Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Stratigraphy of Mass Extinctions and Recoveries

Interpretations of the tempo of mass extinctions and recoveries often rely on the distribution of fossils in a stratigraphic column. These interpretations are generally compromised when they are not based on a knowledge of marine ecological gradients and sequence-stratigraphic architecture. Crucially, last and first occurrences of species do not record times of extinction and origination. A face-value interpretation of the stratigraphic record leads to incorrect inferences of pulsed extinction, underestimates of the duration of mass extinction, and overestimates of local recovery times. An understanding of the processes of extinction and recovery is substantially improved by knowledge of the distribution of species along marine environmental gradients, interpreting sequence-stratigraphic architecture to show how those gradients are sampled through time, and sampling along regional transects along depositional dip. Doing so suggests that most ancient mass extinctions were substantially longer and local recoveries substantially shorter than generally thought. ▪ The concepts that let geologists find petroleum allow paleontologists to reinterpret ancient mass extinctions and their recoveries. ▪ Most ancient mass extinctions were longer than the fossil record suggests, lasting hundreds of thousands of years to a few million years. ▪ Ancient recoveries from mass extinctions were shorter than thought and likely overlapped with extinction during a period of turnover.
Hypertext comprehension in students with hearing or language problems

This study provides insight into the reading comprehension of hierarchically structured hypertexts within DHH students and students with DLD. To our knowledge, it is the first study on hypertext comprehension in DHH students and students with DLD, also studying the role of working memory. We compared hypertext versus linear text comprehension in DHH students and students with DLD versus younger students without language problems who had a similar level of decoding and vocabulary. The results demonstrated no difference in text comprehension between the hierarchically structured hypertext and the linear text. Text comprehension of DHH students and students with DLD was equal to that of the students without language problems. In addition, there was a similar positive predictive value of visuospatial and not verbal working memory on hypertext comprehension for all three groups. The findings implicate that educational settings can make use of hierarchically structured hypertexts as well as linear texts and that children can navigate in the digital world from young age on, even if language or working memory problems are present. Chapter based on: Blom, H. , Segers, E. , Hermans, D. , Knoors, H. , & Verhoeven, L. (2017). Hypertext comprehension of deaf and hard-of-hearing students and students with specific language impairment. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 61, 127-137. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd. 2016.12. 014
Analysis of some classical and quantum aspects of black holes

El objetivo de la presente tesis es profundizar en diversos aspectos de la fisica de los agujeros negros. Tanto en lo que respecta a sus caracteristicas constitutivas fundamentales, su "estructura" interna, como a la posibilidad de observar o detectar mediante observaciones astrofisicas ciertos efectos producto de su dinamica.Por un lado, hemos seguido las ideas de Dvali, Gomez et al. quienes han sugerido la posibilidad de que un agujero negro sea un condensado de Bose—Einstein de gravitones debilmente interactuantes. En nuestro caso hemos estudiado la existencia de este tipo de soluciones sobre diferentes metricas de agujero negro (Schwarzschild y Reissner— Nordstrom) que actuarian como potencial confinante para dichos condensados. Un parametro necesario para ello, es el equivalente a un potencial quimico que debe ser incorporado a la relatividad general. Cabe destacar que la solucion encontrada puede ser interpretada como la funcion de campo medio del condensado. Ademas resulta fuertemente ligada a la estructura clasica de la metrica que la sustenta.Por otro lado, es bien sabido que la aceleracion de cuerpos muy masivos producen perturbaciones de tipo onda en el espaciotiempo. Son de nuestro interes las ondas gravitatorias de baja frecuencia, provenientes de la colision de agujeros negros supermasivos y que deberian poder ser detectadas mediante sistemas de pulsares (Pulsar Timing Arrays). De acuerdo a una linea de investigacion desarrollada por Espriu et al. la presencian de una constante cosmologica podria tener un efecto en la propagacion y por lo tanto en la deteccion por parte de la colaboracion IPTA de estas ondas. En la presente tesis hemos generalizado el metodo para incluir diferentes tipos de materia (relativista y no relativista) ademas de la constante cosmologica. Del analisis se deriva que el efecto depende sensiblemente del valor de la constante de Hubble (que engloba todos los tipos de materia presentes). Continuando dicha linea, hemos caracterizado detalladamente el efecto en su dependencia con los parametros cosmologicas y las distancias involucradas, y como podria ser hallado. Esperamos que nuestros resultados puedan contribuir a una definitiva deteccion por IPTA.
Evaluation of Nursing Services Technique for patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Evaluation of nursing services technique for patients with diabetes mellitus was carried out on diabetic patients in Najaf hospitals (Al-Sadder teaching hospital and Al Hakeem general hospital) Objectives: to evaluate the nursing services technique for diabetic patients, and to identify the relationship between these services and nurses demographic characteristics. Methodology: A descriptive study was conducted in special center for diabetes mellitus (D.M), in (August 1st to December 20th) 2010. The sample was selected randomly for 30 nurses (21 males and 9 females), at the diabetes mellitus units. The data was randomly collected through interviewing and questionnaire format. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: Part one:- includes 5 items focused on the socio-demographic data (age, gender, level of education, years of nurses experiences and training sessions), while Part two:- includes nursing services data with 35 items as an observational tools and techniques. The sample data was computed and analyzed through the inferential statistics method (chi-square, degree of freedom and p-value). Results: The present results revealed that a significant association wasn't there between the nursing services and their socio-demographic characteristics, but highly significant relationships was there between the level of nurses education and the nursing services for patients with diabetes mellitus (P. Value= 0.0014).
Lack of Exclusive Breastfeeding among Working Mothers in Indonesia

Continuity of breastfeeding process when mothers return to work is a serious issue that immediately must be followed up, so that exclusive breastfeeding program within the first six months can be achieved. Beside providing many benefits for babies, breastfeeding is also beneficial for mothers and entrepreneurs. This study aimed to determine relation of working mothers to exclusive breastfeeding. This study used was cross- sectional design with secondary data of Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey 2012 with samples as many as 1,193 mothers aged 15 – 49 years who had 0 – 5-month-old babies. Based on multivariate analysis, working mothers could decrease opportunity of exclusive breastfeeding in which mother who worked all the time were 1.54 times more likely not to give exclusive breastfeeding than mothers who did not work after controlled by maternal age at childbirth, household wealth index, and antenatal care frequency (p = 0.038; 95% CI = 1.0 to 2.3). Fulltime working mothers are twofold more likely to not be able to give exclusive breasfedding than unemployed mothers after being controlled by counfounder variable. Abstrak Keberlangsungan proses menyusui pada saat ibu kembali bekerja merupakan isu serius yang harus segera ditindaklanjuti agar program pemberian Air Susu Ibu (ASI) eksklusif selama enam bulan pertama kehidupan dapat tercapai. Selain memberikan banyak manfaat bagi bayi, ASI juga bermanfaat bagi ibu dan pengusaha. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan ibu bekerja terhadap pemberian ASI eksklusif. Desain penelitian yang digunakan adalah potong lintang dengan data sekunder Survei Demografi dan Kesehatan Indonesia (SDKI) tahun 2012 dengan sampel berjumlah 1.193 ibu berusia 15 – 49 tahun yang memiliki bayi berusia 0-5 bulan. Berdasarkan analisis multivariat, ibu bekerja dapat menurunkan peluang pemberian ASI eksklusif dimana ibu yang bekerja sepanjang waktu lebih berisiko 1,54 kali untuk tidak memberikan ASI eksklusif dibandingkan ibu yang tidak bekerja setelah dikontrol oleh usia melahirkan ibu, indeks kesejahteraan rumah tangga dan frekuensi pemeriksaan kehamilan (p = 0,038; CI 95% = 1,0 - 2,3). Ibu bekerja dua kali memiliki peluang untuk tidak dapat memberikan ASI eksklusif daripada ibu yang tidak bekerja setelah dikontrol oleh variabel perancu.
A phenomenological exploration of the holistic experiences of Bangladeshi MBA students at a UK university

This study aims to answer the main research question, ‘what are the holistic experiences of Bangladeshi MBA students at a UK university during their period of study? ’ There is considerable literature on Chinese or Indian students studying overseas but no identified bespoke research on the entire study period of Bangladeshi students overseas. The purpose of the study is to explore the holistic challenges and coping strategies that occurred at different stages of the study sojourn of the Bangladeshi MBA students at a West London University. In addition, the purpose of the Doctorate in Education is to investigate an issue that is relevant in the workplace which is a higher education institution. The research design is framed within a phenomenological approach whereby the research philosophy and methodology are defined as Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The qualitative methodology has normally been used in psychological research. Its relevance in this educational research is that it has enabled the acquisition of in-depth cultural and academic insights into the holistic experiences of the research participants. The findings are based on two in-depth interviews conducted with each of seven MBA students during and soon after completion of their study. The interviews elicited four themes: reasons for study abroad and choosing to study for the MBA, experiences and challenges during the study period, coping strategies and post completion choices. The reason for study abroad was to enhance their educational and professional status whilst the essential challenges were psycho-cultural, educational and financial. The coping strategies included self-reliance, working in groups and seeking support from family, other students and tutors, working long hours to subsidise living expenses. The post-completion choices included returning to Bangladesh to continue in previous employment or to pursue career change or to remain in the UK for further educational enhancement. The implications of the findings are that longitudinal studies provide a more in-depth understanding of the entire study experience as they are better able to chart the various challenges at different stages of the journey. In addition, the implications for practitioners are that they need to reflect upon and adjust their teaching to include a more geocentric rather than ethnocentric curriculum when teaching international students. The main contribution of this study is that it considers various stages of the journey and also adds pertinent information on each aspect of the holistic experiences such as psycho-cultural, learning and language as well as financial challenges and coping strategies. The study also confirms the increase in confidence and resilience of the Bangladeshi students over a period of time as well as the development of a third culture identity. Keywords: Bangladeshi, international, holistic, challenges, coping strategies.
The Loyal Foreign Merchant Captain: Thomé Gaspar de León and the Making of Manila’s Intra-Asian Connections

espanolEsta es una aproximacion microhistorica a la vida de Tome Gaspar de Leon, un cristiano nativo del sur de la India, quien a mediados del siglo XVIII se convertiria en uno de los mas exitosos comerciantes intraasiaticos de Manila, asi como uno de los mas confiados agentes de la monarquia espanola en Asia. Combinando los metodos de la historia social y economica, este estudio brinda nuevas perspectivas sobre la construccion imperial en el sudeste asiatico y el Pacifico. Tambien resalta el minimizado papel de Manila como eje comercial intra-asiatico y muestra como los nexos comerciales forjados por figuras como De Leon, en puertos como Macao o Batavia, fortalecieron la presencia espanola en Asia. EnglishThis article presents a micro-historical analysis of the life of Thome Gaspar de Leon, the South Indian-born Christian who became one of the most successful merchants in Manila’s intra-Asian trade, and one of the most trusted agents of the Hispanic monarchy in Asia in the mid-eighteenth century. Combining methodologies of social and economic history, this study provides new insight into patterns of empire-building in maritime Southeast Asia and the Pacific. It highlights Manila’s previously neglected role as an intra-Asian trading hub and reveals how its commercial connections to Batavia, Macao, and other regional port cities, forged by men like Gaspar de Leon, ultimately strengthened Spain’s Asian empire.
Computational Design and Evaluation of New Materials for Energy and Environmental Applications

With a constant demand for efficient energy devices, significant efforts were invested into the development of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Yet, water management and hydration in these PEM fuel cells are a well-known limiting factors for proton transport. The first-principles density functional theory (DFT) study helped to develop two novel 2- D materials that can potentially alleviate the need for aqueous conditions to propagate proton conduction within fuel cells. Anhydrous proton conduction can be achieved when graphane is functionalized with hydroxyl and amine groups as graphamine and graphanol, respectively. Ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the proton transport is facile with a relatively low reaction barrier due to the presence of a self-assembling network of hydrogen bonds established over the surface of these materials. Moreover, proton self-diffusivity increases with temperature and thermodynamic stability calculations indicate that these materials are appropriate for intermediate-temperature fuel cells. Given the environmental concerns of tritiated water (HTO), this work is an attempt to understand the fundamental nature of differential hydrogen bonding offered by the hydrogen isotopes. When two phases (liquid and vapor) of water are in equilibrium, there can be slight difference in the relative abundance of water isotopes for each phase. The treatment of nuclei under classical mechanics is not appropriate for the study of lighter atoms like hydrogen and its isotopes. By employing path-integral-based molecular simulations one can account for quantum motion of the nuclei to determine isotopic fractionation ratios for water isotopologues in phase equilibrium and cocrystallization of water isotopologues with poly- oxacyclobutane. Due to the inherent computationally intensive nature of these calculations, a combination of reduced-cost and accelerated techniques such as high-order splitting and thermostating procedures were used to achieve convergence of quantum mechanical proper- ties.
Estrategias en la resolución de problemas de división-medida por estudiantes de séptimo básico en Chile

Se analizan las estrategias que muestran estudiantes de séptimo básico en Chile cuando resuelven problemas de estructura multiplicativa de división-medida que requieren de la interpretación precisa del resto; considerando la categorización de problemas de isomorfismo de medidas propuesta por Vergnaud (1997). Identificamos la modelaciónagrupamiento y el algoritmo de la división como las estrategias más utilizadas; sin embargo, la mayoría presenta dificultades para resolver los problemas. Un elemento presente en el estudio es el referido a la explicación crítica del resto. Palabras clave: Resolución de problemas, divisiónmedida, Educación Básica ABSTRACT:
The choice of the government green subsidy scheme: innovation subsidy vs. product subsidy

A critical problem that beleaguers governments in the promotion of green development is determining which approach to employ in establishing an efficient green subsidy scheme. In this study, we scrutinise the effects of three government subsidy schemes: a green non-subsidy (GNS), a green product subsidy (GPS), and a green innovation subsidy (GIS). Taking social welfare into consideration, the optimal green subsidy scheme of governments in different settings is investigated. Interestingly, we find that a green subsidy is not always a good choice for the government. When the cost of green innovation is particularly low, or when both the cost of green innovation and the variable production cost of green product are high, if the environmental improvement effectiveness yielded by green innovation is insignificant, the GNS is the best. Otherwise, both the GPS and the GIS achieve greater levels of social welfare. In addition, counter to intuition, the GPS outperforms the GIS when the cost of green innovation is sufficiently high and green innovation reduces the variable production cost of green product significantly, even if the GIS can directly help to lighten the green innovation cost load. However, from the perspective of maximising subsidy efficiency, the GIS is always better than the GPS.
Markedly different patterns of imbibition in seeds of 48 Acacia species

Abstract The seeds of most Australian acacias have pronounced physical dormancy (PY). While fire and hot water (HW) treatments cause the lens to ‘pop’ almost instantaneously, for many Acacia species the increase in germination percentage can be gradual. If PY is broken instantly by HW treatment, why is germination often an extended process? Control and HW treatments were performed on seeds of 48 species of Acacia. Seeds were placed on a moist substrate and imbibition was assessed by frequently weighing individual seeds. In the two soft-seeded species all control seeds were fully imbibed within 6–24 h, while in hard-seeded species very few control seeds imbibed over several weeks. In 10 species over 50% of the HW-treated seeds imbibed within 30 h, but mostly the percentage of imbibed seeds gradually increased over several weeks. Some seeds in a replicate would imbibe early, while others would remain unimbibed for many days or weeks then, remarkably, become fully imbibed in less than 24 h. While HW treatment broke PY almost instantaneously, it appeared that in many Acacia species some other part of the testa slowed water from reaching the embryo. This process of having staggered imbibition may be a way of ensuring not all seeds in a population germinate after small rain events. Thus it appears the lens acts as a ‘fire gauge’ while some other part of the seed coat acts as a ‘rain gauge’.
Cohort study of milk production and days to first insemination following roll-and-toggle LDA correction

Cows with corrected left displaced abomasum (LDA) had a longer interval to first service compared with matched controls and had lower milk yield for the first few months after calving. Subsequent to the third month after calving, LDA cows produced more milk than did their matched controls. These findings support the results of other studies in indicating that use of the roll-and-toggle procedure quickly returns cows to full milk production similar to that seen following LDA correction with more expensive surgical interventions.
Within Reach? Habitat Availability as a Function of Individual Mobility and Spatial Structuring

Organisms need access to particular habitats for their survival and reproduction. However, even if all necessary habitats are available within the broader environment, they may not all be easily reachable from the position of a single individual. Many species distribution models consider populations in environmental (or niche) space, hence overlooking this fundamental aspect of geographical accessibility. Here, we develop a formal way of thinking about habitat availability in environmental spaces by describing how limitations in accessibility can cause animals to experience a more limited or simply different mixture of habitats than those more broadly available. We develop an analytical framework for characterizing constrained habitat availability based on the statistical properties of movement and environmental autocorrelation. Using simulation experiments, we show that our general statistical representation of constrained availability is a good approximation of habitat availability for particular realizations of landscape-organism interactions. We present two applications of our approach, one to the statistical analysis of habitat preference (using step-selection functions to analyze harbor seal telemetry data) and a second that derives theoretical insights about population viability from knowledge of the underlying environment. Analytical expressions for habitat availability, such as those we develop here, can yield gains in analytical speed, biological realism, and conceptual generality by allowing us to formulate models that are habitat sensitive without needing to be spatially explicit.
Lability of dissolved organic carbon from boreal peatlands: interactions between permafrost thaw, wildfire, and season1

Abstract: Boreal peatlands are major sources of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to downstream aquatic ecosystems, where it influences carbon cycling and food web structure. Wildfire and permafrost thaw alter peatland vegetation and hydrology and may affect the quantity and chemical composition of exported DOC. We studied the influence of wildfire and thaw on microbial and photochemical lability of near-surface porewater DOC, assessed through 7 d incubations. We carried out these incubations in spring, summer, and fall but only found differences in spring when DOC biodegradability (% loss during dark incubations) increased with lower DOC aromaticity and C/N ratios. During spring, the most labile DOC was found in recently formed thermokarst bogs along collapsing peat plateau edges (25% loss), which was greater than in mature sections of thermokarst bogs (3%), and peat plateaus with intact permafrost (9%). Increased DOC lability following thaw was likely linked to high DOC production and turnover associated with productive hydrophilic Sphagnum mosses and sedges, rather than thawed permafrost peat. A wildfire (3 yr prior) reduced DOC biodegradability in both peat plateaus (4%) and rapidly collapsing peat plateau edges (14%). Biodegradability of DOC in summer and fall was low across all sites; 2% and 4%, respectively. Photodegradation was shown to potentially contribute significantly to downstream DOC degradation but did not vary across peatland sites. We show that disturbances such as permafrost thaw and wildfire have the potential to affect downstream carbon cycling, particularly as the largest influences were found in spring when peatlands are well connected to downstream aquatic ecosystems.