been monitoring the weather, plants, and rodents in the Chihuahuan Desert near Portal, Arizona (figure 1; Brown 1998, Ernest et al. 2000). The resulting data allow us to evaluate the relationship between El Niño events and rainfall, the dependence of plants on precipitation, and the ways in which episodic rains affect desert rodent populations. After 23 years of study, we are far from understanding the dynamics of this ecosystem. One thing that is clear, however, is that simple bottom-up regulation does not occur. The responses of desert consumers to precipitation are complex and nonlinear.
DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF UV SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF CAFFEINE AND QUERCETIN IN NIOSOME FORMULATION

A new simple, rapid and precise UV spectrophotometric method was developed and validated for the simultaneous estimation of Caffeine and Quercetin. The method involved estimation of Caffeine and Quercetin by simultaneous equation at 273nm and 372nm respectively in their solution in methanol. The Beer’s law obeyed in the concentration range of 2-10 μg/ml for both Caffeine and Quercetin respectively. This method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision, Limit of detection and quantification as per ICH norms. This method was found to be precise as %RSD was less than 2. Thus, the proposed method was found to be rapid, specific, precise and accurate for the routine analysis of Caffeine and Quercetin in niosomal formulation.
Who was the better athlete? Which was the better team?

Often, there is disagreement about who is the better athlete, or the better team. The aim of this paper is to clarify a recent disagreement between the author (Mika Hämäläinen) and Arvi Pakaslahti about different views of ‘betterness’ in sport competitions. I introduced a ‘three criteria’ model of betterness, which suggested the following three criteria: the official result, the ideally adjudicated result and the display of athletic skills. Pakaslahti criticised my account and introduced his own model, which has two built-in ideals of sport competitions: the Athletic Superiority Ideal and the Just Results Ideal. I argue that when we look behind the terminological differences, there is surprisingly little genuine disagreement between my account and Pakaslahti’s.
The (Mis)representation of Enslavement in Historical Literature for Elementary Students

Context Elementary teachers will make difficult pedagogical choices when selecting materials to support their students’ learning about historical topics. Given the variety of historical books written for their students, certain stories will be emphasized and ultimately legitimated and others will be silenced through absence. Objective of Study The objective of this article is to identify and analyze children's literature spanning a spectrum of theoretical positioning and to interrogate their instructional implications. We investigate narratives and images of enslavement in children's literature through the question: how is enslavement portrayed in recently published elementary-level (first through sixth grade) literature? Research Design This article is a content analysis of 21 recently published elementary-level books that portray enslavement in U.S. history. Unlike previous studies of enslavement in children's literature, we analyzed both the narrative text and the illustrations in our dataset using methods that ensured interrater reliability. To accomplish this, we developed and tested an analytical tool for understanding the interpretive stances books deploy when they portray difficult moments in history. We deductively categorized textual and visual depictions of enslavement into one of three stances: selective tradition, social conscience, and culturally conscious. The criteria for these stances were established through critical race theory and the broad research tradition on African-American subjects in children's literature. Results Our analysis revealed the presence of all three depictions in children's literature. Our findings call attention to the need for careful decision-making on the part of elementary teachers, as their decisions around book selection will enact a curriculum that honors particular perspectives of U.S. history. The problematic elements identified in previous studies remain prevalent in modern books for elementary students. However, our findings also suggest teachers will be presented with a more complicated set of options when selecting among historical children's literature than previously documented by researchers. Conclusions While a diversity of interpretive narratives about enslavement is present in elementary-level history books, the invisibility of race in U.S. history remains a powerful feature in current historical resources. Researchers of a number of topics in K–12 education will find utility in the analytical tool developed for this article. Selective tradition, social conscience, and culturally conscious are interpretive frames that can be directed at any number of topics in children's literature.
Analytic solution of Stokes second problem for second-grade fluid

Using Laplace transformation and perturbation techniques, analytical solution is obtained for unsteady Stokes' second problem. Expressions for steady and transient solutions are explicitly determined. These solutions depend strongly upon the material parameter of second-grade fluid. It is shown that phase velocity decreases by increasing material parameter of second-grade fluid.
QUASI-UNIVERSAL RELATIONS FOR BANKFULL HYDRAULIC GEOMETRY OF SINGLE-THREAD GRAVEL-BED RIVERS

Alluvial, single-thread gravel-bed rivers with definable bankfull geometries are considered. Four baseline data sets determine relations for bankfull geometry, i.e. bankfull depth, bankfull width and down-channel slope as functions of bankfull discharge and bed surface median sediment size. In appropriate dimensionless form these relations show a remarkable degree of universality. This universality applies not only within the four sets used to determine the forms, but also to two independent data sets as well. The physical basis for this universality is studied in terms of four relations that can be back- calculated from the data: a) a Manning-Strickler-type relation for channel resistance, b) a channel-forming relation expressed in terms of the ratio of bankfull Shields number to critical Shields number, c) a relation for critical Shields number as a function of dimensionless discharge and d) a "gravel yield" relation specifying the (estimated) gravel transport rate at bankfull flow as a function of bankfull discharge and gravel size. These underlying relations are used to explore why the dimensionless bankfull relations are only quasi-universal, and to quantify the degree to which deviation from universality can be expected. Finally, the analysis is used to obtain a first estimate of a partition between skin friction and form drag.
Foreign Ownership Restrictions: A Numerical Approach

In this paper, we analyze the reason behind the use of foreign ownership restrictions on inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). We extend the results developed in Karabay (2005) by changing the condition on share distribution in the model. Due to this change, we are able to analyze the political economy aspect of this restrictive policy, i.e., we can study the effect of the host government’s welfare preference on the optimal foreign ownership restriction. Since the analytical solution to the optimal share restriction policy cannot be specified in general, we use a numerical approach based on collocation to approximate the solution to the problem. Within this framework, under certain conditions, it turns out that the rent extraction-efficiency trade-off is sharper the less the host government favors the local firm. We show that not only economic factors but also political factors play an important role in the determination of the foreign ownership restrictions.
Hemispheric Processing of Inferences During Discourse Reading: A Review of the Literature

Recently, there has been a surge of interest in exploring the inferential processes during reading with neurotechniques in psycholinguistics, psychology as well as cognitive neuroscience. Thus, neural mechanisms of inferential processes during discourse comprehension have been gradually revealed through the use of event-related potentials (ERPs), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), eye-tracking measurement, and positron emission tomography (PET). This paper aims to assess the status quo and prospects of research on neural mechanisms underlying inference generation during text comprehension. To this end, prominent models of inferential processes during reading comprehension are displayed and extant studies of neural mechanisms underlying different types of inferences (i.e., causal inferences, bridging inferences and predictive inferences) during text-level comprehension are elaborated. The most salient conclusion that can be drawn from this review is that even though there are quite a few studies performed on the neural mechanisms underlying different types of inferences, much needs to be done to reveal the underlying mechanisms of this complex cognitive process. It is promising to explore the validation phase of inferential processes during different genres of text comprehension in ideographic languages involving a wider range of subjects, and to examine the interactions between reader factors and text factors using neurotechniques in particular.
Perceptual cues to vowel quantity : Evidence from Swedish and Japanese

Research on the perception of Swedish vowel quantity suggests that when the duration of a vowel is relatively long, due for example to inherent duration or postvocalic voicing, vowel quantity might not be adequately cued by duration alone and might also make use of the vowel spectra to distinguish vowel quantities. The current project investigates whether Japanese listeners use spectral cues to identify the quantity of vowels which have a relatively long inherent duration. Results are compared with Swedish findings
A review on the geotechnical and engineering characteristics of marine clay and the modern methods of improvements

Marine clay is a soft soil that could be found widely at the coastal and offshore areas. This type of soil is usually associated with high settlement and instability, poor soil properties that are not suitable for engineering requirements and low unconfined compressive strength of less than 20 kPa. Considerable failure could occur even with light loads and it shows flat or featureless surface. This kind of soil is considered as problematic due to the existence of high moisture content and usually exists as slurry with noticeable percentage of expandable clay minerals. In this paper, the geotechnical, micro-structure and engineering properties of marine clay are thoroughly reviewed and discussed. The properties include moisture content, particle size distribution, specific gravity, Atterberg limits, mineral compositions and shear strength. Moreover, due to the increasing demand of construction at coastal and offshore areas involving the marine clay, many attempts have been made to stabilize this kind of soil in order to solve the geotechnical related problems. Some of the common stabilization methods used to improve the properties of marine clay such as cement grouting, chemical additives and some environmental friendly additives are discussed. In long term, marine clay treatment using cement was found to be the best method. In addition, this paper serves as a guideline for the design and construction of projects on marine soils.
Stable isotope analysis indicates microalgae as the predominant food source of fauna in a coastal forest stream, south‐east Brazil

Stable isotope studies of food webs in floodplains, large rivers, mangroves, and seagrasses have shown that, although a large proportion of the biomass may come from higher plants, microalgae provide a disproportionate amount of carbon assimilated by metazoan consumers. Evidence is building that this may also be the case for streams, especially those in the tropics. At the level of individual consumer species we also see that the apparent diet may not be reflected in the carbon assimilated. Tropical streams commonly have omnivore- detritivore species that potentially show this phenomenon. We tested these concepts in four moderately shaded sites in a stream in well-preserved Atlantic rainforest at Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro. We sampled aquatic insects, shrimps and fish as well as potential terrestrial and aquatic primary food sources. Carbon stocks from terrestrial sources predominated over carbon of algal origin (>99% of total). The primary sources of carbon showed distinctly different isotopic signatures: terrestrial sources had δ 13 C values close to −30‰, microalgae were −20‰ and macroalgae were −25‰. All fauna had δ 13 C values consistent with a carbon source derived from microalgae. Baetid mayflies and atyid shrimps exert a strong grazing pressure on periphyton and organic sediments but appear to assimilate predominantly microalgae. The palaemonid shrimp Macrobrachium olfersi also ingests large amounts of detritus of terrestrial origin, but apparently assimilates animal prey with algal δ 13 C signatures. These results support the growing view that tropical stream food chains are primarily algal based.
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO GRANDE DO NORTE DEPARTAMENTO DE ECOLOGIA PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM ECOLOGIA EWALDO LEITÃO DE OLIVEIRA JÚNIOR COPEPODS FUNCTIONAL TRAITS DETERMINE DURATION OF FACILITATION ON FILAMENTOUS CYANOBACTERIA TRAÇOS FUNCIONAIS DE ZOOPLÂNCTON (COPÉPODOS) DETERMINAM DURAC

Top-down regulations in trophic chain depend on herbivore grazing traits and producers edibility. By actively selecting nutritious eukaryotic phytoplankton and rejecting toxic cyanobacteria, grazing copepods may contribute to cyanobacteria blooms and dynamics. In tropical environments, for instance, copepods commonly cooccur with cyanobacteria blooms, raising the question whether they can facilitate cyanobacteria dominance. We experimentally tested the effects of two groups of copepods with different feeding modes – calanoid Notodiaptomus iheringi (active filter feeding) and cyclopoid Thermocyclops decipiens (ambush feeder) – on the competition of an eukaryotic phytoplankton Cryptomonas and the filamentous cyanobacteria Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. We assessed grazing in 1L batch cultures for seven days, starting with 10-fold initial dominance of Cryptomonas. Copepods demonstrated initial rejection of Cylindrospermopsis filaments, but while cyclopoids slightly increased grazing on cyanobacteria in extended experimental periods, calanoids reversed to clear more particles of cyanobacteria. Despite differences on grazing, both zooplankton decreased cyanobacteria filaments size similarly, reducing it in ~70%. We also performed experiments testing competition between phytoplankton that showed no interference on each other growth rates, assuring that results from grazing experiment are addressed to zooplankton feeding. Here, we demonstrated that copepod selectively avoidance of filamentous cyanobacteria Cylindrospermopsis may facilitate its dominance, depending on time and alternative food concentration. Cyclopoid, rather than calanoid, grazing may be an appropriate mechanism to explain filamentous cyanobacteria dominance, as they had lower impact on cyanobacteria abundance. This mechanistic approach understanding trophic dynamics using traits of different groups (i.e. copepods and cyanobacteria) is especially relevant in light of the more intense warmer and eutrophic world that will promote cyanobacteria bloom, and increase complexity of such interactions.
Crime without punishment: An update review of the determinants of cheating among university students

The issue of cheating is a serious problem since it can call the efficiency of an education system into question. Furthermore, it is a devaluing factor in the country's stock of human capital. A student who copies is a free-rider, in the sense that he/she gains a higher grade than that merited by the actual amount of effort expended on study. In addition, it makes it impossible for teachers to fully achieve the goal of effective dissemination to, and acquisition of knowledge by, students. This paper conceptually and methodologically systematizes the phenomenon of academic fraud. Distinct forms of theorizing illegal behaviours are examined, adapting Becker’s crime model (1968) to cheating. A systematic review of the literature has allowed certain direct determinants of the probability of “copying”, not yet investigated, to be identified, viz: 1) the ‘advantages’, in terms of a higher grade, that students see themselves as gaining from fraudulent behaviour in comparison with not indulging in it; 2) the breakdown of students’ grades by nature of discipline - “reasoning” versus “cramming”; and 3) the existence or otherwise of a code of honour in universities. As a result, this paper proposes a new, ‘expanded’, econometric specification for estimating cheating (i.e., the probability of “copying”) based on an analysis of the expected cost-benefit, according to Becker’s model.