Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What makes seep carbonates ignore self-sealing and grow
vertically? The role of burrowing decapod crustaceans

Abstract. We investigated the mechanisms that govern vertical growth of seep carbonates by studying the sedimentary architecture of a 15-m-thick, 8-m-diameter column of limestone encased in a deep-water marl succession in the Middle Callovian interval of the Terres Noires Formation in the SE France basin. The limestone body, a.k. a. pseudobioherm is characterized by intense bioturbation, with predominant burrows of the Thalassinoides/Spongeliomorpha suite, excavated by decapod crustaceans. Bioturbation is organized in three tiers. The upper tier corresponds to shallow homogenization of soupy sediment and the second one to pervasive burrowing dominated by Thalassinoides passively filled by pellets. Both homogenized micrite and burrow-filling pellets are depleted in 13C in the range −5 to −10 ‰. The deepest tier in contrast is filled by diagenetic cements arranged in two phases. The first cement phase makes a continuous rim coating the burrow wall, in which carbon isotope data show consistent 13C depletion near −8 ‰ to −12 ‰, indicating precipitation by anaerobic oxidation of methane in the sulfate-methane transition zone. In contrast, the second cement phase is dominated by saddle-dolomite indicating precipitation at a temperature > 80 °C, largely post-dating the burial of the pseudobioherm. The late final blocking of the burrows means that vertical fluid communication was possible over the whole thickness of the pseudobioherm up to the seabed during its active growth. Vertical growth is related to the presence of this open burrow network, providing a high density of localized bypass points across the intra-sediment calcite precipitation zone in the sulfate-methane transition zone and preventing self-sealing from blocking upward methane migration and laterally deflecting fluid flow. One key characteristic that prevented passive fill of the burrows is their geometric complexity with numerous subhorizontal segments that could trap sediment shed from shallower bioturbation tiers.
Αn Eclectic Discussion of the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on the World Economy During the First Stage of the Spread

This paper examines the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, according to the World Health Organization, has affected every country and has caused millions of deaths as well as huge financial losses. This paper, then, explores recent statistics documenting the disruption of the world economy. Of course, the blow at the level of business, market, employment, income, industries, companies, and so on is an issue that should be constantly investigated. The ongoing impact study proposal is based on the fact that each developing country has taken measures and enacted policies to reduce the direct impact of COVID-19. However, as research shows, each country has different records and sizes of impacts to their economies, and any government effort to reduce these effects should take into account national losses and impacts so the recovery measures are proportionate. Government measures should be adapted to the operational needs and difficulties of the country to effectively ensure resilience, security, reduction of economic losses and sustainable industrialization.
The Xigaze ophiolite: fossil ultraslow-spreading ocean lithosphere in the Tibetan Plateau

The crust and mantle both in ophiolites (fossil ocean lithosphere) and in modern oceans are enormously diverse. Along-axis morphology and lower crustal accretion at ultraslow-spreading ocean ridges are fundamentally different from those at faster-spreading ridges, and are critical to understanding how crustal accretion varies with spreading rate and magma supply. Ultraslow-spreading ridges provide analogues for ophiolites, to identify those that may have formed under similar conditions. Parallel studies of modern ocean lithosphere and ophiolites therefore can uniquely inform the origin and genesis of both. Here we report the results of structural and petrological studies on the Xigaze ophiolite in the Tibetan Plateau, and compare it with the morphology and deep drilling results at the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge. The Xigaze ophiolite has a complete but laterally discontinuous crust, with discrete diabase dykes and sills cutting both mantle and lower crust. The gabbro units are thin (c. 350 m) and show upward cyclic chemical variations, supporting for an episodic and intermittent magma supply. These features are comparable with the highly focused magmatism and low magma budget at modern ultraslow-spreading ridges. Thus we suggest that the Xigaze ophiolite represents an on-land analogue of ultraslow-spreading ocean lithosphere. Supplementary material: Single-spot analysis and average compositions for mineral major element compositions (wt.%) of the Jiding gabbro section, Xigaze ophiolite are available at https://doi.org/10.17632/dtzpmwkscp.1
Kinetics and mechanism of oxidation of creatine by N-Bromosuccinimide in acidic aqueous medium

The kinetics and the mechanism of oxidation of creatine (AA) by N-Bromosuccinimide (NBS) in an acidic aqueous medium were examined under isolation conditions. Iodometric method was used to follow the unconsumed NBS at different time intervals. Mercuric(II) acetate was used as a scavenger to capture any Brformed during the reaction and hence to avoid autocatalytic oxidation by bromine. Findings from stoichiometry measurements revealed that the reaction between AA and NBS was a 2:1 molar ratio. The kinetic study showed that the reaction was first order with respect to both AA and NBS. Increasing [H+] had a negative effect on the rate of reaction. The effect that varying the solvent composition has on the rate of reaction was investigated, and it was found that the reaction rate decreased as the dielectric constant of the solvent increased. The temperature dependence was determined under fixed experimental conditions, from which thermodynamic parameters were calculated. From the proposed mechanism, a rate law was established that was in strong agreement with experimental kinetics.
Machine Learning Analysis of National Vaccination Schedules and Rates of Compliance Reveals Correlation with COVID19 Mortality

We questioned whether previous vaccination histories, as reflected by the national vaccination schedules and compliance rates, might correlate with mortality rates from COVID-19. Using a machine learning algorithm, we aligned the WHO data on national vaccinations schedules and compliance rates with national mortality rates, as published daily by official health authorities and posted on the WHO website. Vaccination schedule and the national rates of compliance were significantly associated with national mortality rates. The five most influential vaccines were Rubella, inactivated Polio, DTP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis) and the Pneumococcal vaccine. These vaccinations are more likely to be associated with younger generations whereas mortality is reported mainly in older people. Our findings suggest that further studies exploring the possible mechanism(s) underlying this association with vaccination may provide important information in dealing with an ongoing pandemic. Supporting our conclusions, a recent computational study predicted an epitope similarity between the viruses causing COVID_19, measles, and rubella, the latter two covered by the triple vaccine MMR identified in our studies. This suggests that childhood vaccinations contribute to the differential clinical presentation of COVID_19 in young and older populations. Some recent publication also hypothesized that there would be a non-specific protective effect for the MMR vaccine.
Desempenho agronômico a campo de híbridos de milho inoculados com Azospirillum

O uso de inoculantes na cultura do milho tem sido cada vez mais valorizado, em vista dos beneficios que pode trazer a cultura, como a fixacao biologica do nitrogenio e o aumento da quantidade de raizes. Isto pode melhorar a absorcao de agua e nutrientes pela planta, contribuindo para o desenvolvimento do milho, principalmente em periodos de seca. Este estudo foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de avaliar, em condicoes de campo, as caracteristicas agronomicas e o rendimento de graos de hibridos de milho, inoculados, ou nao, com uma mistura de tres especies de Azospirillum (A. brasilense, A. lipoferum, A. oryzae). Foram avaliados o teor relativo de clorofila nas folhas, a altura de planta, a senescencia foliar, os componentes de rendimento de graos, o teor de N, a materia seca da parte aerea das plantas e o numero mais provavel de bacterias diazotroficas na rizosfera das plantas. A inoculacao manteve o teor de clorofila significativamente maior ate o estadio R3 das plantas, para os tres hibridos testados, aumentou o rendimento da materia seca da parte aerea, dos hibridos AS 1575 e SHS 5050, o peso de 1000 graos, para o hibrido P32R48 e altura, para o AS 1575. Houve interacao entre os genotipos de milho e as bacterias inoculadas, visto que, cada hibrido testado respondeu de forma diferente a inoculacao. A inoculacao de Azospirillum em milho demonstrou estimular o desenvolvimento das plantas no periodo vegetativo, aumentando a probabilidade de obter-se um estande de plantas uniforme, maior resistencia ao estresse e maior concentracao de clorofila nas folhas.
Imaging of dioctahedral 2:1 layers by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM): Possibility of recording the dehydroxylate

Abstract High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images of dioctahedral 2:1 phyllosilicates (muscovite, paragonite, pyrophyllite, etc.) acquired by intense electron radiation may not record the natural state but rather the dehydroxylate phase, e.g., NaAl2Si3AlO11 in the case of paragonite, NaAl2Si3AlO10(OH)2. Intense electron radiation on paragonite changes its electron diffraction pattern by a small increase in cell edges and a considerable decrease of the β angle, which are consistent with dehydroxylation. Comparison between experimental and simulated HRTEM images also indicates that the experimental image contrast is in better agreement with that for the dehydroxylate structure than the natural state. Thus, special care is necessary when analyzing the structures of dioctahedral 2:1 phyllosilicates from their HRTEM images, e.g., positions of octahedral cations that were proposed to change by migration during the dehydroxylation process
The Financial Development-Renewable Energy Consumption Nexus in the Case of Azerbaijan

This article analyzed the relationship between financial development, renewable energy consumption, economic growth, and energy prices in Azerbaijan by employing time series data for the time span of 1993–2015. The autoregressive distributed lagged (ARDL) technique was applied in empirical estimations, because it performs better than all the alternative techniques in small samples, which was the case here in this article. The results of estimation found that there is a positive and statistically significant influence of financial development and economic growth on renewable energy consumption, whereas the prices of energy proxied by CPI have an adverse impact on renewable energy consumption in Azerbaijan. Also, estimation results demonstrated that a 1% rise in financial development, proxied by domestic credit as a percentage of GDP, and economic growth increase renewable energy consumption by 0.16% and 0.60%, respectively. The different financial development impacts on renewable energy consumption and related policy implications were also introduced.
Sustainable Methods for a Sustainable Production of Peppermint (Mentha x piperita L.) Essential Oil

Abstract Sustainable agriculture is a practice involving the management of resources for agriculture to satisfy the human needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Peppermint (Mentha x piperita L.) cultivation and essential oil production is described in relation to soil and nutrients, pests and pathogens, environmental factors, biotechnological applications, cell and tissue culture and essential oil distillation. Besides an overview on the state of the art of peppermint cultivation and oil production, new results are presented on the intercropping of peppermint with soybean and the selection of a new pest-resistant early blooming peppermint variety. The application of sustainable agricultural and technological methods for a sustainable peppermint oil production is discussed.
Photocatalytic TiO2-Based Nanostructured Materials for Microbial Inactivation

Pathogenic microorganisms can spread throughout the world population, as the current COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically demonstrated. In this scenario, a protection against pathogens and other microorganisms can come from the use of photoactive materials as antimicrobial agents able to hinder, or at least limit, their spreading by means of photocatalytically assisted processes activated by light—possibly sunlight—promoting the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can kill microorganisms in different matrices such as water or different surfaces without affecting human health. In this review, we focus the attention on TiO2 nanoparticle-based antimicrobial materials, intending to provide an overview of the most promising synthetic techniques, toward possible large-scale production, critically review the capability of such materials to promote pathogen (i.e., bacteria, virus, and fungi) inactivation, and, finally, take a look at selected technological applications.
"I am just shy and timid": Student teachers’ explanations for their performances of their presentations

As part of the research on motivation, causal attribution studies have an important role in predicting and improving academic performance since controllable and uncontrollable attributions have an effect on learners’ future actions. Following this path, the present qualitative study investigates the attributions of students in an English Language Teaching (ELT) program for the performances of their presentations as part of an oral communication skills course. Upon the completion of the course, a total of 83 second year ELT students scored their performances out of 10 and provided explanations for their performances. This data set illustrated their attributions and estimated future achievements. Data analysis consisted of two phases: first, the students were divided into two groups based on the perceived successes of their performances, and secondly, their explanations were examined with content analysis. The initial analysis showed that 20 students scored themselves as less successful and 63 students scored themselves as successful. It revealed that the less successful group attributed their performances mostly to their mood and lack of effort, both of which are categorized in the internal attributions. In contrast, the successful students attributed their performances to effort, mood, and strategy use, all of which fell into the internal category as well. From these results, it can be concluded that the learners had a higher locus of control in that they attributed their performances to mostly internal attributions. In addition, providing immediate teacher feedback and creating a classroom environment for vicarious learning were effective for increasing learners’ effort and motivation for their presentations. These findings may imply that teachers focus on providing immediate feedback and create an effective classroom atmosphere that will probably lead to vicarious learning.
Synthesis and Spontaneous Polymerization of Oligo(ethylene glycol)-Conjugated Benzofulvene Macromonomers. A Polymer Brush Forming a Physical Hydrogel

Two methyl end-capped oligo(ethylene glycol) esters (1a,b) of benzofulvene derivative BF1 were synthesized and induced to polymerize spontaneously by solvent removal to give poly-1a,b showing both NMR and absorption/emission spectra very similar to those of poly-BF1. Poly-1a,b showed relatively high molecular weight and the tendency to depolymerize to a different degree as a function of the temperature in the presence of solvents, while they exhibited appreciable stability in the absence of solvent. Poly-1b, bearing a longer oligo(ethylene glycol) side chain, featured an amphiphilic character and interacted with a number of organic solvents to produce transparent gel aggregates, and with water to give a quite compact physical gel. Rheological studies performed on the hydrogel suggested strong gel characteristics and the combination of rheology and NMR transverse relaxation measurements allowed the pore size distribution in the hydrogel to be defined. Finally, biological studies performed with poly-1b solu.
Harnessing the musician advantage: Short-term musical training affects non-native cue weighting of linguistic pitch

Lexical tone languages like Mandarin Chinese require listeners to discriminate among different pitch patterns. A syllable spoken with a rising pitch (e.g. bí ‘nose’) carries a different meaning than the same syllable spoken with a falling pitch (e.g. bì ‘arm’). For native speakers (L1) of a non-tonal language, accurate perception of tones in a second language (L2) is notoriously difficult. Musicians, however, have typically shown an aptitude for lexical tone learning due to the unique perceptual demands of music. This study tested whether musical effects can be exploited to improve linguistic abilities in the general population. A pre-test, 8-week training, post-test design was used to measure L1 English participants’ sensitivity to tone. Individual Differences Scaling was used to measure participants’ weighting of pitch height and movement cues. Participants took part in classroom Mandarin learning only (+L2), musical ear training only (+Music), or classroom learning combined with musical training (+L2+Music). An L1 Mandarin group served as a baseline. At pre-test, mean sensitivity to tone and multidimensional scaling results were similar across all three L1 English groups. After training, all three L1 English groups improved in mean sensitivity, though only the +L2+Music group did so at a significant rate. Multidimensional scaling revealed that all groups increased their weighting of the more informative pitch movement cue at roughly equal rates. Short-term musical training thus affected change in cue weighting of linguistic pitch in a manner comparable to that occurring after a semester of L2 classroom learning. When combined with classroom learning, short-term musical training resulted in even greater sensitivity to pitch movement cues. These results contribute to models of music-language interaction and suggest that focused application of non-linguistic acoustic training can improve phonetic perception in ways that are relevant to language learning.
Incremental Contributions of Static and Dynamic Sexual Violence Risk Assessment: Integrating Static-99R and VRS-SO Common Language Risk Levels

We examined the incremental contributions of static and dynamic sexual violence risk assessment in a multisite sample of 1,289 men treated for sexual offending. The study extends validation work that established new risk categories and recidivism estimates for the Violence Risk Scale–Sexual Offense version (VRS-SO), using the risk assessment common language (CL) framework. Different rates of sexual recidivism were observed at different thresholds of static risk (Static-99R) as a function of dynamic risk and treatment change, particularly for men who were actuarially above or well above average risk (Levels IVa and IVb, respectively). A framework integrating CL risk levels for Static-99R and VRS-SO dynamic scores into overall CL risk levels is presented. We discuss implications for dynamic sexual violence risk assessment regarding the language used for risk communication and the importance of dynamic risk instruments in sexual violence evaluations, particularly when credible agents of risk change may be present.
Predictions of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray Propagation in the Context of Homogeneously Modified Special Relativity

Ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) may interact with photon backgrounds and thus the universe is opaque to their propagation. Many Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV) theories predict a dilation of the expected horizon from which UHECRs can arrive to Earth, in some case even making the interaction probability negligible. In this work, we investigate this effect in the context of the LIV theory that goes by the name of Homogeneously Modified Special Relativity (HMSR). In this work, making use of a specifically modified version of the SimProp simulation program in order to account for the modifications introduced by the theory to the propagation of particles, the radius of the proton opacity horizon (GZK sphere), and the attenuation length for the photopion production process are simulated and the modifications of these quantities introduced by the theory are studied.
Intellectual Property Management in Publicly Funded R&D Program and Projects: Optimizing Principal–Agent Relationship through Transdisciplinary Approach

Large-scale, publicly funded research and development (R&D) programs are implemented to accelerate state-of-the-art science, technology, and innovation applications that are expected to solve various societal problems. The present study aims to build on the body of theory on the mechanisms that promote or impede the creation of intellectual property in such programs. Using a mixed methods approach and combining quantitative network analysis and qualitative semistructured interviews, we conducted a case study to investigate best practices in terms of intellectual property creation in a Japanese governmental research and development program. The results of the network analysis showed that the core/periphery structure in the co-inventor network of patents and joint application by a university and a startup promoted intellectual property creation. The results of the interview confirmed the significance of a reciprocal mindset, which the researchers in academia could acquire through collaboration with a startup. These results suggest that a knowledge logistics system for agile intellectual property management can be established by learning to acquire tacit knowledge on social implementation. Furthermore, we focus on the principal–agent relationship between knowledge producers and knowledge consumers as a factor that impedes the creation of intellectual property. We also discuss adverse selection and moral hazards caused by information asymmetry between knowledge producers and knowledge consumers and how to deal with them.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT, GREEN INNOVATION AND FIRM VALUE: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of quality management on green innovation, as measured by green process innovation and green product innovation. The study also aims to examine the effect of green innovation as a mediating variable between quality management and firm value. Data were collected from 352 annual reports of manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the financial year 2014-2017. The study employed simple regression analysis, multiple regression and Sobel Test for hypotheses testing. The results showed that quality management has a positive effect on green process innovation, but not with green product innovation. Quality management decreases firm value, but, when the company conducts a green process innovation together with quality management, firm value increases. Being an ISO 9001 certified company does not guarantee implementing green product innovation because it requires a large investment. Companies can enhance firm value by simultaneously and consistently employing quality management, green process innovation and green product innovation.