Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptions of Climate Change

With the help of students from Environmental & Natural Resource Economics course (EC 231), a survey was distributed to hundreds of respondents across the nation with the intention to study beliefs about climate change. More than 70 students from EC231 conducted 5-10 surveys while traveling for Spring Break. The questions included in the survey address each respondent’s knowledge of climate change as well as the various influences that may alter ones beliefs as to how they are affected by climate change. This paper investigates all variables and looks for potential patterns in the survey data in the hope of finding significant and meaningful conclusion that can help to explain peoples’ views on climate change. Two interesting results I find are that the exposure to severe weather increases the likelihood that respondents believe in climate change and that respondents believe that climate change will impact the work and the country more than their community or them individually.
Harnessing plasticity to reset dysfunctional neurons.

For a long time, it was thought that the adult mammalian brain was hard-wired and that once circuits were laid down and their functions assigned, little change was possible. This notion is no longer tenable. The brain has a lifelong inherent ability to change and adapt: individual neurons and neural circuits can change their “job descriptions” and their allegiance in response to demands. The mechanisms underlying this process are complex, have varying time courses (from milliseconds to months), and are incompletely understood. They include changes in synaptic strength, the pruning and growth of neuronal connections, and even the introduction of .
Analysis of vehicle stop-and-go driving behaviors at signalized intersections

Vehicle specific power (VSP) has been widely utilized to reveal the impact of vehicle operating conditions on estimations of emissions and energy consumption that are dependent upon speed and acceleration or deceleration based on second-by-second vehicle operation. The analysis of acceleration and deceleration stop-and-go behaviors at intersections is needed for queue simulation and emissions estimation. High-resolution data obtained by driving simulator sensors can provide useful insights into driving behavior at intersections. Hence, aggressive driving behaviors that account for a significant share of vehicle emissions can be identified by data-driven analysis of VSP distribution. Based on the analysis results, an aggregated VSP distribution represents the profile of driving behaviors at signalized intersections. KEYWORD: vehicle specific power (VSP), aggressive driving, simulator, data-driven.
Why Doesn't the United States Have a European-Style Welfare State?

European countries are much more generous to the poor relative to the US level of generosity. Economic models suggest that redistribution is a function of the variance and skewness of the pre-tax income distribution, the volatility of income (perhaps because of trade shocks), the social costs of taxation and the expected income mobility of the median voter. None of these factors appear to explain the differences between the US and Europe. Instead, the differences appear to be the result of racial heterogeneity in the US and American political institutions. Racial animosity in the US makes redistribution to the poor, who are disproportionately black, unappealing to many voters. American political institutions limited the growth of a socialist party, and more generally limited the political power of the poor.
Comparison of various shear deformation theories for the free vibration of thick isotropic beams

In this paper, a comparative study of refined beam theories has been done for the free vibration analysis of thick beams, taking into account transverse shear deformation effect. The theories involves parabolic, sinusoidal, hyperbolic and exponential functions interms of thickness coordinates to include transverse shear deformation effect. The numbers of unknowns are same as that of first order shear deformation theory. The governing differential equations and boundary conditions are obtained by using the principle of virtual work. The results of bending and thickness shear mode frequencies for simply supported beam are presented and discussed critically with those of other theories. The results are found to agree well with the exact elasticity results wherever applicable. Comparison of dynamic shear correction factor is carried out using various shear deformation theories.
CRACKS DEVELOPMENT FEATURES AND ENERGY MECHANISM OF DENSE SANDSTONE SUBJECTED TO TRIAXIAL STRESS

A series of triaxial compressive tests and CT scanning tests on dense sandstones were carried out. The CT images of failure cracks in rocks under different confining pressures were obtained. Using the image processing technique and the statistic principle,three-dimensional geometric models of failure cracks are established. Based on these three-dimensional models,the influences of confining pressure on geometric form and distribution features of failure cracks were analyzed. The energy theory was employed to reveal the intrinsic energy mechanism of crack growth characteristics in rocks subjected to triaxial stress. The results show that the confining pressure had great effects on the forms,the quantity and the special distribution features of failure cracks in rocks. When the confining pressure value is lower,the great number of the failure cracks occurs with complex formation. When rocks are completely fractured,the main cracks and secondary cracks cross each other forming a crack network. When the confining pressure is higher,the number of main cracks decreases and secondary cracks disappear. The cracks network with complicated geometrical form is replaced by linear failure cracks in similar. The confining pressure has significant influences on the characteristics of energy dissipation and energy release of the failure cracks. With the increase of the confining pressure,the releasable elastic strain energy increases linearly and the dissipation energy gradually decreases. Under the lower confining pressures,rocks have more dissipated energy leading to a large number of failure microcracks with complex geometric formations. While under the higher confining pressures,rocks have less dissipation energy leading to less failure cracks with the regular geometric formations.
Interannual Variations of Snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and Impacts of Local and Remote Meteorological Conditions

Inter-annual variation of snowfall and its relation to climate indices will help clarify and improve the prediction of total snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan (LPM). This study examines the trend and variability of annual snowfall (November- March) using 8 homogeneous weather stations in the LPM. The statistical relationship between snowfall and air temperature, Sea Surface Temperature (SST), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Maximum Ice Coverage(MIC) of Lake Michigan is calculated. The long-term trend in the snowfall data set from 1950 to 2015 is removed before any statistical correlation analysis is conducted. My analysis suggests that annual total snowfall has increased over the period from 1950 to 2015 in all 8 stations with significant trends at the 90 % confidence level except for the Kent City station. An inverse relationship between regional air temperature and snowfall, obtained through correlation analysis, suggests that snowfall increases with a drop-in air temperature and vice versa. Inter- annual snowfall across the study area exhibits large temporal variations and SST anomalies representing ENSO have significant impacts on average annual snowfall. The impacts of NAO and PDO do not have significant influences on the average annual snowfall within the LPM.
Phenotyping Metastatic Brain Tumors Applying Spectrochemical Analyses: Segregation of Different Cancer Types

Abstract Metastatic brain tumors represent a significant proportion of tumors identified intraoperatively. A rapid diagnostic method, circumventing the need for histopathology studies, could prove clinically useful. As many spectroscopic studies have shown ability to differentitate between different tumor types, this technique was evaluated for use within metastatic brain tumors. Spectrochemical approaches [Raman and attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy] were applied to determine how readily they may identify the primary site for the metastatic tumor. Metastases were from primary adenocarcinomas of lung (n = 7) and colorectum (n = 7), and for comparison, metastatic melanoma (n = 7). The objective was to determine if Raman or ATR-FTIR spectroscopy could delineate the origin of the primary tumor. The results demonstrate that there are marked similarities between the two adenocarcinoma groups and whilst Raman and ATR-FTIR can distinguish the three groups with limited success, classification accuracy is greatly improved when combining the adenocarcinoma groups. The use of such techniques in the clinical setting is more likely to be found intraoperatively, determining the presence of a tumor and suggesting the tumor class; however, traditional histopathology would still be needed to identify the primary origin of the tumor.
Chikungunya Fever: A Killer Epidemic in Ahmedabad City, India

Background The Chikungunya virus is an alphavirus native to tropical Africa and Asia and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. The symptoms of Chikungunya include sudden onset of fever, severe arthralgia, and maculopapular rash. Thirty percent of the population on the French Reunion Island was afflicted with Chikungunya in the past year. They reported 237 deaths. India on the other hand reported 1.39 million cases of Chikungunya but no deaths. Methods Mortality data from 2002-2006 was obtained from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Actual mortality rate of 2006 was compared to the mortality rate of 2002-05 and its statistical significance tests were carried out. Findings Mortality data obtained from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) suggests that 3112 excess deaths occurred in August-November (epidemic period) compared to the average deaths in the same months during the previous four years. These differences in deaths were found to be highly statistically significant. A peak in excess mortality is seen in the month of September when 1489 additional deaths were recorded. Case fatality rates for Ahmedabad also turn out to be much higher than that of the Reunion Island. Interpretation The Chikungunya epidemic was raging when the excess deaths occurred. There were no other adverse events or other epidemics that took place could explain this excess mortality. Government authorities, WHO and other international public health agencies should take these findings of excess mortality seriously and investigate into this occurrence of excess deaths to understand this reemerging disease and prevent future epidemics and mortality.
Geophysical measurements for site response investigation: preliminary results on the island of Malta

The main goal of this study is to investigate the dynamic properties of main lithotypes outcropping on the island of Malta and to evaluate the general features of the local seismic response through the combined use of geophysical methods based on Rayleigh waves and horizontal to vertical noise spectral ratios. These kind of studies have unfortunately never been undertaken in Malta and, therefore, no shear wave velocity values and fundamental frequency of outcropping lithotypes have been published. The proposed preliminary results represent a valid set of data useful for evaluating seismic hazard and risk for the Maltese islands. Even if the seismic activity around the archipelago is generally of low to moderate magnitude the islands in the past were struck by large events in Sicily and the Hellenic arc resulting in considerable damage.
Finance, Financial Sector Policies, and Long-Run Growth

The first part of this paper reviews the literature on the relation between finance and growth. The second part of the paper reviews the literature on the historical and policy determinants of financial development. Governments play a central role in shaping the operation of financial systems and the degree to which large segments of the financial system have access to financial services. The paper discusses the relationship between financial sector policies and economic development.
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS AND GROUP PROCESSES “ Where Are You Really From ? ” : Asian Americans and Identity Denial

Five studies investigate identity denial, the situation in which an individual is not recognized as a member of an important in-group. Asian Americans are seen as less American than other Americans (Study 1) and realize this is the case, although they do not report being any less American than White Americans (Studies 2A and 2B). Identity denial is a common occurrence in Asian Americans’ daily lives (Study 3). They react to instances of identity denial by presenting American cultural knowledge and claiming greater participation in American practices (Studies 4 & 5). Identity denial furthers the understanding of group dynamics by capturing the experience of less prototypical group members who desire to have their common in-group identity recognized by fellow group members.
Apparent characteristics and taxonomic study of macroalgae in Pattani Bay

s Ruangchuay, R. , Lueangthuwapranit, C. and Pianthumdee, N. Apparent characteristics and taxonomic study of macroalgae in Pattani Bay Songklanakarin J. Sci. Technol. , 2007, 29(4) : 893-905 2A survey on macroalgae in Pattani Bay was carried out to build up a database resource for the management of algae in the area. From February 2004 to March 2005, samples of macroalgae from 10 sites were randomly collected monthly. Macroalgae were found at 4 sites in the north of the bay, namely Laem Tachi, Lighthouse, Ban Bu Di and Ban Ta Lo Samilae; 3 sites in the east, namely Ban Da To, the Yaring River Mouth and Ban Bang Pu and only one site in the south at Ban Tanyong Lu Lo. Twelve species of 3 divisions of macroalgae were detected. They were Division Cyanophyta, Lyngbya majuscula (Dillwyn) Harvey ex Gomont; Division Chlorophyta; Ulva intestinalis Linnaeus, U. pertusa Kjellman and U. reticulata Forsskal, Rhizoclonium riparium (Roth) Harvey, R. tortuosum Kutzing, Chaetomorpha crassa (C. Agardh) Kutzing and Cladophora sp. ; and Division Rhodophyta, namely Gracilaria tenuistipitata Chang et Xia, G. fisheri (Xia et Abbott) Abbott, Zhang et Xia, Hypnea spinella (C. Agardh) Kutzing and Acanthophora spicifera (Vahl) B∅rgesen. Among them, four species were new recordings at Pattani Bay: Lyngbya majuscula, Rhizoclonium riparium, R. tortuosum and Acanthophora spicifera. Most of these seaweeds were found at the east sites in ORIGINAL ARTICLE 1Ph.D. (Aquatic Biosciences), 2M.Sc. (Fishery Sciences), Asst. Prof., 3B.Sc. (Fishery Technology), Division of Fishery Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, Muaeng, Pattani, 94000 Thailand. Corresponding e-mail: rrapee@bunga.pn. psu.ac. th Received, 8 February 2006 Accepted, 2 February 2007 Songklanakarin J. Sci. Technol. Vol. 29 No. 4 Jul. Aug. 2007 894 Macrolagae in Pattani Bay Ruangchuay, R. , et al. the dry season from February to September 2004 and from January to March 2005. Only a few species could be found in the wet season from November to December 2004.
Network scaling effects in graph analytic studies of human resting-state fMRI data

from underlying neuronal dynamics (Nir et al., 2007; Shmuel and Leopold, 2008). Such observations have led to the postulate that these so-called resting-state networks represent an intrinsic property of functional brain organization (Fox and Raichle, 2007). They therefore provide an attractive means by which to characterize functional connectome properties. One method for understanding rs-fMRI connectivity at a whole-brain level is graph analysis. Within this framework, the brain is represented as a graph comprising N nodes connected by M edges. In fMRI analyses, the nodes typically correspond to brain regions and the edges to some measure of interregional interaction, such as a supra-threshold temporal correlation between regional time series. Representing the brain in this way enables the application of a rich set of mathematical tools and theoretical concepts to understand brain network topology and dynamics In particular, graph analytic studies of rs-fMRI data have demonstrated that functional brain networks display a small-world topology which provides high communication efficiency for relatively low connection cost, high resilience to random and targeted attack, and a hierarchical modular organization which offers optimal adaptability to varying circumstances, and may therefore provide important connectivity-based markers of neural integrity.
Stability evaluation of yield and its main components in a set of winter wheat varieties.

Agronomic value of a genotype is primarily given by grain yield and its stability. Performance, both quantitative (grain yield, number of grains per spike, grain weight per spike, thousand kernel weight, etc.) and the qualitative (grain protein content, wet gluten content, etc.), adaptability of these genotypes under different environmental conditions and also the ability of plants to recover the different agrotechnical measures applied in production or quality gains. This aims of this paper are to evaluate the performance of a group of genotypes of winter wheat under conditions of the Transylvanian Plain. The characterization of a winter wheat group of varieties was done by modern methods, based on the results obtained from analyzing their production capacity and stability of yield and its main components. The results obtained displays differences between the tested genotypes and also between methods used to determine the stability.
FACTORS DETERMINING CONSUMERS ACCEPTANCE OF M-BANKING SERVICES

This study investigated the influence of perceived risk and perceived benefits to behavioral intention in M-banking. The proposed model was tested empirically using data collected from a survey. The structural equation modeling technique was used to evaluate the causal model, and confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine the reliability and validity of the measurement model. Our findings indicated that perceived risk and perceived benefits affected users’ behavioral intention, and perceived benefits had the most significant influence. Furthermore, consumers’ perceived risk is influenced by information privacy concerns and information security concerns. Moreover, consumers’ perceived benefits is influenced by mobility.
Vitamin D and Muscle Health: A Systematic Review and Metaanalysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of vitamin D supplementation versus placebo on muscle health. For this systematic review and trial‐level meta‐analysis of placebo‐controlled trials, a systematic search of randomized controlled trials published until October 2020 was performed in Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar. We included studies in humans (except athletes) on supplementation with vitamin D2 or D3 versus placebo, regardless of administration form (daily, bolus, and duration) with or without calcium co‐supplementation. The predefined endpoints were physical performance reported as timed up and go test (TUG; seconds), chair rising test (seconds), 6‐minute walking distance (m), and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB; points). Furthermore, endpoints were maximum muscle strength (Newton) measured at handgrip, elbow flexion, elbow extension, knee flexion, and knee extension, as well as muscle (lean tissue) mass (kg). Falls were not included in the analysis. Cochrane Review Manager (version 5.4.1.) calculating mean difference (MD) using a random effect model was used. In total, 54 randomized controlled trials involving 8747 individuals were included. Vitamin D versus placebo was associated with a significantly longer time spent performing the TUG (MD 0.15 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03 to 0.26] seconds, N = 19 studies, I2 = 0%, n = 5223 participants) and a significant lower maximum knee flexion strength (MD –3.3 [−6.63 to −0.03] Newton, N = 12 studies, I2 = 0%, n = 765 participants). Total score in the SPPB showed a tendency toward worsening in response to vitamin D compared with placebo (MD −0.18 [−0.37 to 0.01] points, N = 8 studies, I2 = 0%, n = 856 participants). Other measures of muscle health did not show between‐group differences. In subgroup analyses, including studies with low vitamin D levels, effects of vitamin D supplementation did not differ from placebo. Available evidence does not support a beneficial effect of vitamin D supplementation on muscle health. Vitamin D may have adverse effects on muscle health, which needs to be considered when recommending vitamin D supplementation. © 2021 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).
Exchangeable Calcium/Magnesium Ratio Affects Phosphorus Behavior in Calcareous Soils

Calcium and magnesium are two dominant cations in calcareous soils that undergo precipitation reactions with applied P fertilizers. Unlike Ca, the reactions of Mg with P have not been thoroughly studied. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of the exchangeable Ca/Mg ratio on the solubility and mobility of P in model calcareous soils and to identify the P species using ³¹P magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A cation exchange resin was saturated to achieve five different saturation ratios: approximately 100% Ca, 60:40 Ca/Mg, 50:50 Ca/Mg, 30:70 Ca/Mg, and 100% Mg. The resin was mixed with quartz sand and CaCO₃ to form model calcareous soils. Fertilizer monoammonium phosphate (MAP) was surface applied on soil columns. According to the analysis of 2-mm segments, water-soluble P increased with decreasing Ca saturation while the acid-soluble P decreased with decreasing Ca saturation. The decreasing Ca saturation (or increasing Mg saturation) enhanced deeper penetration of added P. Dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) was the dominant P species formed in soils with 100 to 50% Ca saturation. Magnesium phosphate trihydrate (MPTH) was identified as a prominent P phase with a poorly ordered structure in soils with 70 to 100% Mg saturation. The DCPD and MPTH were identified as minor P phases in 30:70 and 60:40 Ca/Mg soils, respectively. Both chemical and NMR results confirmed that Mg, unlike Ca, was not a strong cation for P precipitation. The role of exchangeable Mg in reducing the formation of Ca-P precipitates could have a positive effect on the P availability in soils with low Ca/Mg saturation.