Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence for transform motion along the South Balearic margin and implications for the kinematics of opening of the Algerian basin

Two major types of kinematic models have been proposed to explain the opening of the western Mediterranean basins (Liguro-Provencal and Algerian basins, and Valencia trough). In one type of models, all continental blocks bounding the basins drift to the southeast, driven by the rollback of the Tethys subduction slab. In the other type of models, the Alboran domain drifts to the southwest, implying a westward rollback of the broken subducting slab and a NE-SW opening of the Algerian basin. In most models, however, the structure of the Balearic promontory was not taken into account, despite its key location at the boundary of the three major basins. We used the interpretation of a large seismic database coupled to gravity and magnetic anomaly analyses to characterize the nature and structure of the South Balearic margin. The constraints brought by the new analyses allow us to suggest a new scenario for the opening of the Algerian basin. Seismic profiles show that the South Balearic margin is composed of four segments with different morphologies and crustal structures. Two segments, the Mazarron and the Emile Baudot escarpments, are characterized by steep scarps and sharp crustal thinning. Two other segments, the South Ibiza and South Menorca margins, have a smoother bathymetry and crustal thinning. We interpret the former in terms of transform margins, and the latter as divergent margins. The distribution of faults on the passive margin segments suggests that they have recorded at least two phases of deformation. A first phase of opening, probably in a NW-SE direction, affected the south Balearic margin, and possibly created some oceanic floor. The existence of the transform margin segments and the prominent NW-SE orientation of the magnetic lineations in the eastern Algerian basin suggest that most of this basin opened in a NE-SW direction, in different oceanic corridors. The two eastern corridors formed by the southwestward drift of the Kabylies. The western corridor, bounded by the transform segments of the South Balearic margin and the Algerian margin, results from the southwestward drift of the Alboran domain, as suggested by previous studies.
Nutritional Status of Women Employees of Public Sector Electronics Industry Consuming Home and Canteen Food

Abstract Nutritional status of women employed in an electronic industry of both executive Ex-I (n-93) and non-executive Nex-II (n-360) was determined. The sample was drawn from a total of 200 Ex-I and 2135 Nex-II women working in all the 12 divisions. The study was conducted in two stages on women consuming canteen and home food. Nutritional status was assessed by anthropometric measurements, food intake and energy balance. The results indicated that mean body weight and BMI of canteen food consumers ranged from 56.3 ° 5.3 to 57.8 ° 11.9 and 22.9 ° 5.3 to 27.3 ° 6.8 respectively for Ex-I and Nex-II gps. Majority of canteen food consumers (CF) were found to be overweight and obese by BMI and body fat %. Criteria. Dietary intake of cereals and millets, milk and milk products, fats and oils, sugar and jaggery were found to be higher particularly in Nex-II CF group compared to the desirable dietary pattern (DDP). Positive energy balance of CF women in both the groups found to range from 189 ° 56 to 211 ° 20 kcal as energy expenditure was low due to their nature of work combined with the type of food service provided by the industry and other environmental factors. The results indicate that these women are at greater risk of malnutrition of excess energy.
Water‐vapor exchange between a water droplet and its environment

Laboratory experiments in which a small water droplet is supported by a stream of rising saturated air confirm the theoretical predictions of a relatively rapid exchange of deuterium between droplet and environment when neither net condensation nor evaporation takes place. The importance of the result to both deuterium and tritium rainwater measurements is far reaching and suggests that such observations ought to be supplemented with atmospheric water-vapor samples.
Geometry Shapes Evolution of Early Multicellularity

Organisms have increased in complexity through a series of major evolutionary transitions, in which formerly autonomous entities become parts of a novel higher-level entity. One intriguing feature of the higher-level entity after some major transitions is a division of reproductive labor among its lower-level units. Although it can have clear benefits once established, it is unknown how such reproductive division of labor originates. We consider a recent evolution experiment on the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a unique platform to address the issue of reproductive differentiation during an evolutionary transition in individuality. In the experiment, independent yeast lineages evolved a multicellular “snowflake-like” cluster form in response to gravity selection. Shortly after the evolution of clusters, the yeast evolved higher rates of cell death. While cell death enables clusters to split apart and form new groups, it also reduces their performance in the face of gravity selection. To understand the selective value of increased cell death, we create a mathematical model of the cellular arrangement within snowflake yeast clusters. The model reveals that the mechanism of cell death and the geometry of the snowflake interact in complex, evolutionarily important ways. We find that the organization of snowflake yeast imposes powerful limitations on the available space for new cell growth. By dying more frequently, cells in clusters avoid encountering space limitations, and, paradoxically, reach higher numbers. In addition, selection for particular group sizes can explain the increased rate of apoptosis both in terms of total cell number and total numbers of collectives. Thus, by considering the geometry of a primitive multicellular organism we can gain insight into the initial emergence of reproductive division of labor during an evolutionary transition in individuality.
Combinatorial Fgf and Bmp signalling patterns the gastrula ectoderm into prospective neural and epidermal domains

Studies in fish and amphibia have shown that graded Bmp signalling activity regulates dorsal-to-ventral (DV) patterning of the gastrula embryo. In the ectoderm, it is thought that high levels of Bmp activity promote epidermal development ventrally, whereas secreted Bmp antagonists emanating from the organiser induce neural tissue dorsally. However, in zebrafish embryos, the domain of cells destined to contribute to the spinal cord extends all the way to the ventral side of the gastrula, a long way from the organiser. We show that in vegetal (trunk and tail) regions of the zebrafish gastrula, neural specification is initiated at all DV positions of the ectoderm in a manner that is unaffected by levels of Bmp activity and independent of organiser-derived signals. Instead, we find that Fgf activity is required to induce vegetal prospective neural markers and can do so without suppressing Bmp activity. We further show that Bmp signalling does occur within the vegetal prospective neural domain and that Bmp activity promotes the adoption of caudal fate by this tissue.
Unplagiarized Writing- Understanding, Protecting and Staying Original for Students & Academia

As we have advanced in technology, plagiarism has also emerged as an enormous problem. It is constantly threatening the purity and piousness of academics either for faculty researchers or for students. It is troubling academic world by its uncontrolled amplification in academics. The massive use of electronic gadgets has certainly triggered the cause. The easy accessibility has simplified copying for students than ever before making plagiarizing easy. This paper attempts to explore the issue of plagiarism from various dimensions especially students and academics. Int. J. Soc. Sc. Manage. Vol. 4, Issue-1: 1-4
The Construction of 'reality' in the Robot: Constructivist Perspectives on Situated Artificial Intelligence and Adaptive Robotics 1. Introduction 2. Constructivism: Von Uexküll and Piaget 3. Computationalist Ai 3.1 Cognitivism and Symbolic Ai

This paper discusses different approaches in cognitive science and artificial intelligence research from the perspective of radical constructivism, addressing especially their relation to the biologically based theories of von Uexküll, Piaget as well as Maturana and Varela. In particular recent work in 'New AI' and adaptive robotics on situated and embodied intelligence is examined, and we discuss in detail the role of constructive processes as the basis of situatedness in both robots and living organisms. Let us start with the title of this paper: " The Construction of 'Reality' in the Robot " is, as probably many readers noticed immediately, obviously inspired by Piaget's 1937/1954 book " The Construction of Reality in the Child ". In that book Piaget presented his theory of how children, in sensorimotor interaction with their environment, develop the concepts of space, time, objects and causality as a basic scaffold or conceptual framework which helps them to build a viable experiential 'reality' that fits environmental constraints. Von Glasersfeld's (1995) summarized his interpretation of Piaget's theories in his formulation of a radical constructivism (RC), whose basic principles are as follows: • Knowledge is not passively received either through the senses or by way of communication; • knowledge is actively built up by the cognizing subject. • The function of cognition is adaptive, in the biological sense of the term, tending towards fit or viability; • cognition serves the subject's organization of the experiential world, not the discovery of an objective ontological reality. This notion of RC is, at least at a first glance, largely compatible with much recent research in cognitive science, artificial intelligence (AI) and artificial life which is concerned with adaptive robots or autonomous agents and their construction of internal structures in the course of agent-environment interaction. Typically such learning processes are constrained by some fitness evaluation or feedback in the form of occasional reinforcement. Hence, in RC terms, these robots are actively building up their own knowledge (rather than being programmed) and they typically do so by constructing sensorimotor transformation knowledge rather than an internal mirror of some external reality. 4 However, this is a fairly recent development in AI research, whose general endeavor roughly might be characterized as the attempt to endow artefacts (computers, robots, etc.) with some of the mental and behavioral capacities of living organisms. In fact, since its inception in the mid-1950 most research in AI and cognitive science has …
The Construction of 'reality' in the Robot: Constructivist Perspectives on Situated Artificial Intelligence and Adaptive Robotics 1. Introduction 2. Constructivism: Von Uexküll and Piaget 3. Computationalist Ai 3.1 Cognitivism and Symbolic Ai

This paper discusses different approaches in cognitive science and artificial intelligence research from the perspective of radical constructivism, addressing especially their relation to the biologically based theories of von Uexküll, Piaget as well as Maturana and Varela. In particular recent work in 'New AI' and adaptive robotics on situated and embodied intelligence is examined, and we discuss in detail the role of constructive processes as the basis of situatedness in both robots and living organisms. Let us start with the title of this paper: " The Construction of 'Reality' in the Robot " is, as probably many readers noticed immediately, obviously inspired by Piaget's 1937/1954 book " The Construction of Reality in the Child ". In that book Piaget presented his theory of how children, in sensorimotor interaction with their environment, develop the concepts of space, time, objects and causality as a basic scaffold or conceptual framework which helps them to build a viable experiential 'reality' that fits environmental constraints. Von Glasersfeld's (1995) summarized his interpretation of Piaget's theories in his formulation of a radical constructivism (RC), whose basic principles are as follows: • Knowledge is not passively received either through the senses or by way of communication; • knowledge is actively built up by the cognizing subject. • The function of cognition is adaptive, in the biological sense of the term, tending towards fit or viability; • cognition serves the subject's organization of the experiential world, not the discovery of an objective ontological reality. This notion of RC is, at least at a first glance, largely compatible with much recent research in cognitive science, artificial intelligence (AI) and artificial life which is concerned with adaptive robots or autonomous agents and their construction of internal structures in the course of agent-environment interaction. Typically such learning processes are constrained by some fitness evaluation or feedback in the form of occasional reinforcement. Hence, in RC terms, these robots are actively building up their own knowledge (rather than being programmed) and they typically do so 3 by constructing sensorimotor transformation knowledge rather than an internal mirror of some external reality. However, this is a fairly recent development in AI research, whose general endeavor roughly might be characterized as the attempt to endow artefacts (computers, robots, etc.) with some of the mental and behavioral capacities of living organisms. In fact, since its inception in the mid-1950 most research in AI and cognitive science has …
32.1: Invited Paper: — Human Stereoscopic Vision: Research Applications for 3D‐TV

The Communications Research Centre (CRC) Canada has been conducting research on 3D‐TV and related stereoscopic technologies since 1995. Three areas of CRC's research on human stereoscopic vision and its application to 3D‐TV are highlighted. Firstly, we will present our work on the use of inter‐ocular masking to reduce bandwidth requirements, without sacrificing high image quality. Secondly, we will present experimental results that show the effect of stereoscopic objects in motion on visual comfort. Thirdly, we will present studies to illustrate how the tendency of the human visuo‐cognitive system to correct or fill in missing visual information can be used to generate effective stereoscopic images from sparse depth maps.
How has the atmospheric concentration of CO changed

Author(s): Cicerone, RJ | Editor(s): Rowland, FS; Isaksen, ISA | Abstract: Carbon monoxide exerts strong control over the chemistry of the troposphere and lower stratosphere through its influence over hydroxyl radical (OH) and ozone concentrations. Thus, CO affects the oxidizing power of the atmosphere and the concentrations of greenhouse gases. Because of its short atmospheric residence time (two or three months) the determination of a secular trend in CO concentrations is very difficult. Temporal increases of CO are expected because certain sources under human control have been growing; these include fossil-fuel usage and increasing atmospheric methane. From the data, it is likely that CO has increased in the Northern Hemisphere in the past 15-30 years. Southern Hemispheric data indicate no positive trend. -from Author
Electrospun nanofibrils embedded hydrogel composites for cell cultivation in a biomimetic environment

Hybrid composites composed of nanofibrils and hydrogels were fabricated for cell cultivation in a cell-friendly environment mimicking the extracellular matrix. Electrospun fibrous mats composed of polycaprolactone (PCL) were digested to nanofibrils (NF) under optimized conditions and subsequently incorporated into hydrogels composed of gelatin and alginate. The hydrogel hybrids containing nanofibrils (NF/hydrogel) were calcium-crosslinked and solidified with or without cells. The mechanical properties of the cell-incorporated NF/hydrogels were dramatically increased in proportion to the NF content in the NF/hydrogels after 7 days of cultivation. Mass erosion of the NF/hydrogel was significantly attenuated when NF content increased. Confocal microscopy revealed that fibroblasts cultivated in NF/hydrogels showed superior adhesion behavior onto the matrix compared to those without NF, and the formation of spindle and stress fibers was distinct in NF/hydrogels with a high NF content. Cells on NF/hydrogels showed higher levels of collagen synthesis as NF content increased. Thus, NF/hydrogels are expected to serve as a cell culture matrix facilitating cell–matrix interactions by combining supportive nanofibrils and hydrogels.
Indo‐Antarctic derived detritus on the northern margin of Gondwana: evidence for continental‐scale sediment transport

Provenance studies from Cambro‐Ordovician sediments of the North Gondwana passive margin typically ascribe a North African source, a conclusion that cannot be reconciled with all observations. We present new U‐Pb ages from detrital rutile and zircon from Late Ordovician sediments from Saxo‐Thuringia, Germany. Detrital zircons yield age populations of 500–800 Ma, 900–1050 Ma and 1800–2600 Ma. The detrital rutile age spectra are unimodal with ages between 500 and 650 Ma and likely represent, together with the 500–800 Ma and 1800–2600 Ma zircon populations, detritus sourced predominantly from North Africa. In contrast, the c. 950 Ma zircons, which are persistently found in Cambro‐Ordovician sediments of North Gondwana, have no obvious African source. We propose that these zircons are sourced from the Rayner Complex–Eastern Ghats regions of Antarctica and India. An Indo‐Antarctic source indicates either continental‐scale sedimentary transport from central Gondwana to its peripheries or multiple cycles of sediment reworking and redeposition.
Experimental and numerical study of the breaching of an embankment dam

In the framework of the study of the collapse of an embankment dam following its overtopping, an experimental study of the progressive breaching of such a dam has been performed. The present laboratory tests enable to validate and to complete a numerical approach previously studied by the authors. The two-dimensional analysis of the breaching is carried out on a scale model in a flume. A cross-section of a dam is scaled according to proper similarity rules, both for the flow and for the solid transport. The originality of the approach lies in the interaction between the experimental and numerical work. The experiments on the scale model are filmed in order to determine the time evolution of the dam profiles. The cross sections are extracted from the films and analyzed by an image-processing algorithm specifically developed for this application. These results are integrated into the hydrodynamic model WOLF2D, which computes the flow generated by the given transient topography and eventually supplies the relevant hydraulic parameters characterizing the dam breaching.
COMPARISON OF THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSES OF DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF BLOCK ROCK MASS

Because the blocks in deep rock mass exist in the form of tectonic order,therefore continuous medium mechanics as the analytic foundation of rock mechanics lacks basis.It is very important to explain and testify the experimental phenomena of ultra-low friction,because the influence of ultra-low friction among rock mass is the main reflection of the dynamic characteristics of block rock mass.The law is referred to describing the experimental phenomena of ultra-low friction and organizing the experimental data;then the dynamic model of block rock mass is established;and the theoretical and the numerical values are worked out to testify the correctness of ultra-low friction.By making such effort,the conclusion has been drawn as follows:the redistribution of vertical force and transformation of coefficient of kinetic friction are the fundamental factors of ultra-low friction.Furthermore,the tendency of experimental phenomena is consistent with that of the numerical results.The capability of storage and energy conversion is related with friction coefficient for the deep rock mass with tectonic level.A new branch of rock mechanics,nonlinear deep rock mechanics,is established.According to the static and dynamic characteristic phenomena and the characteristics of deep rockt,he tectonic,deformation and failure problems of deep rock such as the block structure feature,the state of high earth stress,the stored energy and the nonlinearity,discontinuity and incompatibility of deformation,are suggested.
Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions and the Role of Trade Costs

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have increased dramatically over the last two decades. This paper analyses the role of trade costs in explaining the increase in the number of cross-border mergers and acquisitions. In particular, we distinguish horizontal and non-horizontal M&As and investigate whether trade costs affect these two types of mergers differently. We analyse this question using industry data for 23 OECD countries for the period 1990-2001. Our findings suggest that while in the aggregate trade costs affect cross-border merger activity negatively its impact differs importantly across horizontal and non-horizontal mergers. The impact of trade costs is less negative for horizontal mergers, which is consistent with the tariff-jumping argument. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the DG Economic and Financial Affairs, European Commission for providing the data on M&As and Ries and an anonymous referee as well as participants at a workshop at Nottingham University and the MWIEG Meeting at Vanderbilt University for helpful comments and suggestions. We are also grateful to David Laborde at CEPII for providing the MAcMap data. Financial support from the Leverhulme Trust (Programme Grant F114-BF) and the ESRC (PTA-026-27-0733) is gratefully acknowledged. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or its member states. All remaining errors are our own.
Ex vivo rheology of spider silk

SUMMARY We investigate the rheological properties of microliter quantities of the spinning material extracted ex vivo from the major ampullate gland of a Nephila clavipes spider using two new micro-rheometric devices. A sliding plate micro-rheometer is employed to measure the steady-state shear viscosity of ∼1 μl samples of silk dope from individual biological specimens. The steady shear viscosity of the spinning solution is found to be highly shear-thinning, with a power-law index consistent with values expected for liquid crystalline solutions. Calculations show that the viscosity of the fluid decreases 10-fold as it flows through the narrow spinning canals of the spider. By contrast, measurements in a microcapillary extensional rheometer show that the transient extensional viscosity (i.e. the viscoelastic resistance to stretching) of the spinning fluid increases more than 100-fold during the spinning process. Quantifying the properties of native spinning solutions provides new guidance for adjusting the spinning processes of synthetic or genetically engineered silks to match those of the spider.