Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
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Providing assistance services for sexual activity is becoming of increasing importance to the community of people with disabilities and to mental health professionals. Nevertheless, the literature on this topic is sparse. The aim of this study is to explore potential clients’ and assistants’ views, needs, experiences, opinions, and concerns about sexual assistance (SA) in Italy. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 people with a congenital physical disability and 10 would-be assistants. A Grounded Theory approach was used to analyze data. Participants with disabilities considered SA useful. Despite most of them having unfulﬁlled sexual needs, they would prefer to have their sexual needs met within a romantic relationship. Would-be assistants constructed themselves as people who have a ‘‘natural aptitude to being useful’’. Results suggest that SA services might represent an opportunity for people with disabilities to discover new ways to satisfy their personal needs and to live more autonomously while, at the same time, allowing would-be sexual assistants to fulﬁll their desire to be helpful. Nevertheless, the use of SA is likely to only be a part of the answer to fulﬁlling the sexual needs of people with disabilities.
Defense Expenditure and the Fight Against Insurgency in Nigeria's North-East Region

The fight against insurgency in Nigeria's North East region has enjoyed substantial funding in recent time. This study examines the impact of government defense spending on the fight against insurgency in the country. Using monthly casualty figures from the Nigeria Security Tracker, it examines the impact of public defense spending on the number of incidents by month and total deaths of civilians and state actors between 2015 and 2020. Quantitative analysis was used as the study's estimation method. It carried out its empirical analysis using the Poisson regression. According to the result of the regression analysis, government defense spending has reduced insurgency-related casualties by 71 per cent over the study period. Despite the gains made possible by the government's budgetary commitment to the fight, much work remains to be done in the region to put an end to insurgency. The study recommends, among other things, that funds be allocated to reconstruction, development, and providing gainful employment for the region's growing number of young people in order to deter them from taking up arms.
A Tectonic Linkage between the Rodelide Orogen (Sierra Leone) and the St. Lucie Metamorphic Complex in the Florida Subsurface

The St. Lucie Metamorphic Complex comprises part of the non-Laurentian, Paleozoic Suwannee terrane beneath the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains of the southeastern United States. Hornblende concentrates prepared from cuttings from two deep test wells penetrating the complex display internally concordant $$^{40}Ar/^{39}Ar$$ incremental-release spectra defining plateau ages of $$510.8 \pm 1.1 Ma$$ and $$513.1 \pm 1.8 Ma$$, which are interpreted to date post-metamorphic cooling through temperatures required for intracrystalline argon retention. The Kasila Group constitutes the western segment of the Rokelide orogen in Sierra Leone. Four hornblende concentrates prepared from amphibolite within the Kasila Group yield $$^{40}Ar/^{39}Ar$$Ar plateau ages of $$505.0 \pm 5.2$$, $$508.2 \pm 2.1$$, $$510.5 \pm 2.6$$, and $$546.1 \pm 6.8 Ma$$. They are interpreted to date post-metamorphic cooling through appropriate argon closure temperatures following a ca. 550-560 Ma, Pan-African II phase of tectonothermal activity. A biotite concentrate from paragneiss within the Kasila Group displays an internally concordant $$^{40}Ar/^{39}Ar$$ release spectrum defining a plateau age of $$524.7 \pm 1.3 Ma$$, which likely reflects slight contamination with extraneous (excess) argon. Muscovite from the Marampa Group yields a $$^{40}Ar/^{39}Ar$$ plateau age of $$561.1 \pm 2.3 Ma$$, which is interpreted to date cooling through appropriate argon closure temperatures. Although these temperatures are generally considered to be lower than those for hornblende, the muscovite records an older cooling age, suggesting that the Marampa Group experienced slightly earlier post-metamorphic uplift and cooling relative to the Kasila Group. Lithologic comparisons combined with similarities in post-metamorphic thermal evolution suggest that the St. Lucie Metamorphic Complex originated within the Rokelide orogen. This and other lithotectonic elements of the Suwannee terrane appear to represent a fragment of Gondwana which accreted to Laurentia during late Paleozoic amalgamation of Pangea.
Where Are the Fathers? Effects of Earmarking Parental Leave for Fathers in France

Does providing nontransferable months of parental leave earmarked for fathers, as mandated by the European Union to its member countries since 2019, increase their participation? To answer that question, the authors investigate the consequences of a 2015 French reform that designated up to 12 months of paid leave for fathers while simultaneously reducing the maximum paid leave for mothers by the same number of months. Although the benefits were low, parental leave could be taken on a part-time basis, which can be more attractive to fathers. Using administrative data and comparing parents of children born before and after the reform, the authors find that in response to a 25 percentage point (pp) decline in mothers’ participation rate triggered by the reform, fathers’ participation increased by less than 1 pp, primarily through part-time leave. The reform increased mothers’ labor earnings, but it had no significant impact on fathers’ earnings. Overall, the substitutability of parental leave between parents appears to be low and, as a result, earmarking alone does not substantially increase fathers’ participation.
Perceptions of choice in writing of university students

There is an assumption in education that allowing students to choose their writing topics and positions is beneficial; however, there is little research to support this belief, particularly from the students’ perspectives. In the present study, we conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with students at a large university in the Southwest of the United States after they completed two in-class argumentative writing assignments in a course on exceptional children, one where they chose their writing position and one where they were assigned their writing position. As a group, these 20 students (13 female, 7 male) were above average writers in their first to third year of study, and the majority of them were education majors (70%), followed by arts and sciences (25%), and design and the arts (5%). The interview protocol focused upon their shifting perspectives on the underlying motivational construct of choice related to this and other writing assignments. Taking a grounded theory approach to thematic analysis, findings indicated that having choice in writing was important because it allowed students to write about topics that they find easier, more interesting, and possess greater knowledge. Choice also allowed students to demonstrate their autonomy, which they believed, influenced their motivation and writing quality/grades. While the university students in this study generally preferred choice, a majority of them identified benefits of not choosing, including opportunities to improve writing tenacity, enhance their writing skills, and achieve new perspectives.
The influence of clay content, salinity, stress, and wettability on the dielectric properties of brine-saturated rocks; 10 Hz to 10 MHz

Complex impedance measurements have been performed on 14 shaly sand samples, Berea sandstone, and Ottawa sand-bentonite packs in a frequency range of 10 Hz to 10 MHz, using both the two- and four-electrode techniques. Measurements have been conducted at an effective radial stress varying from ambient pressure to 4000 psi for brine-saturated oil-wet and water-wet samples.The dielectric permittivity is found to correlate with the clay volume fraction, the cation exchange capacity, and electrochemical potential of the rock samples and to depend strongly on the salinity of the brine used. Stress and wettability are shown to have a small influence on the dielectric constant of fully brine-saturated rocks. A lower critical frequency is found to characterize the geometry of the pore space. Empirical correlations between the dielectric constant, frequency, permeability, cation exchange capacity, and porosity are presented for the shaly sands used in this study. These correlations provide a means of estimating important petrophysical parameters such as the permeability and the clay content from a nondestructive complex impedance sweep of shaly sands fully saturated with brine.
Impacts of kerogen content and fracture properties on the anisotropic seismic reflectivity of shales with orthorhombic symmetry

Shale often has strong intrinsic anisotropy, which can be described by transverse isotropy with a vertical axis of symmetry. When vertical fractures are present, shale is likely to exhibit orthorhombic symmetry. We used anisotropic rock-physics models to describe the orthorhombic properties of fractured shale, and we determined that composition and fracture properties had an impact on the azimuthal amplitude variations. Interpretation of azimuthal reflectivity variations was often performed under simplified assumptions. Although the Ruger equation was derived for weak anisotropy and for transverse isotropy with a horizontal axis of symmetry, our results indicated that the orthorhombic response can be well described by the Ruger equation. However, ambiguities could be introduced into the interpretation of parameters. We suggested that careful rock-physics modeling was important for interpreting the anisotropic seismic response of fractured shale.
Possible Alternatives: Identifying and Quantifying Adulteration in Buffalo, Goat, and Camel Milk Using Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Combined with Modern Statistical Machine Learning Methods

Adulteration of higher priced milks with cheaper ones to obtain extra profit can adversely affect consumer health and the market. In this study, pure buffalo milk (BM), goat milk (GM), camel milk (CM), and their mixtures with 5–50% (vol/vol) cow milk or water were used. Mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) combined with modern statistical machine learning was used for the discrimination and quantification of cow milk or water adulteration in BM, GM, and CM. Compared to partial least squares (PLS), modern statistical machine learning—especially support vector machines (SVM), projection pursuit regression (PPR), and Bayesian regularized neural networks (BRNN)—exhibited superior performance for the detection of adulteration. The best prediction models for the different predictive traits are as follows: The binary classification models developed by SVM resulted in differentiation of CM-cow milk, and GM/CM-water mixtures. PLS resulted in differentiation of BM/GM-cow milk and BM-water mixtures. All of the above models have 100% classification accuracy. SVM was used to develop multi-classification models for identifying the high and low proportions of cow milk in BM, GM, and CM, as well as the high and low proportions of water adulteration in BM and GM, with correct classification rates of 94%, 100%, 100%, 99%, and 100%, respectively. In addition, a PLS-based model was developed for identifying the high and low proportions of water adulteration in CM, with correct classification rates of 100%. A regression model for quantifying cow milk in BM was developed using PCA + BRNN, with RMSEV = 5.42%, and RV2 = 0.88. A regression model for quantifying water adulteration in BM was developed using PCA + PPR, with RMSEV = 1.70%, and RV2 = 0.99. Modern statistical machine learning improved the accuracy of MIRS in predicting BM, GM, and CM adulteration more effectively than PLS.
Fleshing out your text: How elaboration and contextualization moves differentially predict writing quality

This study explores the relation between writing quality and contextualization and elaboration moves, two kinds of textual expansion devices crucial for building common ground between writers and readers. We ask whether elaboration and contextualization features differentially predict writing quality and whether their quality contributions differ between genres. We also ask to what extent elaboration and contextualization are tied to individual writers, and can be explained by writer characteristics. To examine these issues, we annotated descriptive and argumentative texts of Dutch adolescents. Text quality was rated holistically, using benchmark scales. As regards elaboration, depth affects quality more than breadth does. It also contributes across genres, whereas breadth only contributes in argumentations. Depth shows a large individual consistency across tasks, which is substantially related to students’ school type, grade and gender. Breadth shows weaker links to individual writers and their characteristics. With regard to contextualization, opening and closing moves play a modest role in text quality. Initial support moves contribute to quality across tasks; concluding moves contribute more in argumentations. Concluding moves are most consistent within writers; however, for all contextualization moves, the writer variance is substantially explained by writer characteristics. This study opens up new avenues for explicating writing quality and writing skill.
Equivalent Stress Equation for Unsaturated Soils. I: Equivalent Stress

In 1959 Bishop stated his effective stress equation for unsaturated soils. However, the difficulties in estimating the value of its main parameter χ , made this equation useless and it was abandoned for some time. Only recently, it has been recognized that the use of Bishop’s stress equation can lead to simpler and more realistic constitutive models for unsaturated soils. However, up to now the most successful equations to quantify the value of parameter χ are empirical and not satisfactory for most soils. Based on the analysis of the equilibrium of the solid particles of a soil showing a bimodal structure and subject to certain suction, it was possible to establish an analytical expression for Bishop’s parameter χ . The resulting stress has been called equivalent stress (in contrast with effective stress) and can be used to predict the shear strength of unsaturated soils. The equivalent stress is written as a function of the net stress and suction and requires two parameters: the saturated fraction and t.
Simulation tutorial in ATPDraw™ software for Lateral Branch Switching, Lumped Load, Distributed Load, Capacitor Switching in distribution systems

This tutorial paper provides a comprehensive guide on performing switching operations in distribution systems using ATPDraw™ software. The focus is on understanding the appropriate modeling and simulation techniques for various types of load switching events in electrical distribution systems. The tutorial covers key aspects such as lateral branch switching, lumped load, distributed load, capacitor, and non-linear load. By acquiring a thorough understanding of these switching operations, researchers and practitioners can effectively study and analyze electrical distribution systems. Having the knowledge and skills to accurately model and simulate switching events is crucial for conducting in-depth studies related to energy distribution. This tutorial serves as a valuable resource for researchers and professionals seeking to enhance their understanding and proficiency in modeling and simulating switching operations in electrical distribution systems.
I Spy Differences in System Reliability

The current experiment examined how the level of exposure to automation of various reliabilities impacts perceptions of reliability and confidence in perceived reliability ratings. Participants viewed images of multicolored Mega blocks presented side-by-side with a recommendation from an automated system indicating whether the images were a match or not. Participants responded whether the automation recommendation was correct or incorrect. The reliability of the automation across blocks was either 50%, 80%, or 90% and participants saw 10, 50, and 100 trials of each reliability. Overall, the level of exposure to the system had no impact on perceptions of automation reliability, or confidence in reliability ratings. Exposure did differentially impact accuracy of automation classification recommendation across the levels of automation reliability. Results also indicated that increases in perceptions of automation reliability increased confidence in the reliability perceptions. These findings have applications for training participants on imperfectly reliable systems.
Safety and Diagnostic Yield of Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Biopsy for Hypervascular Pancreatic Lesions

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) is a common technique for diagnosing pancreatic lesions with high accuracy and a low incidence of procedural adverse events. However, occasional adverse events, particularly bleeding, may occur. Procedures for hypervascular lesions are considered important, but their risks are unknown. We aimed to evaluate the safety and diagnostic yield of EUS-FNB for hypervascular pancreatic solid lesions. This study included 301 patients with 308 solid pancreatic lesions who underwent EUS-FNB between May 2011 and December 2018. We performed propensity-score matching to balance clinical differences between hypervascular and hypovascular lesions and analyzed 52 lesions. We compared the safety and diagnostic performance of propensity score-matched cohorts. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy rates of EUS-FNB for hypervascular lesions were 94.7%, 100%, and 96.2%, and those for hypovascular lesions were 80.0%, 100%, and 84.6%, respectively. There was no difference in diagnostic performance between hypervascular and hypovascular lesions. Furthermore, adverse events occurred in only one patient (pancreatitis) in the hypovascular group. There were no significant differences in the occurrence of adverse events between hypervascular and hypovascular lesions (0% vs. 3.8%, p = 1.000). Therefore, EUS-FNB may be safe with a high diagnostic yield, even for hypervascular solid pancreatic lesions.
The Key Role of Astrocytes in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Their Commitment to Glutamate Excitotoxicity

In the last two decades, there has been increasing evidence supporting non-neuronal cells as active contributors to neurodegenerative disorders. Among glial cells, astrocytes play a pivotal role in driving amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progression, leading the scientific community to focus on the “astrocytic signature” in ALS. Here, we summarized the main pathological mechanisms characterizing astrocyte contribution to MN damage and ALS progression, such as neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, energy metabolism impairment, miRNAs and extracellular vesicles contribution, autophagy dysfunction, protein misfolding, and altered neurotrophic factor release. Since glutamate excitotoxicity is one of the most relevant ALS features, we focused on the specific contribution of ALS astrocytes in this aspect, highlighting the known or potential molecular mechanisms by which astrocytes participate in increasing the extracellular glutamate level in ALS and, conversely, undergo the toxic effect of the excessive glutamate. In this scenario, astrocytes can behave as “producers” and “targets” of the high extracellular glutamate levels, going through changes that can affect themselves and, in turn, the neuronal and non-neuronal surrounding cells, thus actively impacting the ALS course. Moreover, this review aims to point out knowledge gaps that deserve further investigation.
Uso e conhecimento da aroeira (Myracrodruon urundeuva) por comunidades tradicionais no Semiárido brasileiro

In this study, the traditional knowledge and uses of Myracrodruon urundeuva, an endangered species, were investigated in two rural communities, in the municipality of Soledade, State of Paraiba, northeastern Brazil. Semistructured interviews were conducted with the heads of households, 16 in Barrocas and 28 in Cachoeira, trying to distinguish the current from the potential uses. To collect demographic information on the M. urundeuva population, all individuals with circumference at soil level > 3 cm were recorded in the surveys. Plant uses were classified into seven categories (subdivided into timber and non-timber, especially for construction): forage, fuel, construction, medicine, technology, veterinary and as an abortive. Those interviewed showed that they gather plants either from their own properties or from neighboring farms. In the community of Cachoeira there were more records of use by men (89 citations) than by women (65) whereas in Barrocas records showed equal use by men and women. Our results suggest that the widespread popularity and use of M. urundeuva has threatened the species to the verge of local extinction.
Lithospheric flexure due to prograding sediment loads: implications for the origin of offlap/onlap patterns in sedimentary basins

Simple elastic plate models have been used to determine the stratigraphic patterns that result from prograding sediment loads. The predicted patterns, which include coastal oflap/onlap and downlap in a basinward direction, are generally similar to observations of stratal geometry from Cenozoic sequences of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast margins. Coastal offlap is a feature of all models in which the water depth and elastic thickness of the lithosphere, Te, (which is a measure of the long-term strength of the lithosphere), are held constant, and is caused by a seaward shift in the sediment load and its compensation as progradation proceeds. The coastal offlap pattern is reduced if sediments prograde into a subsiding basin, since subsidence causes an increase in the accommodation space and loading landward of a prograding wedge. The stratal geometry that results is complex, however, and depends on the sediment supply, the amount of subsidence, and Te. If the sediment supply to a subsiding basin proceeds in distinct ‘pulses’ (due, say, to different tectonic events in a source region) then it is possible to determine the relationship between stratal geometry and Te. Coastal offlap and downlap are features of most models where the lithosphere either has a constant Te, slowly increases Te, with time, or changes Te, laterally; however, in the case where sediments prograde onto lithosphere that rapidly increases Te, with time, the offlap can be replaced by onlap. Lithospheric flexure due to prograding sediment loads is capable of producing a wide variety of stratal geometries and may therefore be an important factor to take into account when evaluating the relative role of tectonics and eustatic sea-level changes in controlling the stratigraphic record.
Are companies less environmentally-friendly due to the crisis? Evidence from Europe ¿Son las empresas menos respetuosas con el medioambiente durante la crisis? Evidencia europea

Academicians and managers are worried about what is going to happen with the Environmental Responsibilities of companies due to the worsening of their financial situation caused by the severe economic crisis that is significantly affecting them. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of the crisis on the environmental behavior of companies from the European countries that are suffering the financial crisis most (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) through a data panel study between 2005 and 2012. The results show surprisingly that proactive, environmentallyfriendly actions have not decreased during the crisis but rather that the crisis has meant an increase in environmental commitment. This is strongly motivated by the Product Innovation actions which attain the highest increase.