Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Creep of Ice Containing Dispersed Fine Sand

Abstract Cylindrical samples of ice with 0.0 to 0.35 volume fraction fine sand were tested in unconfined uniaxial compression at stresses between 5.3 and 6.4 bar and at temperatures between −7.4 and −9.4° C. Secondary creep rates were obtained from the slope of the total strain vs. time curve and were normalized to 5.6 bar and −9.1° C. Creep rates in ice with low sand concentrations were in some cases higher and in other cases lower than in clean ice. However at higher sand concentrations the creep rate decreases exponentially with increasing volume fraction sand. The latter results are in general agreement with theories developed to explain dispersion hardening of metals, and suggest that each sand grain is surrounded by a tangled network of secondary dislocations which impede passage of primary glide dislocations.
International Differences in the Cost of Equity Capital: Do Legal Institutions and Securities Regulation Matter?

This paper examines international differences in firms' cost of equity capital across 40 countries. We analyze whether the effectiveness of a country's legal institutions and securities regulation is systematically related to crosscountry differences in the cost of equity capital. We employ four different models using analyst forecasts to estimate firms' implied cost of capital. We find that countries with extensive securities regulation and strong enforcement mechanisms exhibit lower levels of cost of capital than countries with weak legal institutions, even after controlling for various risk and country factors. We also show that, consistent with theory, these effects become substantially smaller or insignificant as capital markets become more integrated. have graciously provided supplemental data. The study is one of the recipients of the 2004 Geewax and Terker Company Prize.
Impact of externally forced changes on temperature extremes

This thesis investigates changes in temperature extremes between 1950-2005, analysing gridded data sets of observations and climate model simulations. It focuses on changes in the frequency of extreme temperatures occurring in single days or over periods of six or more consecutive days. The study aims to quantify the significance of changes in extreme temperature events and answer the following questions. Are external or human-induced forcings together with natural forcings responsible for the observed change in temperature extremes or can these changes be explained due to natural climate variability alone? Are the observed changes consistent with those from climate model simulations? And are the changes in extremes linked only to changes in the mean climate, or only to those in climate variability or both? The analysis concentrates on changes from global to regional scale and from annual mean to seasonal scale. A detection method is applied to assess if changes are significantly different with respect to the internal climate variability. Results show that there has been a significant increase in warm daily extremes and a decrease in cold ones, both on large and small spatial scales. The increase in warm extremes has been found to be highly correlated with the increase in mean temperature. The changes in daily extremes are well represented in climate model simulations. Changes in the persistent extremes show a detectable increase in the frequency of warm and a decrease in cold events and are reproducible by models.
SEDCON: A Model of Nutrient and Heavy Metal Losses in Suspended Sediment

A prototypical computer simulation model has been developed to aid watershed managers in estimating impacts of alternative land management practices on nutrient and heavy metal losses due to transported sediment on forested watersheds of the southwestern United States. The model, called SEDCON, allows users at remote locations with modest computer terminal equipment and commonly available data to obtain reliable estimates of nutrient and heavy metal concentrations in suspended sediment originating on uniformlystocked,forested watersheds in the Southwest. SEDCON has been structured in an interactive mode to facilitate its use by persons not familiar with computer operations. Written in FORTRAN IV computer language, the model requires approximately 5000 words of core. SEDCON is operative on a DEC -10 computer at the University of Arizona.
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

Health Care Components may not Disclose PHI to other components of the University that are not designated Health Care Components without patient authorization or as permitted by law. University Personnel who perform services for Health Care Components and other components of the University must not otherwise Use or Disclose PHI created or received in the course of or incident to their work for the Health Care Component to other components of the University and must use their best efforts to segregate the Use of the PHI.
Temi di discussione

The paper investigates whether firms have better access to bank credit in areas with a larger degree of urbanization. It uses bank-firm data drawn from the Credit Register maintained at the Bank of Italy to devise an indicator of ease of access to credit. The paper proposes an instrumental variable strategy that uses as instruments past population density and urbanization driven by considerations of political economy. The results show that urbanization affects access to credit positively for construction firms, whose collateral greatly benefits from thicker real estate markets. No impact is found for service and manufacturing firms.
An Integrity Framework for Image-Based Navigation Systems

Abstract : This work first examines fundamental differences between measurement models established for GPS and those of proposed image-based navigation systems. In contrast to single value per satellite GPS pseudorange measurements, image measurements are inherently angle-based and represent pixel coordinate pairs for each mapped target. Thus, in the image-based case, special consideration must be given to the units of the transformations between the states and measurements, and also to the fact that multiple rows of the observation matrix relate to particular error states. An algorithm is developed to instantiate a framework for image-based integrity analogous to that of GPS RAIM. The algorithm is applied cases where the navigation system is estimating position only and then extended to cases where both position and attitude estimation is required. Detailed analysis demonstrates the impact of angular error on a single pixel pair measurement and comparisons from both estimation scenario results show that, from an integrity perspective, there is significant benefit in having known attitude information. Additional work demonstrates the impact of pixel pair measurement relative geometries on system integrity, showing potential improvement in image-based integrity through screening and adding measurements, when available, to the navigation system solution.
A Scale Elasticity Measure for Directional Distance Function and its Dual

In this paper we introduce a scale elasticity measure based on directional distance function for multi-output-multi-input technologies and explore its fundamental properties. Specifically, we derive necessary and sufficient condition for equivalence of the scale elasticity measure based on the directional distance function with the input oriented and output oriented scale elasticity measures. We also establish duality relationship between the scale elasticity measure based on the directional distance function with a scale elasticity measure based on the profit function. This theoretical result is valuable for empirical researchers as it provides a testable analytical condition for when (and only when) the alternative primal and dual definitions of scale elasticity for multi-output-multi-input technologies yield equivalent conclusions about economies or diseconomies of scale.
Design-Based Research: An Emerging Paradigm for Educational Inquiry

The authors argue that design-based research, which blends empirical educational research with the theory-driven design of learning environments, is an important methodology for understanding how, when, and why educational innovations work in practice. Design-based researchers’ innovations embody specific theoretical claims about teaching and learning, and help us understand the relationships among educational theory, designed artifact, and practice. Design is central in efforts to foster learning, create usable knowledge, and advance theories of learning and teaching in complex settings. Design-based research also may contribute to the growth of human capacity for subsequent educational reform.
Robust e-Voting Composition

Maintaining the thermal comfort of occupants along with minimising the related energy consumption is necessary in educational buildings in the UK. Thermal comfort is particularly important in this context as it affects how well students learn in the classroom. This study aims to identify comfort temperature ranges in different classroom types, lecture rooms, studios and PC labs in UK higher learning environments. Overall, more than 3,000 university students in Coventry and Edinburgh were observed and surveyed simultaneously with the monitoring of environmental measurements under free-running, cooling and heating modes, in October and November 2017 and January to March 2018. Thermal comfort zones and comfort temperatures were identified in each classroom type under these three operation modes. The thermal comfort zone was shown to be significantly dependent on the operative temperature in the studios and PC labs. In terms of the students’ priorities for adaptive behaviour inside the classrooms, students in the lecture rooms and PC labs with lower levels of freedom, preferred to restore their thermal comfort through personal adaptive behaviour. However, environmental behaviour was shown to be preferred in the studios where the occupants have a greater freedom level. Results indicate a higher level of physiological and psychological thermal adaptation for the occupants of the studios and PC labs compared to those in the lecture rooms. Consequently, the type of classroom and the students’ freedom levels should be considered in environmental design of higher education buildings.
Investigating the maximum resolution of µXRF core scanners: A 1800 year storminess reconstruction from the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK

Micro x-ray fluorescence (µXRF) core scanning is capable of measuring the elemental composition of lake sediment at sub-millimetre resolution, but bioturbation and physical mixing may degrade environmental signals at such fine scales. The aim of this research is to determine the maximum possible resolution at which meaningful environmental signals may be reconstructed from lake sediments using this method. Sediment from a coastal lake in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, has been analysed using calibrated element measurements to reconstruct storminess since AD 200. We find that a Ca/K ratio in lake-core sediments reflects the presence of fine calcium carbonate shell fragments, a constituent of sand in the catchment that is washed and blown into the lake. Variations in this ratio are significantly correlated with instrumental records of precipitation and low pressures, suggesting it is a proxy for storminess. Furthermore, identification of a c. 60-year cycle supports a climatic influence on Ca/K, as this cycle is frequently identified in reconstructions of the North Atlantic Oscillation and North Atlantic sea-surface temperature. Comparison with weather records at different resolutions and spectral analysis indicate that µXRF data from Loch Hosta can be interpreted at sub-decadal resolutions (equivalent to core depth intervals of 3–5 mm in this location). Therefore, we suggest that sub-centimetre sampling using µXRF core scanning could be beneficial in producing environmental reconstructions in many lake settings where sediments are not varved.
Correlation Between Product Placement in Films, Purchase Intention and Brand Attitude

During the past 20 years, the practice of product placement as a marketing strategy has been widely extorted. Therefore, this research aims to analyse the effectiveness of product placement in films. An experimental design was employed with 40 respondents from UCSI University employing theories of the Hidden Message and the Character-Product Interaction (CPI). The correlations between product placement in film, purchase intention, and brand attitude were found significant. Brand attitude and purchase intention had increased after the exposure to product placement. Limitations were taken into account in terms of demographic, efficiency, and extensiveness. Theories of the Hidden Message and the Character-Product Interaction (CPI) are applicable to study product placements. In other words, marketers are suggested to use product placement strategy in films to generate positive brand attitude and sales.
THE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION

The article analyzes the influence of information content on the emotional stability of students in the conditions of martial law. The main elements of the influence of the information space, in particular news, on the emotional state of higher education students are considered and analyzed. The purpose of the article is to determine the attitude of students to information content in the conditions of martial law; to investigate the impact of news on the emotional and physical state of students of higher education institutions. The results of the study showed that the ways of forming stress resistance at student age include factors that shape students' stress resistance by choosing successful types of coping behavior and correcting the levels of anxiety: the ability to solve problems and a positive vision of the future; approval of one's actions by others; individual psychological characteristics of a person (self-confidence, activity, optimism); satisfaction with the chosen profession and a positive emotional background. The formation of stress resistance in the student age is possible thanks to the implementation of the method of psychological training, where exercises should be used that contribute to the self-regulation of the student's condition, activation of mental functions, motivate students to develop certain components of the psyche, etc. Conclusions. Based on scientific works on stress resistance, it is possible to single out the psychological features of the stress resistance of higher education students: psychodynamic properties (activity, rigidity, emotional excitability, reaction rate); willpower (endurance, determination, perseverance, self-control, initiative, independence, responsibility, energy); features of self-regulation of behavior (planning, modeling, assessment of results, flexibility, general level of self-regulation of behavior); motivation (motivation of the desire for success). Summarizing the results of the author's questionnaire to determine the attitude of students to the news in the conditions of martial law and the impact of news on the emotional and physical state of students of higher education institutions in the conditions of martial law, it was found that for most students, viewing the news causes negative and disturbing emotions, internal discomfort in the body, reduces motivation to activities
Pengembangan perangkat pembelajaran geometri dengan mengadaptasi model CORE untuk meningkatkan efikasi diri

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menghasilkan perangkat pembelajaran yang diadaptasi dari model CORE (Connecting, Organizing, Reflecting, dan Extending) yang valid, praktis, dan efektif untuk meningkatkan efikasi diri siswa. Pengembangan perangkat menggunakan model pengembangan Borg dan Gall yang dimodifikasi oleh peneliti dengan tahapan: (1) studi pendahuluan, (2) perencanaan, (3) pengembangan rancangan produk awal, (4) uji coba terbatas, (5) revisi tahap I, (6) uji coba operasional, (7) revisi tahap II, dan (8) desiminasi produk akhir. Uji coba produk dilakukan di SMA Negeri 1 Prambanan Sleman dengan melibatkan 52 siswa dan seorang guru matematika. Instrumen yang digunakan terdiri atas lembar validasi, lembar observasi keterlaksanaan pembelajaran, lembar penilaian guru terhadap kepraktisan perangkat pembelajaran, angket penilaian siswa terhadap kepraktisan LKS dan proses pembelajaran, dan angket efikasi diri siswa dalam belajar geometri. Hasil penelitian adalah perangkat pembelajaran yang terdiri dari RPP dan LKS dengan mengadaptasi model pembelajaran CORE yang memenuhi kriteria valid, praktis, dan efektif untuk meningkatkan efikasi diri siswa.This research aimed to produce a valid, practical, and effective learning kits adapted from CORE (Connecting, Organizing, Reflecting, and Extending) model to improve student’s self-efficacy. The development refered to the modified Borg and Gall model which consists of: (1) preliminary studies, (2) plan, (3) initial product design development, (4) limited trial, (5) revision phase I, (6) operational trials, (7) revision phase II, dan (8) final product dissemination. The product was implemented at SMA Negeri 1 Prambanan Sleman which involved 52 students and the mathematics teacher. The instruments used in this research were validation sheets, the observation sheet of learning implementation, an evaluation sheet for practicality of lesson plans and worksheets by the teacher, the questionnaire for practicality of worksheets and learning process, and student’s self-efficacy in geometry learning questionnaire. The result was a valid, practical, and effective learning kits which consist of lesson plans and worksheets adapted from CORE instructional model to improve self-efficacy.
Changes in the Bid-Ask Components around Earnings Announcements

: This paper investigates the relative magnitude of the components in the bid-ask spread around earnings announcements using the method in Stoll (1989). The results show that earnings surprises convey relevant pricing information and that significant information asymmetry exists between the market makers and the informed traders. Around negative earnings announcements the adverse-selection component and the trading volume increase while the inventory-holding and order-processing components decrease. This leads to a decrease in the realized spread. The magnitude of the change in the realized spread appears to be important but the change in the quoted bid-ask spread is negligible. The overall result implies that the informed traders’ ability to assess firms’ performance only affect the bid-ask spread around the time of the earnings announcements.
Краткие сообщения Short

In this article, we explore the role of macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC/CCL22) in COVID-19 immunity. The study included plasma samples of 289 patients with PCR-verified COVID-19 from specialized hospitals. The blood samples were collected at admission, approximately 7 days after the start of infection. Genetic testing of the virus was performed in nasopharyngeal swabs to determine the viral strain for each patient. We also included blood plasma of 69 convalescent patients who had recovered from COVID-19 more than a month prior to the study. Additionally, 51 healthy donors were included in the study as controls. The concentrations of MDC/CCL22 and other cytokines and chemokines were measured with multiplex analysis using Luminex MagPix Technology. The results showed that COVID-19 patients had significantly lower MDC levels in their plasma, regardless of the SARS-CoV-2 strain, compared to healthy donors. This finding suggests that MDC/CCL22 depletion may play a role in COVID-19 immunity. Furthermore, convalescent patients still showed decreased concentrations of MDC/CCL22 more than a month after infection, indicating that this depletion may persist even after recovery. We propose two mechanisms that can explain the reasons leading to MDC/CCL22 depletion. The first is binding and inactivation of this chemokine with SARS-CoV-2 peptides, making it not only undetectable for commercial kits, but also less functionally active. Another mechanism is the dysfunction of its effector cells (e.g., DCs and macrophages). Lymphopenia following COVID-19 can potentially be explained by the absence of MDC/CCL22. This may lead to a shift towards hyperactivation in the inflammatory response, potentially explaining the severity of COVID-19. This research sheds light on the importance of MDC/CCL22 in COVID-19 immunity and highlights the need for further investigation into its role in the disease. Understanding the mechanisms behind MDC/CCL22 depletion could provide new insights into the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and inform the development of potential treatments.
Magnitude and Frequency of Floods for Rural, Unregulated Streams of Tennessee by L-Moments Method

This study presents a regional frequency analysis of Tennessee using the well-known Bulletin-17B method standardly used in the United States and the relatively new and developing L-Moments methods. Flood frequency characteristics were defined for 416 gaging stations located primarily in rural and lightly developed areas of Tennessee. All the gaging stations have 10 or more years of record through 2006. Using the L-Moments method, the generalized extreme value distribution was identified as the most robust distribution for each of four hydrologic areas. Multiple regression equations were also calculated for estimating the flood frequency of ungaged, unregulated, rural streams in each of the four hydrologic areas of Tennessee. Regression equations were computed using the ordinary least squares regression procedure. The standard error of prediction for the regression equations were calculated and used to compare the Bulletin 17B and L-Moments methods. This is the first study to indicate that the L-Moments method is, on average, the better of the two methods tested for predicting flood frequency for unregulated streams and rivers in Tennessee. This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council.
The effectiveness of public procurement in stimulating innovation outputs: empirical evidence from European firms

Over the last decade a number of public procurement directives at national and European Union level have sought to enhance the effectiveness of public procurement in stimulating firm-level innovation. Yet there is an absence of empirical evidence relating to the impact of public procurement on innovation. In this paper, we address this gap by evaluating the effectiveness of public procurement on a range of innovation output indicators. Using the Community Innovation Survey 2012 dataset, we empirically estimate direct and indirect treatment effects of public procurement in different country groups (Innovation Leaders, Innovation Followers and Moderate Innovators). We find no systemic direct effects on innovation outputs across country groups. However, for indirect effects, our results indicate strong universal effects on non-technological innovations. Our empirical evidence provides some policy implications, in particular relating to “innovation-friendly” public procurement.
Exponential Family Word Embeddings: An Iterative Approach for Learning Word Vectors

GloVe and Skip-gram word embedding methods learn word vectors by decomposing a denoised matrix of word co-occurrences into a product of low-rank matrices. In this work, we propose an iterative algorithm for computing word vectors based on modeling word co-occurrence matrices with Generalized Low Rank Models. Our algorithm generalizes both Skip-gram and GloVe as well as giving rise to other embedding methods based on the specified co-occurrence matrix, distribution of co-occurences, and the number of iterations in the iterative algorithm. For example, using a Tweedie distribution with one iteration results in GloVe and using a Multinomial distribution with full-convergence mode results in Skip-gram. Experimental results demonstrate that multiple iterations of our algorithm improves results over the GloVe method on the Google word analogy similarity task.