Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research and development, market valuation and cash flow sensitivity: the influence of firm’s characteristics and corporate governance factors

En esta Tesis Doctoral hemos investigado como las caracteristicas de las empresas moderan la relacion entre I+D y el valor de la empresa. Por ello, hemos desarrollado un modelo de valoracion basado en la condicion de arbitraje del mercado de capitales segun la cual el valor de la empresa depende del residual income y de la inversion en I+D. Utilizando este nuestro modelo de valoracion, interaccionamos la variable I+D con varias caracteristicas de la empresa con el objetivo de investigar como las caracteristicas de la empresa moderan la relacion entre I+D y la valoracion del mercado de la inversion en I+D
Modeling particle transport in downward and upward flows

Experimental data obtained for particle transport in downward and upward flows in smooth and rough porous media are analyzed at various flow rates. The data analysis and interpretation are aided through an analytical model with linear kinetics that assumes two sites for particle deposition within a medium, namely, reversible and irreversible, together with a dual mode of irreversible deposition. The bimodal particle transport model is obtained using the Green's function method and is capable of fitting, with reasonable accuracy, the observed transport and deposition behavior of particles. Approximations for advection‐dominated flows are also obtained that could represent a simplified modeling tool. Expressions of the temporal moments are developed and algebraic equations are derived that express the model parameters in terms of the moments of the measured particle concentration distributions. The transport models helped define the relationship of the modeled parameters to flow velocity and media roughness. The fitting results show that the parameters for rough and smooth media vary in a systematic way with the pore fluid velocity. The results also reveal that flow direction has a significant influence on the mode and magnitude of irreversible particle deposition for the conditions investigated. For the same seepage velocity, the rate of particle deposition is greater for upward flows than for downward flows. Moreover, roughness effects increase the irreversible particle deposition in downward flows but have little effect in upward flows.
Linking the southern annular mode to the diurnal temperature range shifts over southern Africa

The link between the diurnal temperature range (DTR) and the southern annular mode (SAM) over southern Africa for the October to December period during 1960 to 2012 is established using observations. The DTR shifts are consistent with the change of moisture and temperature advection over the subregion which is related to the SAM‐induced circulation alterations. As such, we consider these changing circulation patterns as playing the dominant role in different types of the DTR development. In fact, for the long‐term influence of changes in the large‐scale circulation over southern Africa, the SAM circulation may have substantially contributed to the long‐term development of cloud cover/precipitation, which can be used as a proxy for the DTR variability in recent decades. Therefore, cloud cover and precipitation changes acted as a disguise rather than the actual cause for the variations in DTR. At the same time, while the mean temperature trends over southern Africa are similar to the global trends that indicate general warming, this increase is superimposed on the significant DTR decadal variability. Consequently, the DTR can be considered as a possible radiative forced index independent of internal climate variations, which is able to provide additional information for the detection and attribution of climate change over southern Africa.
Fire return intervals within the northern boundary of the larch forest in Central Siberia

A fire history of northern larch forests was studied. These larch forests are found near the northern limit of their range at ~71°N, where fires are predominantly caused by lightning strikes rather than human activity. Fire-return intervals (FRIs) were calculated based on fire scars and dates of tree natality. Tree natality was used as an approximation of the date of the last fire. The average FRI was found to be 295±57 years, which is the longest reported for larch-dominated stands. Prior studies reported 80–90-year FRIs at 64°N and ~200 years near the latitude of the Arctic Circle. Comparing data from fires that occurred in 1700–1849 (end of the Little Ice Age, LIA) and 1850–1999 (post-LIA warming) indicates approximately twice as many fires occurred during the latter period. This agrees with the hypothesis that observed climatic warming will result in an increase in fire frequency. Our results also indicate that fires that did not leave visible fire scars on the tree stem may be identified based on the date of growth release revealed from dendrochronology.
The potential use of N-octanoyl-dopamine (NOD) in organ transplantation

Since stimulation of transient receptor potential channels of the vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (TRPV1) mitigates acute kidney injury (AKI) and endogenous N-acyl-dopamine derivatives are able to activate TRPV1, we tested if synthetic N-octanoyl-dopamine (NOD) activates TRPV1 and if it improves AKI. These properties of NOD and its intrinsic anti-inﬂ ammatory character were compared with those of dopamine (DA). TRPV1 activation and anti-inﬂ ammatory properties of NOD and DA were tested using primary cell cultures in vitro . The inﬂ uence of NOD and DA on AKI was tested in a prospective, randomized, controlled animal study with 42 inbred male Lewis rats (LEW, RT1) treated intravenously with equimolar concentrations of DA or NOD one hour before the onset of warm ischemia and immediately before clamp release.
Physical Simulation of Balance Recovery after a Push

Our goal is to simulate how humans recover balance after external perturbation, e.g., being pushed. While different strategies can be adopted to achieve balance recovery, we particularly aim at replicating how humans combine the control of their support area with the control of their body movement to regain balance when it is necessary. We develop a physics-based approach to simulate balance recovery, with two main contributions to achieve our goal: a foot control technique to adjust the shape of a character’s support zone to the motion of its center of mass (CoM), and the dynamic control of the CoM to maintain its vertical projection in this same zone. We also calibrate the simulation by optimisation, before validating our results against experimental data.
Few-shot Classification for Image-based Crack Detection

Current approaches for autonomous crack detection are mainly based on supervised learning, which relies on a large number of annotated examples for training. However, it requires a time-consuming and labor-intensive image acquisition process. This paper proposes a transductive approach based on the improved Prototypical Network (ProtoNet) for few-shot crack detection to solve this issue. Its architecture consists of a cross-domain feature encoder and a linear classifier. The feature embedding is achieved through pre-trained DNN backbones from ImageNet, and the transductive inference is based on Euclidean distance after embedding normalization. The approach is validated on a public dataset for automatic bridge crack detection, which can achieve over 94% mean accuracy for 2-way 5-shot crack identification in the test set through pre-trained GoogleNet backbone after fine-tuning. The approach is also tested using real bridge inspection images, demonstrating its capability of fast implementation for crack detection with weakly supervised information under practical scenarios.
Adoption and Use of Digital Technologies among General Dental Practitioners in the Netherlands

Objectives To investigate (1) the degree of digital technology adoption among general dental practitioners, and to assess (2) which personal and practice factors are associated with technology use. Methods A questionnaire was distributed among a stratified sample of 1000 general dental practitioners in the Netherlands, to measure the use of fifteen administrative, communicative, clinical and diagnostic technologies, as well as personal factors and dental practice characteristics. Results The response rate was 31.3%; 65.1% replied to the questionnaire on paper and 34.9% online. Each specific digital technology was used by between 93.2% and 6.8% of the dentists. Administrative technologies were generally used by more dentists than clinical technologies. Dentists had adopted an average number of 6.3±2.3 technologies. 22.5% were low technology users (0 to 4 technologies), 46.2% were intermediate technology users (5 to 7 technologies) and 31.3% were high technology users (8 to12 technologies). High technology users more frequently had a specialization (p<0.001), were younger on average (p=0.024), and worked more hours per week (p=0.003) than low technology users, and invested more hours per year in professional activities (p=0.026) than intermediate technology users. High technology use was also more common for dentists working in practices with a higher average number of patients per year (p<0.001), with more dentists working in the practice (p<0.001) and with more staff (p<0.001). Conclusion With few exceptions, all dentists use some or a substantial number of digital technologies. Technology use is associated with various patterns of person-specific factors, and is higher when working in larger dental practices. The findings provide insight into the current state of digital technology adoption in dental practices. Further exploration why some dentists are more reluctant to adopt technologies than others is valuable for the dental profession’s agility in adjusting to technological developments.
Architecture of the Sierra Ladrones Formation, central New Mexico: Depositional controls on the permeability correlation structure

Statistical models of hydrogeological heterogeneity are often used in aquifer and reservoir characterization. The number of data required to estimate objectively the spatial correlation structure of permeability, however, is often prohibitive. The objective of this study was to develop a better understanding of how information about depositional processes can be used to characterize hydrogeological heterogeneity. An outcrop of the fluvial/interfluvial Sierra Ladrones Formation of New Mexico was studied for this purpose. On the basis of previous studies of paleogeography and our own field observations, deposits of the Sierra Ladrones Formation are interpreted as marginal ancestral Rio Grande flood-plain and tributary deposits. Architectural elements were mapped over a 0.16-km[sup 2] peninsular outcrop of Pliocene-Pleistocene deposits of the central Albuquerque Basin. Geostatistical analysis of the architectural-element map data indicates non-orthogonal anisotropy in the horizontal direction. The orientations of the strongest (N30[degree]W) and weakest (N90[degree]E) correlation correspond to the orientation of the tributary system and the ancestral Rio Grande flood plain, respectively. In the vertical direction, the correlation structure exhibits exponential behavior corresponding to the average-element thicknesses. The results demonstrate that information about depositional environment can be used to help to quantify statistically subsurface heterogeneity. 28 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab.
Active low‐angle normal faulting in the Woodlark extensional province, Papua New Guinea: A physical model

In eastern Papua New Guinea, the seismicity, geomorphology, and results of seismic reflection profiling, drilling, and structural geological analysis reveal a zone of active low‐angle normal faulting: the only clear known active example of this process worldwide. This Woodlark extensional province is ∼250 km long in the east‐west direction, located within the continental crust to the south of the Solomon Sea ocean basin. It adjoins the young oceanic spreading center farther east in the Woodlark Basin and since ∼4 Ma has accommodated northward extension at rates of in excess of 10 mm yr−1 on low‐angle normal faults that are rooted to the north. This geometry and the region's earlier history are assessed in the light of modern ideas for the mechanics of low‐angle normal faulting to derive a working hypothesis for the existence of this process in this region. The extension in the Woodlark extensional province and oceanic spreading in the Woodlark Basin are thus interpreted as consequences of the slab pull force due to northward subduction of the Solomon Sea floor, which has caused the small Solomon Sea plate to separate from the Australian plate. It is suggested that this plate geometry developed by ∼6–5 Ma following the ending of southward subduction of the Solomon Sea floor beneath what is now the Woodlark extensional province. The double thickness of lithosphere that formerly existed locally cooled the continental crust, making it brittle to the Moho. Following the end of this subduction, the base of the continental lithosphere became progressively exposed to the asthenosphere, causing dramatic heating of the overlying continental crust. This resulted in transient thermal disequilibrium, inducing transient horizontal lower crustal flow. The shear tractions imparted on the base of the brittle layer by such flow (combined with the stress components that develop after some of the lower crust has flowed from beneath a locality, requiring it to be supported laterally rather than from below) will rotate the principal axes of the stress tensor sufficiently to enable low‐angle normal faults to form, and it is estimated that this sense of deformation was initiated around 4 Ma. The geometry of this study region means that this process will create north dipping low‐angle normal faults, as are observed. This scheme can also account for a great deal of other observational evidence, including the available thermochronologic evidence and the observed vertical crustal motions. To explain this instance of active low‐angle normal faulting thus requires knowledge of its relationship to earlier subduction and of effects of temperature‐dependent changes to continental crustal rheology in crust that was initially cold.
A Review of the Research on Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Coupling for the Frozen Soil

This paper reviews the history of the research development on the coupling mechanism of the multiphysical ﬁ eld, e.g., thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM), for frozen soil. The objective is to deepen the current understanding of the theories and mechanism of multiphysical ﬁ eld coupling in the frozen soil and the dynamic changes in the temperature, moisture, and stress ﬁ elds during soil freezing. A new di ﬀ erential equation of the coupling of temperature ﬁ eld and moisture ﬁ eld is proposed. Based on the DiscreteFrechetDist algorithm, a ﬁ tting method of evaluating a curve is proposed. The paper is expected to help understand the soil freezing process in cold regions and enhance the innovativeness of the research methodologies dealing with multi ﬁ eld coupling for the frozen soil.
Mechanism for the auroral red lower border

A model is proposed for the generation of the red lower border of type B auroras that results from the effect of increased collision frequency at the lower altitudes on the distribution of excitation within the nitrogen molecule. There are two characteristic spectral distributions for the red sequence (Δυ=3) of the molecular nitrogen first-positive system, one for normal auroras and one for laboratory (higher pressure) discharges. The laboratory spectrum is shifted in wavelength by the intersystem collisional transfer of excitation with respect to the auroral spectrum, and such a shift manifests itself to the human eye as a two-fold increase in luminous flux in the red. Recent investigations have suggested that it is the λ5577-A cutoff that is responsible for the red border and have placed the lower limit of the green line emission at about 100 km. The present enhancement mechanism, however, is consistent with the onset of added bright red emission at 85 km.
Geoarchaeology and Geochronology of the Miami (Clovis) Site, Southern High Plains of Texas

Abstract The Miami site, excavated in 1937, is in a small "playa" basin on the High Plains surface. The site is one of the earliest documented co-occurrences of Clovis points and mammoth. Reinvestigation of the site and related collections was undertaken to better understand the stratigraphy, geochronology, and archaeology. The basin, 23 m diameter × 1.6 m deep, filled with (1) dark gray silty clay, and (2) near the top of the section, a lens of well-sorted silt or loess. The basin started to fill ca. 13,700 yr B.P., the loess dates to ca. 11,400 yr B.P., and the bone bed probably dates to ca. 11,400-10,500 yr B.P. The loess may be the local manifestation of a "Clovis drought. " The partial remains of five mammoths (three adults and two juveniles) were recovered in 1937; no other animal remains are known. The bone is heavily weathered and there are no clear indications of human modification. Artifacts found at the site include three Clovis points and a scraper found among the bones and two flakes and a scraper found on the surface near the playa. The origins of the bone and stone assemblage are uncertain but four scenarios are offered: a successful mammoth kill, an unsuccessful kill with wounded animals dying at the watering hole, opportunistic scavenging following natural deaths, or a palimpsest of multiple deaths following both natural and human causes.
under control of the endothelium

Background The rat coronary-ligation model of chronic heart failure (CHF) has been extensively used to investigate its pathophysiology including the role of endothelial dysfunction. Inconsistent results have been obtained concerning the role of endothelial dilative mediators NO and EDHF. Our aim was to investigate involvement of NO and EDHF in aortic endothelial dysfunction in this model and the influence of individual infarct sizes. Furthermore, we investigated whether it is justified to regard rats that failed to develop large infarct sizes as SHAM controls.
Forecasting reservoir inflows using remotely sensed precipitation estimates: a pilot study for the River Naryn, Kyrgyzstan

ABSTRACT This study explores the feasibility of applying remotely sensed precipitation estimates (in this case from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission [TRMM]) for forecasting inflows to the strategically important Toktogul reservoir in the Naryn basin, Kyrgyzstan. Correlations between observed precipitation at Naryn and 0.5° TRMM totals is weaker for daily (r = 0.25) than monthly (r = 0.93) totals, but the Naryn gauge is representative of monthly TRMM precipitation estimates across ~60% of the basin. We evaluate predictability of monthly inflows given TRMM estimates, air temperature and antecedent flows. Regression model skill was superior to the zero order forecast (mean flow) for lead-times up to three months, and had lower errors in estimated peaks. Over 80% of the variance in monthly inflows is explained with three-month lead, and up to 65% for summer half-year average. The analysis also reveals zones that are delivering highest predictability and hence candidate areas for surface network expansion. Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz Associate editor Not assigned
Coupled Model Predictions of ENSO during the 1980s and the 1990s at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Abstract In this paper, the authors discuss observed climatic variability from 1982 to early 1995 and emphasize the contrasts between the period of strong interannual variability during the 1980s and the period of more persistent features beginning in 1990. Three versions of the NCEP coupled forecast model, which were developed to predict interannual sea surface temperature variability in the equatorial Pacific, are described and their performance compared for those two periods. Climatic variability during 1982–1992 in the tropical Pacific was dominated by strong low-frequency interannual variations characterized by three warm and two cold El Nino episodes. However, beginning in 1990, the climate state has been characterized by a pattern of persistent positive SST anomalies in the tropical Pacific, especially in the central Pacific near the date line, and weaker than normal trade winds. Superimposed on this were several occurrences of short-lived, generally small-amplitude warmings in the eastern equatori.
Biosorption of some heavy metal ions by local isolate of Zoogloea ramigera

Fourteen isolates of Zoogloea ramigera have been successfully isolated from organically polluted wastewater. The isolates were screened for their tolerance to three heavy metals (Cadmium, Chromium and Nickel) using plate diffusion method. Some of the isolates showed relatively high tolerance to the tested metals, while others showed a relatively low tolerance. These results are approved by a quantitative assessment when both tolerant and non-tolerant isolates grown in liquid media supplemented with different metal ion concentrations. A relationship between tolerance and Cd2+ uptake was demonstrated using tolerant and non-tolerant isolates. The optimal conditions for Cd2+ biosorption were characterised. The highest Cd2+ uptake (16.3 mg.g-1biomass) was obtained at pH 7.0 using biomass concentration of 1 g.l-1 from Cd2+ solution of 25 mg.l-1. The bound Cd2+ ions could be released by different washing agents, among them 10 mM HCl, which was found to be the best desorbent agent. The washing step has released the bound metal and allowed the biosorbent (Z6) again to be available for new treatment, at least for three sorptionâ€“desorption cycles.
Forest Transition: Without Complexity, Without Scale

The forest transition is an empirical regularity of long-term changes in forest cover that has been observed in a number of countries and large regions. In the February 2007 issue of The Professional Geographer, Stephen Perz addressed the theoretical explanations that have been advanced to explain forest transition in his article entitled, “Grand Theory and Context-Specificity in the Study of Forest Dynamics: Forest Transition Theory and Other Directions. ” Perz criticizes forest transition theory, and suggests possible remedies. This article takes issue with Perz's critique, as well as with the proposed remedies.
The role of thrust tectonic models in understanding structural evolution in NW Scotland

Abstract The NW Highlands of Scotland have been an important test-bed for concepts in thrust tectonics. Here, research following the breakthrough publication of the 1907 memoir is reviewed, especially that relating to structural evolution in the Moine Thrust Belt. This belt was WNW-directed, involving cover sediments and thin sheets of crystalline basement. Displacements total 50–100 km within a branching array of thrusts. There are significant lateral variations in imbricate thrust geometry and localization behaviour. Following the application of linked thrust tectonic models in the 1980s significant attention has been directed at deducing thrust sequences, patterns of strain localization, folding styles and the significance of extensional tectonics as part of the structural evolution. The key has lain in deducing the kinematic linkages between thrusts and other structures, tracing displacements and examining the consequences of structural interpretations through geometric restoration. Thrusting models have been up-scaled to the crust. However, these linked kinematic approaches have been applied only hesitantly to the ductile structures of the Moine Thrust Sheet where structural research has focused on outcrop-scale deformation, especially of folds. Consequently, the larger-scale significance for Caledonian tectonics of thrust systems in the NW Highlands of Scotland has yet to be developed fully.