Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gas injection and leakage in layered aquifers

Carbon dioxide (CO2) injection into saline aquifers is one method of mitigating anthropogenic climate change. To ensure secure storage of this CO2, it is important to understand the interaction of CO2 injection and migration with geological layering. For example, seismic monitoring at the Sleipner pilot project suggests that the injected CO2 is ponding against, and leaking across, a series of thin, intermediate seals. Here, we develop a gravity-current model for weakly compressible, two-phase fluid migration in a system of layered aquifers. Our model includes vertical leakage of both water and gas across seals, where the latter is subject to a capillary entry threshold. We demonstrate that the buildup of capillary pressure is very sensitive to the conductivity and connectivity of water films in the gas region. We identify two associated limiting cases, where gas obstructs water flow either completely or not at all. We then explore the parameters that govern gas leakage and the resulting fluid distributions---demonstrating that this problem involves a complex interplay between pressure dissipation, capillary pressure buildup, and fluid migration. We show that decreasing the relative permeability of water in the gas region can initiate gas leakage or significantly increase the amount of gas leakage. Finally, we apply our model to rock properties expected for Sleipner and show that CO2 injection may build up sufficient capillary pressure to invade the seals---suggesting that, contrary to conventional wisdom, CO2 may be able to leak across the intermediate seals at Sleipner in the absence of a focused conduit.
Practical Risk Measures in Reinforcement Learning

Practical application of Reinforcement Learning (RL) often involves risk considerations. We study a generalized approximation scheme for risk measures, based on Monte-Carlo simulations, where the risk measures need not necessarily be \emph{coherent}. We demonstrate that, even in simple problems, measures such as the variance of the reward-to-go do not capture the risk in a satisfactory manner. In addition, we show how a risk measure can be derived from model's realizations. We propose a neural architecture for estimating the risk and suggest the risk critic architecture that can be use to optimize a policy under general risk measures. We conclude our work with experiments that demonstrate the efficacy of our approach.
Focusing on the voices of adults diagnosed with 'Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’

The aim of this work was to allow the voices of adults who identified with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (‘ADHD’) to be heard and to contribute qualitative findings in a field heavily influenced by quantitative research. A further aim was to elicit therapeutic guidelines to add to and inform clinical practice in the field of counselling psychology. Using open-ended and informally structured questions, three interviews each were held with six participants, four men and two women. None of the participants had been formally diagnosed with ‘ADHD’ until their adulthood but all identified strongly with the characteristics of the condition. Narrative research methodology was used to explore participant transcripts holding the perspectives of temporality, sociality, place and adding a fourth – relationality, in mind. Participant narratives were presented in terms of their life story, their experience of ‘ADHD’ and the impact of both on their sense of themselves. Participants felt strongly that while the symptoms they experienced as a result of ‘ADHD’ had influenced and shaped what they saw as often dysfunctional relationships with self and others, they also acknowledged that early emotional trauma, neglect, and interpersonal dysfunction had played a part in their self-development. Their capacity to differentiate between themselves and behaviours driven by the neurological consequences of mistuned neural networks was compromised and resulted in damage to self-perception, self-esteem, self-confidence and self-worth. All participants were also aware of a capacity for divergent thinking that allowed some of their personal skills and talents to be productively exercised, particularly occupationally. Based on the findings a series of therapeutic guidelines were drawn up to inform clinical practice with this group. Limitations of this work were noted along with suggestions for further research projects.
Real Convergence in EU-15: A Comparative Analysis of North versus South Europe

Purpose: The paper looks at the issue of absolute and conditional income convergence in the EU-15 States, focusing upon the growth incidence of certain fundamental economic variables, along with corruption and bureaucracy. Design/Methodology/Approach: Applying advanced panel data techniques, dating from 1995 up to 2012, we focus on two discrete European State groups. The first group consists of the Southern EU countries (i.e. Greece Belgium, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal) and, the second group of the Northern EU countries (i.e. Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, UK). Findings: The results demonstrate that investment share, human capital and country openness appear as robust growth drivers; whereas, inflation and government consumption hamper growth. However, corruption and bureaucracy seem to affect differently growth of the two groups of the European States. Practical Implications: Certain policy implications and obligations accrue to the Southern European countries vs. the Northern European ones, with respect to the effects and consequences of specific fundamental economic variables, along with corruption and bureaucracy, towards the absolute and conditional income convergence in the EU-15. Originality/Value: Macroeconomic policies that affect economic growth, directly through their effect on physical and human capital accumulation and macroeconomic stability, reflected in low and stable rates of inflation and government consumption, would indeed increase growth in EU. Taking advantage of the European integration, in terms of real convergence, institutions seem also quite essential ingredients.
Spatial and Spatiotemporal GARCH Models -- A Unified Approach

In time-series analyses and particularly in finance, generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) models are widely applied statistical tools for modelling volatility clusters (i.e. periods of increased or decreased risks). In contrast, the spatial dependence in conditional second moments of spatial and spatiotemporal processes has been considered rather uncritical until now. Only a few models have been proposed for modelling local clusters of increased risks. In this paper, we introduce a unified spatial and spatiotemporal GARCH-type model, which covers all previously proposed spatial autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH) models but also introduces novel spatial GARCH (spGARCH) and E-GARCH processes. For this common modelling framework, maximum-likelihood estimators are derived. In addition to the theoretical contributions, we suggest a model selection strategy verified by a series of Monte Carlo simulation studies. Eventually, the use of the unified model is demonstrated by an empirical example. In particular, we focus on real-estate prices from 1995 to 2014 in all Berlin ZIP-code areas. For these data, a spatial autoregressive model has been applied, which shows locally varying model uncertainties captured by the spatial GARCH-type models.
Becoming La Ingeniera: Examining the Engineering Identity Development of Undergraduate Latina Students

ABSTRACT Latina students are enrolling in postsecondary education in high numbers, yet their enrollment in engineering fields remains low. Part of the challenge Latina students face is a struggle to develop a strong professional identity as an engineer. Using a phenomenological approach, this study examined the experiences of undergraduate Latina engineering students. Researchers used a four-step process to understand the meaning-making process of identity formation. Latina engineering students developed professional identities through interactions with family members, engagement with identity-based organizations, and in relation to their other identities. Implications include the need to enhance family involvement, provide organizational support, and consider intersecting identities.
Dynamic response of a size-dependent nanobeam to low velocity impact by a nanoparticle with considering atomic interaction forces

In the present paper, low velocity impact response of a size-dependent nanobeam in a thermal field with uniform temperature distribution has been investigated. The van-der Waals interaction force based on description of Lennard–Jonses is considered as the impact force between nanoparticle and nanobeam. According to third-order shear deformation beam theory, the governing equations are obtained using Hamilton's principle based on nonlocal strain-gradient theory. The Galerkin's method was adopted to solve the differential equations of nanobeam with simply supported and clamped boundary conditions. Afterward, the system of time-dependent equations by applying the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method is solved. The parametric study is presented to examine the effect of particle radius, initial velocity, temperature environment, the nonlocal parameter, and the length-scale parameter on the impact response of nanobeam.
The Role of Benthic Nitrogen Fixation as a Source of New Nitrogen to the New River Estuary, NC

Nitrogen (N) has been shown to limit primary production in many estuarine systems, including the New River Estuary (NRE), NC, a moderately eutrophied system with large areas of photic sediment. The NRE receives major inputs of allochthonous nutrients from agriculture and confined animal feeding operations as well as other sources. Autochthonous sources of N in the NRE include both remineralization and Nfixation. Whereas allochthonous sources are usually most important in winter/spring and during periods of high fresh water discharge, autochthonous sources are likely to become more important in summer. N-fixation, which can be performed by both autotrophic cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria, was shown to vary in response to light levels, organic matter and temperature. To assess the importance of N-fixation at a system-wide scale we sampled seasonally along the estuarine gradient at multiple water depths (with a range of light availabilities) and multiple sediment depths. Benthic N-fixation activity was determined using the acetylene reduction method. Molecular characterization of the microbial communities along with the molybdate inhibition technique were used to verify the relative importance of autotrophic to heterotrophic sulfate reducing N-fixers. The majority o f benthic NFix in the NRE was performed by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Although highest rates of benthic N-fixation were in the top 0 1 cm, a substantial portion occurred down to 10 cm in shallow and deep water samples. N-fixation rates were highest in the mid and lower estuarine sites during summer, with estimates as high as 2407 pmol N m ' 2 d"1. Benthic N-fixation rates varied seasonally and were a significant source of autochthonous N to the NRE, contributing up to 19% of total new N inputs during spring. The Role of Benthic Nitrogen Fixation as a Source of new Nitrogen to the New River Estuary, NC CHAPTER 1 Spatial and temporal patterns of benthic nitrogen fixation in the New River Estuary, NC
Unified Psycholinguistic Framework: An Unobtrusive Psychological Analysis Approach towards Insider Threat Prevention and Detection

An insider threat is a threat that comes from people within the organization being attacked. It can be described as a function of the motivation, opportunity, and capability of the insider. Compared to managing the dimensions of opportunity and capability, assessing one’s motivation in committing malicious acts poses more challenges to organizations because it usually involves a more obtrusive process of psychological examination. The existing body of research in psycholinguistics suggests that automated text analysis of electronic communications can be an alternative for predicting and detecting insider threat through unobtrusive behavior monitoring. However, a major challenge in employing this approach is that it is difficult to minimize the risk of missing any potential threat while maintaining an acceptable false alarm rate. To deal with the trade-off between the risk of missed catches and the false alarm rate, we propose a unified psycholinguistic framework that consolidates multiple text analyzers to carry out sentiment analysis, emotion analysis, and topic modeling on electronic communications for unobtrusive psychological assessment. The user scenarios presented in this paper demonstrated how the trade-off issue can be attenuated with different text analyzers working collaboratively to provide more comprehensive summaries of users’ psychological states.
3D Rezoning for Finite Element Modelling of Large Breast Deformations

Fine-meshed finite element models, employing finite strain formulations, are often unable to simulate very large deformations due to the large distortions of individual elements. Rezoning, where the deformed mesh is improved and simulation results are remapped onto the new mesh, has been proposed as a remedy. However, rezoning is currently not readily available for tetrahedral elements. Therefore we have developed a 3D rezoning method for tetrahedral elements. The 3D rezoning achieved a mean displacement accuracy of 99% for homogenous material and 97% for heterogenous material in comparison to a finite strain formulation for a 30% compression example. Its applicability to our problem, the simulation of large breast deformations as occurring during X-ray mammography, was demonstrated.
Abrupt Stratospheric Vortex Weakening Associated With North Atlantic Anticyclonic Wave Breaking

The sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) of 12 February 2018 was not forecast by any extended‐range model beyond 12 days. From early February, all forecast models that comprise the subseasonal‐to‐seasonal (S2S) database abruptly transitioned from indicating a strong stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) to a high likelihood of a major SSW. We demonstrate that this forecast evolution was associated with the track and intensity of a cyclone in the northeast Atlantic, with an associated anticyclonic Rossby wave break, which was not well forecast. The wave break played a pivotal role in building the Ural high, which existing literature has shown was a precursor of the 2018 SSW. The track of the cyclone built an anomalously strong sea level pressure dipole between Scandinavia and Greenland (termed the S‐G dipole), which we use as a diagnostic of the wave break. Forecasts that did not capture the magnitude of this event had the largest errors in the SPV strength and did not show enhanced vertical wave activity. A composite of 49 similarly strong wintertime (November–March) S‐G dipoles in reanalysis shows associated anticyclonic wave breaking leading to significantly enhanced vertical wave activity and a weakened SPV in the following days, which occurred in 35% of the 15‐day periods preceding observed major SSWs. Our results indicate a particular transient trigger for weakening the SPV, complementing existing results on the importance of tropospheric blocking for disruptions to the Northern Hemisphere extratropical stratospheric circulation.
An Empirical Test of Implied Volatility in Singaporean Structured Warrants

Options traders regard implied volatility a vital variable to determine profitability in options trading and use it to estimate the underlying stock’s volatility in the future. While it cannot predict market direction, it has a reputation for forecasting—to a certain extent—potential for large swings by the underlying stock. Once implied volatility is calculated, traders can estimate how high and low the stock can swing by the option’s expiration, and this probable estimation aids in making informed trading decisions. In this paper, we examine the information content of implied volatility of structured warrants in Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX). Using a daily dataset for 252 trading days for a period between August 1, 2014 and July 31, 2015, we test whether implied volatility is an unbiased estimate of realized volatility, if implied volatility contains information on future realized volatility, scrutinize the efficiency of implied volatility and its predictive power compared to historical volatility. Our findings suggest that for although implied volatility does contain some relevant information about future volatility, it is a biased forecast of realized volatility, the efficiency threshold of implied volatility is nugatory, and its predictive power is not superior to historical volatility.
Organizational Climate and Knowledge Sharing towards Employees’ Innovative Behavior in Design Industry

This study examined factors affecting innovative behavior amongst employees in Chinese design industry with the mediating effect of knowledge sharing. Its purpose is to motivate employees to work actively and stimulate their desire for innovation. The examined motivational factors were collective effective belief, freedom in decision. Knowledge sharing was included in the framework as the mediating variable. The survey data used in this empirical study were collected from 432 employees engaged in design work (that is, designers working in graphic design company in Shanxi province of China were the main research objects). Multiple regressions were used to analyses the hypotheses. The findings showed that the effect of collective effective belief on employees’ innovative behavior was high. Practical enlightenment is to discover the theory, how to stimulate and promote the employees’ innovative behavior in the organizational climates, and the organic symbiosis between individuals and collective development in the organizational environment.
Electromagnetic studies of the western part of the Ukrainian Shield

Results of synchronous magnetotelluric and magnetovariation researches along profiles Radomyshl—Fastiv and Ruzhin—Skvira conducted in 2015 for studying the deep structure of crust of the western part of the Ukrainian Shield, on purpose of search the zones of metasomatism and the related ore occurrences minerals are given. Tippers for the periods of geomagnetic variations from 20 to 3700 s and curves of apparent resistan-ce from 10 to 10 000 s are received. According to high-quality interpretation of complex tippers and MTZ curves on a profile Radomyshl—Fastiv three local abnormal structu-res are allocated confined to crossing of separate parts of the submeridional faults, such as Vilensky, Kocherivsky and Brusilivsky with the system of sublatitudinal minor faults. The analysis of MTZ curves confirms the non-uniform three-dimensional situation on all the area of research. In the center of Kocherivska sinclinal structure the existence of a high-conductivity zone which roof lies at a depth of 20—50 km is supposed. On a pro-file Ruzhin—Skvira the following anomalies are recognized: the local high-conductivity surface which is situated in the Zvizdal-Zaliska fault zone; the near-surface one which goes deep to the east along the profile and can correspond to the geological structure, namely the Samgorodsky fault of the second order, and it is limited from the west by Ogiyvsky, and from the east by Velikoyerchikivsky deep faults. Anomalies of high electrical conductivity are spatially confined to the known ore-bearing fields — Papirnyanske, Tovstovske and Kocherivske of the rare metal pegmatites and Potashnyanske tungsten ore field. The anomalies allocated spatially coincide with the zones of distribution of metasomatism and metasomatically changed rocks which are promising for endogenic mineralization, namely skarn in the Volynsk megablock; greisens and zones of epi-dotization, quartzitization in Kocherivsky synclinoriums; zones of quartzitization and mik-roklinization of the Zvizdal-Zaliska faults zone; zones of chloritization, mikroklinization, epidotization and hydrothermal change of rocks of the Brusilivska fault zone; zones of a muskovitization, epidotization and quartzitization of the Rosinsky megablock.
What Works in Alternative Dispute Resolution? The Impact of Third-Party Neutral Strategies in Small Claims Cases

This research examines “what works” in small claims court alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) processes. Using a comprehensive quasi-experimental design that combines real-time behavioral observation of authentic small claims court ADR sessions with pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, the study measures the immediate and long-term impact of various strategies by third-party neutrals on party attitudes and case outcomes. Eliciting Participant Solutions had the broadest range of positive impacts. Greater percentage of time spent in caucus was associated with negative outcomes. Reflecting had short-term positive associations and Neutral Offering Solutions had long-term negative associations.
Fast Hyperspectral Soft X-Ray Mapping

X-ray mapping is an important function of both the SEM and EPMA, and in recent decades developments in detectors and computing technology has allowed the collection of hyperspectral maps. The latest hyperspectral detector to become available is the soft x-ray emission spectrometer (SXES) [1, 2]. This detector collects a limited range of the x-ray spectrum in parallel, but has lowered the minimum energy of detectable x-rays to as low as 45 eV, with an energy resolution as low as 99 meV for Mg-L (49 eV) [3]. This not only opens up the opportunity for direct lithium measurement in the microprobe, but also allows for the spectral mapping of L, M, and N lines of some elements. These low energy lines originate from transitions of electrons from orbitals that are involved in bonding, and thus the peak shape and position of these lines are sensitive to the local chemical environment.
Perceptions on Benefits of Ecotourism Development by Residents of Fringe Communities to Two National Parks in West Africa

Fringe communities in protected areas (national parks) are thought to benefit immensely from ecotourism development emanating from such facilities. This study sought to assess the perceived benefits of ecotourism development in nearby communities to two West African national parks namely: Kainji Lake National Park (KLNP) in Nigeria and Mole National Park (MNP) in Ghana. Stratified random sampling was used in selecting 10 households each in both countries. A total of 582 respondents were contacted through semi-structured questionnaires while key informant interviews including focus group discussions were used to obtain data on the direct, indirect and service benefits. Data analysed suggests that at KLNP, the provision of boreholes (45.7%) was the most cited direct benefit whereas 58.8% of respondents to communities adjacent MNP cited provision of health services. The indirect benefits revealed at KLNP were that residents had the opportunity to provide transport services to tourists, while at MNP, residents had an opportunity to display culture at a fee and sell arts and craft to visiting tourists. Service benefits unveiled in the study relate more of employment generation through ecotourism in both parks. A “needs assessment” survey of “flanking” communities is recommended as an appropriate measure to bridging the gap between what benefits the residents need and why such benefits should give the needed impetus to support conservation efforts in both parks.