Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Behavior of the mass transfer coefficient during the MADE‐2 experiment: New insights

Using a dual‐porosity transport model, a more complete analysis of the MADE‐2 experiment, a natural gradient tracer (tritium) test, is presented. Results show that a first‐order, mass transfer rate coefficient is scale‐dependent and decreasing with experiment duration. This is in agreement with previous studies and predictions. Factors contributing to the scale‐dependency are errors or approximations in boundary conditions, hydraulic conductivity (K) measurements and interpolations, mass transfer rate expressions and conceptual errors in model development. In order to formulate a self‐consistent, dual‐porosity model, it was necessary to assume that the injected tracer was trapped hydraulically in the vicinity of the injection site. This was accomplished by lowering all K values near the injection site by a factor of 30, while holding all other K values, boundary conditions and parameters at their measured or estimated magnitudes. Resulting simulations, using the same scale‐dependent mass transfer rate coefficient, were then able to reasonably match the movement of the center of mass, overall plume geometry and the anomalous mass recovery ratios observed at each snapshot. The dual‐porosity model is conceptually simple, relatively easy to apply mathematically and it simulates differences in advection that are probably the root cause of dispersion in natural heterogeneous sediments. Also, a small more realistic amount of local hydrodynamic dispersion is not precluded.
Effectiveness of Grammar Learning through Data-Driven Learning (DDL) with Undergraduate Students

This study investigates the extent to which paper-based data-driven learning (DDL) activities can improve Thai EFL students’ grammar learning of conditional sentences (the second condition), as well as the participants’ attitudes toward learning through the DDL approach. This was a two-week research using a one-group pre-test and post-test design. The convenience-sampled participants were 15 Thai EFL undergraduate students majoring in English at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. This study included three research instruments: a pre/post-test, an attitudes questionnaire, and interviews. The instructional approach, which consisted of the paper-based DDL material, was devised using The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) consisting of 40 concordances. Using non-parametric statistics Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, there is a statistically significant difference in mean scores in the findings (p<.001), indicating that their grammatical knowledge was developed after participating in DDL activities. Furthermore, the participants had positive attitudes towards DDL learning since they considered DDL as a fruitful and beneficial tool in helping them acquire grammatical knowledge and language patterns by themselves. Therefore, the outcomes of the research have a noteworthy impact on the field of teaching English, showcasing the potential of utilizing corpus data to analyze genuine language patterns and enhance learners’ understanding of language structure.
Residence times in the upper Arctic Ocean

We use passive tracers in a one-dimensional numerical model of the Arctic Ocean to determine the residence time in the mixed layer and the cold halocline. When run to a steady state, the model successfully reproduces most of the observed distribution of salinity and temperature in the Arctic above the Atlantic layer. Comparison of model-calculated tritium concentrations with observational data also indicates that the transient properties are correct. An important component of the model is the implementation of a “shelf circulation” of about 0.8 Sv that simulates the observed production and interleaving of cold, highly saline shelf waters. We use the model to derive bulk residence times, which are about 25 years in the mixed layer and about 100 years in the halocline. These values are higher than those published in the literature. We explain how the model residence time is related to different tracer ages by generating age distributions with the model. It is shown that the weighted mean of these distributions corresponds well with published tracer age data. The model dynamics that correctly reproduce Arctic mixed-layer and cold halocline vertical structure in salinity, temperature, density, and various tracers also appear to simulate the natural processes that filter out interannual fluctuations in the freshwater influx from runoff and Bering Strait flow. Under these conditions, the period of the variation must be over 30 years to get 50% of the signal through to Fram Strait. In accord with other investigations, this would suggest that short-term fluctuations in Arctic river runoff are not the direct cause of freshwater anomalies in the northern North Atlantic.
Designing therapeutic and social spaces for older adults facing Mild Cognitive Impairment: Priorities in spatial and furniture layout

Mild Cognitive impairment (MCI) is the stage between healthy cognitive functioning and Dementia, in which individuals still live independently at home but develop difficulties related to memory, executive functioning, and decision-making. MCI is mainly managed with therapeutic activities such as physical exercise, cognitive training, nutrition, and occupational therapies. While individuals living with MCI tend to isolate themselves, social interactions are known for their potential to slow or interrupt cognitive decline, being an important therapeutic component for MCI. Previous studies show how the built environment affects social interactions for Dementia patients living in residential care facilities, specifically through the layout of spaces and furniture. However, it is unclear how the design of therapeutic settings can stimulate the same type of interaction among older adults with MCI. We conducted a survey with healthcare experts in MCI to evaluate whether therapeutic spaces' spatial and furniture layout could foster social interactions among older adults with MCI and identify what should be prioritized in designing these spaces. Survey results showed five priorities when designing therapeutic spaces tailored to older adults with MCI: seating close and facing each other to facilitate conversation in living areas; outdoors therapeutic environments with multi-sensory stimuli; visual access to natural environments; natural lighting in living and dining spaces to motivate their use; and seats available to everyone in social areas. Our findings provide design recommendations that can improve social interactions in these types of settings, potentially contributing to reducing cognitive decline for their users.
Effect of Climate Change on Water Balance of Lower Ogun River Basin

The lower Ogun River is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its geographic location at the southern edge of western Nigeria and water management planners are facing considerable uncertainties on future demand and availability of water. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of climate change on water balance of lower Ogun River basin. The procedure of Ayoade (1976) water balance bookkeeping model was followed in computation. The temperature and water balance components were compared using descriptive statistics. The result showed that climate change influences the water balance components: rainfall, evapotranspiration, runoff and change in storage. Recurrent dry spells were encountered in the years 1988, 1990, 1998, 2006 and 2009. However, in the recent years increasing rainfall amount have been observed to cause flood that displaces most inhabitance of the lower basin area. Rainfall variability, land degradation and desertification are some of the factors that may also contribute to variation in the component of the hydrologic cycle in the river basin. The recurrent dry spells and flood encountered in the basin represented a particularly trying episode for the area, with massive losses of agricultural production and its consequence on human lives and domestic economies. Thus, climate change may become a great obstacle to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to which the Government of Nigeria is committed.
Dendroecological Methods For Reconstructing High-Severity Fire In Pine-Oak Forests

ABSTRACT Recent high-severity fires in pine-oak forests of the southwestern United States are creating shrubfields that may persist for decades to centuries. Shrubfields embedded in conifer forests that pre-date documentary records are potential evidence of older high-severity fire patches, and may therefore provide insights into the occurrence and extent of past high-severity fires and vegetation type conversion dynamics. In this paper we test whether dendroecological evidence can be used to reconstruct a high-severity, type-changing fire of known date in a ponderosa pine-dominated (Pinus ponderosa var scopulorum Engelm.) forest. Dendroecological evidence included (1) Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii, Nutt.) regeneration dates, (2) fire scars, (3) death dates, and (4) tree-ring growth changes. We reconstructed the historical fire regime and fire-climate relationship to evaluate whether the recent high-severity fire was driven by climate or fuel build-up related to a fire regime disruption. The dendroecological evidence correctly dated the year (1993) and season (spring) of the documented fire, and synchronous oak re-sprouts provided a means to estimate the minimum high-severity patch size. The historical fire regime at the site (1625–1871) consisted of frequent, low-severity fires occurring in dry years preceded by wet years. Fires stopped in 1871, coincident with increased regional livestock grazing. The 1993 fire occurred under relatively cool and wet conditions, but followed a 122-year fire-free interval (four times the maximum historical interval). Multiple lines of evidence suggest that increased fuel loads from fire exclusion, combined with high winds, were primary drivers of the high-severity fire. The dendroecological approach we outline can be applied to reconstruct high-severity fire across a range of conifer-shrubland ecosystems.
Capital Budgeting Methods Used in Investment Project Evaluation: The Example of Top 500 Industrial Enterprises of Turkey 1

The main aim of this study is to determine the capital budgeting methods preferred by Turkey's Top 500 Industrial Enterprises when evaluating their investment projects and the usage rates of the capital budgeting techniques. Also, it is aimed to determine the relationship between the capital budgeting methods preferred by both Turkey's Top 500 Industrial Enterprises and companies whose stocks are traded in Borsa Istanbul and firm size, exports, year of establishment, financial risk, education level of managers, sector, and firm performance. The study made use of a questionnaire survey. The survey was used as the data collection method in the study and the survey questions were applied to 500 Largest Industrial Enterprises of Turkey announced by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry in 2018, in 2020. The association between the obtained data was shown using logistic regression analysis. The findings indicated that a statistically significant relationship was determined between the education level, sector and firm age in both Turkey's Top 500 Industrial Enterprises and the companies whose stocks are traded in Borsa Istanbul (Istanbul Stock Exchance), and the preferred methods. However, there is no significant relationship was found between the methods preferred by the companies in Turkey's Top 500 Industrial Enterprises and the firm size, there is a significant relationship was found between the methods preferred by the companies whose stocks are traded in Borsa Istanbul and the firm size. A significant relationship was determined between the export and the methods preferred by the companies in Turkey's Top 500 Industrial Enterprises, but a significant relationship was not found between the companies whose stocks are traded in Borsa Istanbul and their export and firm performance
Upscaling experiments conducted on a block of volcanic tuff: Results for a bimodal permeability distribution

Permeability upscaling is physically investigated by making over 31,000 permeability measurements on a meter‐scale block of volcanic tuff. The experiments are made possible by a specially adapted minipermeameter test system. Here we present and analyze 5185 permeability values, corresponding to five different sample supports (i.e., sample volumes) collected from one of the six block faces. The results show that the measured spatial permeability patterns, bimodal permeability distribution, and semivariogram structure/length scales are closely related to the strong textural contrast characterizing the tuff sample (i.e., highly porous pumice fragments embedded in a tight rock matrix). Each of the summary statistics shows distinct and consistent trends with increasing sample support (i.e., upscaling). As the sample support increases, the mean and variance decrease according to a power law relation, and the semivariogram range increases linearly, while the general structure of the semivariogram (isotropic, spherical model) remains unchanged. Interpretation of these results is pursued from two very different points of view; one addresses upscaling of the ensemble statistics, while the second examines upscaling from a local or pointwise perspective. We find the general upscaling trends exhibited by the ensemble statistics (given above) to be consistent with the basic concepts of volume averaging, albeit nonlinear volume averaging. The bimodal characteristics of the tuff sample and the nonuniform flow conditions imparted by the minipermeameter contribute to the nonlinearity. The local analysis reveals strong variability in permeability upscaling from point to point throughout the sampling domain. Specifically, the permeability upscaling exhibited by zones rich in pumice is very different from zones dominated by matrix, unless the averaging volume is significantly larger than the spatial correlation scale.
Increasing the supply of health products in underserved regions

We study mechanisms that encourage manufacturers of health products to build production and distribution capacity. This is important for low‐ and middle‐income country (LMIC) markets where ability to pay is lower and demand risks are greater. Development finance institutions and philanthropies are beginning to utilize new instruments to incentivize manufacturers to build production/distribution capacity for LMIC markets. The goal of this paper is to understand the effectiveness of such mechanisms in different settings.We examine four instruments: (1) subsidy proportional to unit sales (sales subsidy), (2) subsidy proportional to unit capacity (variable‐capacity subsidy), (3) subsidy proportional to total capacity investment (total‐capacity subsidy), (4) a minimum volume guarantee. We analyze incentivized capacity as a function of social‐investor budget for each instrument. We show how our framework can be used to identify a social investor's preferred instrument given relevant parameter estimates, and we provide insight into the type of settings where a particular instrument dominates. A sales subsidy dominates when ability to pay is very low; a total‐capacity subsidy dominates when ability to pay is low. Outside of these settings, instrument preference is nuanced, though a sales subsidy is dominated by at least one other instrument. When ability to pay is moderate, a variable‐capacity subsidy tends to be preferred under high variable‐capacity cost and high budget, a volume guarantee tends to be preferred under low variable‐capacity cost and high budget, and a total‐capacity subsidy tends to be preferred under low budget.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
A New Early Cretaceous Brachiosaurid (Dinosauria, Neosauropoda) from Northwestern Gondwana (Villa De Leiva, Colombia)

ABSTRACT Brachiosaurid sauropods achieved a broad distribution during the Late Jurassic, which has been considered to provide evidence of their origins during the Middle Jurassic, prior to the breakup of Pangea. In contrast to their broad geographic distribution during the Late Jurassic, formally named brachiosaurid species from the Cretaceous have so far been restricted to the Aptian—Albian of North America, which has been interpreted as a signal of differential extinction and/or a bias in the Early Cretaceous fossil record. Here we describe a new brachiosaurid titanosauriform taxon from the Early Cretaceous of Colombia, which is represented by axial elements. The material was recovered from marine sediments of the Paja Formation (Barremian), close to the locality of Villa de Leiva. The weakly laterally expanded and divided transverse processes of the anterior-most caudal vertebrae allows the recognition of a new sauropod taxon, Padillasaurus leivaensis, gen. et sp. nov. In order to test the phylogenetic relationships of the new taxon, we performed a cladistic analysis that recovered Padillasaurus as a brachiosaurid titanosauriform. This position is supported by a combination of characters, including the presence of blind fossae in anterior caudal vertebrae. Among titanosauriforms, the presence of blind fossae in anterior caudal vertebrae is an apomorphic character that is exclusive to Giraffatitan, Venenosaurus, Cedarosaurus, and Abydosaurus. Although more complete remains are needed to test more thoroughly the affinities of the new taxon, the available evidence indicates that brachiosaurids survived at lower latitudes in Gondwana until at least the Early Cretaceous.
A palaeomagnetic study of recumbently folded and thermally metamorphosed Torridon Group sediments, Eishort anticline, Skye, Scotland

Two geologically significant palaeomagnetic components have been isolated in samples of Torridon Group sandstones from the Kishorn nappe of NW Scotland. The samples were collected from the Eishort anticline, a large recumbent fold of Caledonian age. The softer component (which is demagnetized by low temperatures and weak magnetic fields), when in situ, displays a steep upward direction typical of reversed Tertiary magnetizations. Both polarities of the harder component (which is demagnetized by high temperatures only) are present and, when dip corrected, display either northwesterly upward or southeasterly downward directions characteristic of Torridonian remanences. It is suggested that the Tertiary component is of chemical origin and the result of alteration of magnetite (titanomagnetite) grains. The geographical distribution of these grains is irregular and as a result the distribution of the Tertiary overprint is irregular. The Torridonian palaeomagnetic components from both limbs of the fold can be restored by rotation about the fold axis to internally consistent directions which lie close to previously published data from the Caledonian foreland. No correction is necessary for finite strain which suggests that the Eishort anticline formed by a flexural slip mechanism. However, an anticlockwise rotation of 26° is required to reconcile the Torridonian directions from the Kishorn nappe with those of the Caledonian foreland which suggests that, during emplacement, the thrust sheet rotated on the underlying fault surface.
GLOBAL AND REGIONAL REFERENCE MODELS FOR PREDICTING THE GEONEUTRINO FLUX AT SNO+, SUDBURY, CANADA

Title of Dissertation: GLOBAL AND REGIONAL REFERENCE MODELS FOR PREDICTING THE GEONEUTRINO FLUX AT SNO+, SUDBURY, CANADA Yu Huang, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Dissertation directed By: Professors William F. McDonough & Roberta L. Rudnick, Department of Geology Determining the radiogenic heat power that is driving plate tectonics and mantle convection is fundamentally important to understanding the Earth’s heat budget and its thermal and chemical evolution. The radiogenic heat power is coupled to the chemical composition of the Bulk Silicate Earth (BSE), which has been debated for decades. Geoneutrinos produced by beta-minus decays in U, Th and K decay systems are correlated to the radiogenic heat power in the Earth. Measured geoneutrino signals at different locations can be used to investigate the distributions and abundances of U and Th, given appropriate reference Earth models. Here I construct both a global and regional scale reference model to predict the geoneutrino signal at the SNO+ detector in Sudbury, Canada. The primary objective of this dissertation is to predict the geoneutrino detection rate for this soon to be operational geoneutrino detector and evaluate its asymmetric uncertainty caused by the log-normal distributions of U and Th in the crust. The focus of both models are on the geoneutrino signal from the continental crust, which determines SNO+’s sensitivity to the mantle geoneutrino signal, which is key to testing different BSE compositional models. The total geoneutrino signal at SNO+ is predicted to be 4 40 + − TNU by combining the global and regional reference model predictions and assuming the contribution from continental lithospheric mantle and convecting mantle is 9 TNU. It is not feasible for SNO+, on its own, to provide experimental result that will determine the mantle geoneutrino signal and refine different BSE compositional models because of the large uncertainty associated with the crustal contribution. The regional crust study presented here lowers the uncertainty on the geoneutrino signal that originates from bulk crust when compared to the global reference model prediction ( 6.0 4.2 30.7 + − TNU vs. 6.3 5.7 34.0 + − TNU). A future goal is to increase the resolution of the model in proximal area to the detector (e.g., 50 km by 50 km), which will further reduce the uncertainty. To obtain useful data on the mantle geoneutrino signal, detections of geoneutrinos carried out on the oceans, such as the proposed ocean-bottom Hanohano experiment, will be of significant scientific value. GLOBAL AND REGIONAL REFERENCE MODELS FOR PREDICTING THE GEONEUTRINO FLUX AT SNO+, SUDBURY, CANADA
Emplacement mechanics of sandstone intrusions: insights from the Panoche Giant Injection Complex, California

The Panoche Giant Injection Complex (PGIC; California) constitutes the most complete sandstone intrusion network yet described, and is an excellent analogue for subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs modified by sand remobilisation. Sandstone dykes and sills were intruded during the Late Palaeocene into slope mudstones of the Great Valley forearc basin, and are exposed for more than 300 km2. The PGIC consists of dykes and sills and represents upwards infilling of natural hydraulic fractures sourced from highly overpressured Cretaceous sand bodies. Over 1300 orientation measurements show that dykes are almost randomly oriented with only a slight orientation bias trending NE–SW, N–S or NW–SE, suggesting either a horizontally isotropic state of stress during intrusion or modification of stress by newly‐formed fractures that override the remote stress. Dykes are segmented in a pattern consistent with radial propagation with fingering towards tips similar to that observed for other mixed mode fractures. Kinematic indicators reveal there was no systematic sense of opening for the intrusions. This is interpreted as the result of short‐range mechanical interactions. Cross‐cutting relationships between injections imply a diachronous timing and a fluid pressure in the source units that was in excess of the lithostatic load. Finally we document a suite of minor structures within the host section that allowed the strain of the forcefully intruded sand to be accommodated.