Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anthropogenic influence would increase intense snowfall events over parts of the Northern Hemisphere in the future

Snowfall is an important element of the climate system and generally has particularly large economic and human impacts. Simulations with climate models have indicated a decline in mean snowfall with warming in most regions. The response of intense snowfall events to a changing climate, however, is unclear. Thus, the degree which anthropogenic influence is responsible for intense snowfall change and how intense snowfall will respond to the changing climate in the future are addressed here using new simulations from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 models. The results show that anthropogenic influences on changes in snowfall are detectable across the lands of the Northern Hemisphere and generally result in a decreasing trend in snowfall events. However, increased anthropogenic activity has increased intense snowfall occurrences over most parts of Asia, North America, and Greenland. With additional warming in the future, while the length of the snowy season will be shortened and the areas where snowfall occurs will be reduced, the occurrence probability of an intense snowfall event is projected to significantly increase with a level of high confidence over these regions by the end of this century. This suggests that these regions, including most parts of northern China, would suffer from more intense snowfall events in the future due to a continuous increase in anthropogenic influence.
One-pot coating of LiCoPO4/C by a UiO-66 metal–organic framework

LiCoPO4 (LCP) is a promising high voltage cathode material but suffers from low conductivity and poor electrochemical properties. These properties can be improved by coating with a conductive carbon layer. Ongoing research is focused on the protective layer with good adhesion and inhibition of electrolyte decomposition reactions. In the present work, we suggest a new robust one-pot procedure, featuring the introduction of UiO-66 metal–organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles during LCP synthesis to create a metal–carbon layer upon annealing. The LiCoPO4/C@UiO-66 was synthesized via the microwave-assisted solvothermal route, and 147 mA h g−1 discharge capacity was obtained in the first cycle. The MOF acts as a source of both carbon and metal atoms, which improves conductivity. Using operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy upon cycling, we identify two Co-related phases in the sample and exclude the olivine structure degradation as an explanation for a long-term capacity fade.
Assessing an efficient “Instant Acclimation” approximation of dynamic phytoplankton stoichiometry

The variable elemental ratios of carbon to essential nutrients in marine organic matter affect the productivity of marine food-webs and the sequestration of carbon in the deep ocean. It is important that models of these systems are able to correctly reproduce observed trends. “Dynamic Quota” models have achieved some success in this regard, but the computational expense of transporting each state variable in ocean models has prevented many large-scale models from moving beyond a simpler “Fixed Stoichiometry” formulation. This article compares the Dynamic Quota and Fixed Stoichiometry models to a recent “Instant Acclimation” model, which combines the stoichiometric flexibility of the Dynamic Quota model with the computational efficiency of the Fixed Stoichiometry model. The Instant Acclimation model is mathematically equivalent to the Dynamic Quota model at equilibrium, and provides an accurate approximation under a wide range of dynamic conditions. The accuracy and computational efficiency of the Instant Acclimation model recommend it as a candidate for incorporating flexible stoichiometry into marine ecosystem models, especially in situations where the number of model state-variables is restricted.
An Overview of Some Issues in the Theory of Deep Networks

During the last few years, significant progress has been made in the theoretical understanding of deep networks. We review our contributions in the areas of approximation theory and optimization. We also introduce a new approach based on cross‐validation leave‐one‐out stability to estimate bounds on the expected error of overparametrized classifiers, such as deep networks. © 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Deep Down in Our Hearts: A Spirituality of Disability that Enables Social Belonging for Economic and Political Inclusion of Women with Disabilities

Abstract An understanding of disability inclusive development in a country in transition is necessary if women are to access opportunities for social, economic and political development. This article explores a spirituality of disability as a participatory strategy for equalizing opportunities for women with disability's development. Qualitative research was utilized for a participatory action research study with women with disabilities over a two year period, which consisted of four phases. The collaborative study took place in informal settlements in the peri-urban outskirts of a Metropole in Western Cape Province of South Africa with a primary health care NGO and the Disabled WOmen’s Development Programme of Disabled People South Africa. Convenience sampling was used by the community rehabilitation workers to identify women for phase one of the study. A total of 180 women with disabilities participated in subsequent phases through snowballing. A theme that emerged from the action learning cycles of women was a spirituality of disability, as a two-fold process of healing that lead to a renewed sense of agency and social belonging. Participation also restored hope, which enabled women to discover new choices for economic and political inclusion. A spirituality of disability was found to be integral in addressing the inequities in social, economic and political development that women with disability experienced. The implications for rehabilitation practice and community-based inclusive development are demonstrated in the values of interdependence and reciprocal relationships. An awareness of a spirituality of disability may enable connections between the women, services providers and disabled peoples’ organizations to remove environmental barriers to participation at an individual, family and community level.
How to report on elections? The effects of game, issue and negative coverage on reader engagement and incivility

This study investigates to what extent specific features of news articles about election campaigns impact reader engagement and civility in news comments. Using content analysis of articles (N = 830) and comments (N = 29,421) published during the 2015 Portuguese Legislative elections, we test the impact of negative coverage, issue coverage and game coverage (politics as a game) on the number of comments that an article receives and the level of civility thereof. Additionally, we explore how affective polarisation of a commenter may moderate the effects on incivility. Findings show that negativity towards political actors in an article is tied to both an increase in the number of comments and their level of incivility. Game coverage only led to a significant increase in the number of comments, while actor-related positivity was also related to an increase in incivility. Issue coverage had neither positive nor negative effects. The results inform newsrooms and academics about the implications of different types of election reporting, while accounting for features of news articles that are typically not integrated in a single study.
Arctic Amplification: A Rapid Response to Radiative Forcing

Arctic amplification (AA) of surface warming is a prominent feature of anthropogenic climate change with important implications for human and natural systems. Despite its importance, the underlying causes of AA are not fully understood. Here, analyzing coupled climate model simulations, we show that AA develops rapidly (within the first few months) following an instantaneous quadrupling of atmospheric CO2. This rapid AA response—which occurs before any significant loss of Arctic sea ice—is produced by a positive lapse rate feedback over the Arctic. Sea ice loss is therefore not needed to produce polar‐amplified warming, although it contributes significantly to this warming after the first few months. Our results provide new and compelling evidence that AA owes its existence, fundamentally, to fast atmospheric processes.
Changes in Methane Emission and Community Composition of Methane-Cycling Microorganisms Along an Elevation Gradient in the Dongting Lake Floodplain, China

Methane (CH4) emission and environmental controls of CH4-cycling microorganisms are unclear in inland floodplains. Here, we examined soil CH4 emissions and the community composition of CH4-cycling microorganisms under three vegetation types—mudflat (MF, no vegetation cover), Carex meadow (CM, mainly Carex brevicuspis), and reed land (RL, mainly Miscanthus sacchariflorus)—from water-adjacent areas to higher-elevation land in the Dongting Lake floodplain, China. The results showed that CH4 emission is the highest in CM, while significant absorption was observed in the RL site. The abundance ratio of methanogen/methanotroph was the highest in CM, intermediate in MF, and lowest in RL. The Methanosarcinaceae family represented the dominant methanogens in the three sampling sites (41.32–75.25%). The genus Methylocystis (60.85%, type II methanotrophs) was dominant in CM, while Methylobacter and Methylosarcina (type I methanotrophs) were the dominant genera in MF (51.00%) and RL (50.24%), respectively. Structural equation model analysis showed that methanogen and methanotroph abundance were affected by water table depth, soil water content, and pH indirectly through soil organic content, total nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon, and microbial biomass nitrogen. These results indicated that the Dongting Lake floodplain may change from a CH4 source to a CH4 sink with vegetation succession with an increase in elevation, and the methanogen/methanotroph ratio can be used as a proxy for CH4 emission in wetland soils. The continuous increase in reed area combined with the decrease in Carex meadow may mitigate CH4 emission and enhance the CH4 sink function during the non-flood season in the Dongting Lake floodplain.
Relationships between residual feed intake and feedlot performance, profitability, and carcass traits in Brahman cattle

The present study aimed to evaluate the feedlot performance, profitability and carcass traits of Brahman bulls classified according to the residual feed intake (RFI). Twenty-four bulls (19-month old, 370±34kg live weight) were housed in individual pens for 54 days and had the daily feed intake (observed dry matter intake, DMI obs ; DMI % live weight, LW) and average daily gain (ADG) measured. Ultrasound carcass evaluations were performed at the initial and final weighings, when measurements were taken of Longissimus dorsi area, ratio, Longissimus and Biceps femoris fat thickness. The animals were ranked and divided into high (>+0.5 standard deviation; SD), medium (between ±0.5 SD from the mean), and low (<-0.5 SD) RFI groups. Low-RFI animals had lower DMI obs (P<0.10) and DMI % LW (P<0.05). No significant differences in initial and final weight or ADG were noticed (P>0.05). Low-RFI animals showed lower weight gain cost and higher daily profit (P<0.05). Carcass traits were similar between groups, regardless of evaluation date (P>0.05). Selection for RFI lead to animals with lower feed intake without affecting weight gain or carcass traits, thereby providing increased profitability for beef cattle farming.
Butterflies of the family Pieridae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of the Frio river basin, northeastern Andes of Santander, Colombia

The sample was collected during the Characterization of wild Entomofauna of the Frio river basin jurisdiction of CDMB, in secondary forests in an altitudinal gradient from 1,000 to 2,911 masl. 79 specimens of the family Pieridae were collected, belonging to 13 genera of which Leptophobia had 5 species, and Catasticta and Eurema had 3 species each. We obtained 22 species distributed in six sampling locations, where the highest richness of species was in Diviso Experimental Center with 12 species and Esperanza Experimental Center with 10. The analysis of the inventory quality showed a potential richness of 32.81 species, a proportion of the observed species of 67.05% and a sampling effort of 76.41%. The comparison of inventories for each locality showed a certain similarity between La Nevera, La Mariana and La Judia, and fewer similarities with El Diviso. While La Esperanza had the least similarity with all the others sampling locations, which could be explained by the altitudinal distance from the other localities.
Perceptions of the Fourth Agricultural Revolution: What’s In, What’s Out, and What Consequences are Anticipated?

Technological advancement is seen as one way of sustainably intensifying agriculture. Scholars argue that innovation needs to be responsible, but it is difficult to anticipate the consequences of the ‘fourth agricultural revolution’ without a clear sense of which technologies are included and excluded. The major aims of this paper were to investigate which technologies are being associated with the fourth agricultural revolution, as well as to understand how this revolution is being perceived, whether positive or negative consequences are given equal attention, and what type of impacts are anticipated. To this end, we undertook a content analysis of UK media and policy documents alongside interviews of farmers and advisers. We found that the fourth agricultural revolution is associated with emergent, game-changing technologies, at least in media and policy documents. In these sources, the benefits to productivity and the environment were prioritised with less attention to social consequences, but impacts were overwhelmingly presented positively. Farmers and advisers experienced many benefits of technologies and some predicted higher-tech futures. It was clear, however, that technologies create a number of negative consequences. We reflect on these findings and provide advice to policy-makers about how to interrogate the benefits, opportunities, and risks afforded by agricultural technologies.
Pipes or Prisms? Personal Networks, Network Mechanisms, and Formal Support Receipt In The Wake Of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

ABSTRACT Social networks are commonly discussed in reference to processes of disaster recovery but rarely explicitly measured. We employ a mixed-methods approach drawing upon the personal-network data of 265 oyster workers in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and qualitative accounts of individual experiences during the recovery process. We find evidence of two potential mechanisms linking network structure with the receipt of formal support: a networks-as-pipes approach linking networks and access to relevant information in the wake of a disaster and a networks-as-prisms approach where networks signal their social identities, shaping post-disaster actions and behaviors.
A Loud but Noisy Signal?

This path-breaking addition to the Comparative Politics of Education series studies the influence of public opinion on the contemporary politics of education reform in Western Europe. The authors analyze new data from a survey of public opinion on education policy across eight countries, and they also provide detailed case studies of reform processes based on interviews with policy-makers and stakeholders. The book's core finding is that public opinion has the greatest influence in a world of 'loud' politics, when salience is high and attitudes are coherent. In contrast, when issues are salient but attitudes are conflicting, the signal of public opinion turns 'loud, but noisy' and party politics have a stronger influence on policy-making. In the case of 'quiet' politics, when issue salience is low, interest groups are dominant. This book is required reading for anyone seeking to make sense of policy-makers' selective responsiveness to public demands and concerns.
Self-compacting cement-bound pavement foundations for road tunnels: performance assessment in field trials

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation which was carried out with the purpose of assessing the performance-related properties of self-compacting cement-bound mixtures to be employed in pavement foundations in road tunnels. The mixtures contained a significant quantity of recycled components and function-specific additives. Characteristics of the mixtures, which were produced in a concrete batch plant, were studied by means of laboratory and field tests. Investigated properties included flowability, compressive strength, resilient modulus and bearing capacity. It was found that mixtures prepared with a cement dosage of up to 100 kg/m3 possess the required properties of flowability, strength and stiffness. On the contrary, mixtures with higher cement dosages (150 and 200 kg/m3) fail to meet all the performance-related requirements as a result of their high long-term strength which jeopardises excavatability. Obtained results also highlighted the effects of the different components on the properties of the mixtures and led to the definition of acceptance criteria which can be adopted in actual construction works.
Diversity of ticks in the wildlife screening center of São Paulo city, Brazil

The Wildlife Screening Center (CETAS) of the Tiete Ecological Park (PET), situated at the municipality of Sao Paulo, receives, treats and rehabilitates wild animals that have been dislodged from their natural environment due to different reasons. This study analyzed the ixodid fauna, and the rickettsial infection in these ticks, collected on wild animals received at the PET’s CETAS. During the period from March 2003 to November 2016, 936 ticks were collected from 96 wild animals (16 bird and 18 mammal species) that were sent to CETAS. The following 12 ixodid species were identified: Amblyomma aureolatum, Amblyomma brasiliense, Amblyomma calcaratum, Amblyomma dubitatum, Amblyomma longirostre, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma parkeri, Amblyomma sculptum, Amblyomma varium, Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, Ixodes loricatus and Rhipicephalus microplus. From 67 tick specimens tested by the Real Time PCR for rickettsiae, none were positive. The present research records for the first time in Brazil the following association between the tick stages and hosts that have never been reported before: Amblyomma sculptum nymphs on Caprimulgus parvulus, Asio clamator, Buteo brachyurus, Coragyps atratus, Amazona aestiva and Aramus guarauna, Amblyomma dubitatum nymphs on Alouatta guariba and Sphiggurus villosus, Amblyomma aureolatum adults on Bradypus variegatus, Amblyomma longirostre larvae and nymphs on A. clamator, and nymphs on Megascops choliba and Pyroderus scutatus, besides Amblyomma parkeri nymphs on Penelope obscura and Callicebus nigrifrons, and adult on Nasua nasua.
Trial Penalties under Florida’s Sentencing Guidelines: The Moderating Role of Case Seriousness

An extensive body of research has revealed that criminal defendants who are convicted at trials are given harsher sentences than those who plead guilty. However, it remains unclear how legally relevant case characteristics might moderate this relationship. In Florida, each felony offender is assigned a comprehensive numerical score which simultaneously quantifies multiple aspects of the seriousness of the case at hand, and judges evaluate this score in reference to the prescribed sentencing guideline recommendations. Analyses of data on defendants sentenced under this system (N = 690,565) reveal that, for sentences to prison, trial-plea disparities are greatest in the middle range of case seriousness. For prison sentence length, however, these differences are most amplified among the most serious cases.
Enhanced Densities in the Martian Thermosphere Associated With the 2018 Planet‐Encircling Dust Event: Results From MENCA/MOM and NGIMS/MAVEN

Response of the Martian upper thermosphere to the lower atmospheric dust activity is studied using unique observations made together by the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft. The Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer (MENCA)/MOM and the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS)/MAVEN have simultaneously (on the same day) measured the neutral densities in the Martian thermosphere on 5, 8, 10, 13, 16, and 29 June 2018. The measurement period falls in the onset and progression time of the planet‐encircling dust event (PEDE) in the Mars lower atmosphere. During this time, the inbound trajectories of MAVEN and MOM spacecraft occurred on the dawnside and duskside, respectively. Using these observations, we found that thermospheric densities both on the dawnside and duskside are enhanced associated with the onset and growth of PEDE‐2018. The enhancement, however, is more on the duskside than on the dawn, showing the dawn‐dusk asymmetry. The densities on the duskside reach their maximum on 29 June 2018, close to the time of peak dust activity. These results are explained by considering the local time asymmetries in radiative heating of the lower atmosphere and subsequent expansion of the thermosphere due to PEDE‐2018. Furthermore, O/CO2 ratios below 220‐km altitude become one on the dawnside, whereas they are always <0.2 at the dusk. This indicates that radiative cooling is more effective on the dawnside than the duskside.
Transformational leadership and its relations to teacher outcomes in Singapore: Mastery goals and self-efficacy as mediators

ABSTRACT This study investigated how teacher mastery goals and self-efficacy mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and teacher outcomes (work engagement, engagement in professional learning, job satisfaction, and intention to quit). A sample of teachers in Singapore (n = 495) completed an online questionnaire. We conducted path analysis to test the hypothesized model based on person measures obtained in Rasch analysis. We found that transformational leadership was associated positively with teacher mastery goals and self-efficacy, both of which partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and teacher outcomes. The findings enhance our understanding of the motivational mechanism between transformational leadership and teacher outcomes.
Structural analysis and design of irregular shaped footings subjected to eccentric loading

This article presents a simplified analytical model for designing irregular shaped reinforced concrete (RC) footings supporting square column and subjected to eccentric loading, that is, axial load P and biaxial moments, Mx in (x‐x) axis and My in (y‐y) axis, respectively. In this study, four design variations of footing sections are considered, namely, square, triangular, circular, and trapezoidal. Seven different footings (F‐1 to F‐7), each with a different loading condition, are used to analyze and design each of the selected irregular footings with the goal of getting the optimum footing section. The required reinforcing area of steel (As) is obtained using the SDM method in each selected footing which is then compared using finite element software (SAFE). The percentage difference of area of steel (As) for simplified method with the finite element software ranges within 1% to 13%. Moreover, the concrete volume results show that the circular and triangular footings prove to be the most economical footings followed by square and trapezoidal shaped footing sections. However, the results show that triangular shaped footings under heavy loads require a larger steel area (As) as in footing F‐7, which is not economical for heavy loads.