Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Geochemical Speciation and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Soils and Sediments

Heavy metal pollution is a serious and widely environmental problem due to the persistent and non-biodegradable properties of these contaminants. Sediments serve as the ultimate sink of heavy metals in the marine environment and they play an important role in the transport and storage of potentially hazardous metals. They are introduced into the aquatic system as a result of weathering of soil and rocks, from volcanic eruptions and from a variety of human activities involving mining, dredging, processing and use of metals and/or substances containing metal contaminants. Heavy metals entering natural water become part of the watersediment system and their distribution processes are controlled by a dynamic set of physico‐ chemical interactions and equilibria. The properties of metals in soils and sediments depend on the physiochemical form in which they occur [1]. Heavy metals are distributed throughout soil and sediment components and associated with them in various ways, including adsorp‐ tion, ion exchange, precipitation and complexation and so on [2]. Changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature, pH, redox potential and organic ligand concentrations, can cause metals to be released from solid to liquid phase and sometimes cause contamination of surrounding waters in aquatic systems [3]. They are not permanently fixed by soil or sediment. Therefore, it cannot provide sufficient information about mobility, bioavailability and toxicity of metals if their total contents are studied alone.
2 A Computational Game-Theoretic Framework 2 . 1 Bayesian Games

We develop a general game-theoretic framework for reasoning about strategic agents performing possibly costly computation. In this framework, many traditional game-theoretic results (such as the existence of a Nash equilibrium) no longer hold. Nevertheless, we can use the framework to provide psychologically appealing explanations of observed behavior in well-studied games (such as finitely repeated prisoner’s dilemma and rock-paper-scissors). Furthermore, we provide natural conditions on games sufficient to guarantee that equilibria exist. ∗Minor updates in September 2011. An extended abstract of this paper appeared in the 1st Innovations in Computer Science Conference, 2010. Halpern is supported in part by NSF grants ITR-0325453, IIS-0534064, IIS0812045, and IIS-0911036, and by AFOSR grants FA9550-08-1-0438 and FA9550-09-1-0266, and ARO grant W911NF09-1-0281. Pass is supported in part by a Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award CCF-0746990, AFOSR Award FA9550-08-1-0197, and BSF Grant 2006317.
2 A Computational Game-Theoretic Framework 2 . 1 Bayesian Games

We develop a general game-theoretic framework for reasoning about strategic agents performing possibly costly computation. In this framework, many traditional game-theoretic results (such as the existence of a Nash equilibrium) no longer hold. Nevertheless, we can use the framework to provide psychologically appealing explanations to observed behavior in well-studied games (such as finitely repeated prisoner’s dilemma and rock-paper-scissors). Furthermore, we provide natural conditions on games sufficient to guarantee that equilibria exist.
Gene Order Evolution and Genomic Analyses of the Model Eukaryote, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Other Yeast Species.

Summary The complete genome sequence of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be used to form a clearer picture of the evolution of the diverse species of yeast and to construct a model of eukaryote genome evolution. In this study changes in the order of genes on yeast chromosomes were assessed and quantified by comparison with available sequence data from other yeast species and by the adaptation of comparative gene order techniques to the case of intraspecific comparative mapping within the S. cerevisiae genome. This is suggested by the hypothesis of genome duplication in the lineage leading to S. cerevisiae . Methods were developed to optimise the detection and display of cluster homology regions in an ancient tetraploid. A fresh look was taken at outstanding questions of genome organisation that have remained unresolved since the beginning of the yeast sequencing project. Compositional variation in yeast was shown to be explainable by short range correlation in base composition and no evidence was found for periodic variation in base composition over long distances. The available contiguous sequences from the pathogenic yeast
Factors Influencing the Adoption of Mobile Banking with Special Reference to Pune City

In the 1990s, the banking sector in India saw greater emphasis being placed on technology and innovation. Banks began to use technology to provide better quality services to their customers and at greater speed. Technological advancement allowed them to offer services like Internet banking and mobile banking, making it convenient for customers to interface with their banks from geographically diverse places. The present paper attempts to study the adoption of mobile banking in Pune city using the UTAUT model. This model has been considered as it offers a wide array of constructs, thereby enabling a structured study of the adoption. The paper identifies various factors facilitating the adoption of mobile banking using exploratory factor analysis.
Fractal characteristics of drainage basin boundaries in Puerto Rico

Fractal dimension (D) values ranging from 1.06 to 1.11 characterize the mapped boundaries of six of the largest drainage basins in Puerto Rico (drainage areas 186-538 km 2 ). These D values from tropical landscapes fit within the range of fractal dimension (1.06-1.12) obtained for twelve drainage basins in the conterminous United States, supporting the hypothesis that the plan-view irregularity of drainage divides is fairly constant between tropical and temperate climatic regimes. Self-similar wandering of divides at scales finer than the resolution of available maps or other remotely-collected topographic data introduces uncertainty in the precise mapping of drainage basin boundaries for water resources regulation and management. The degree of this uncertainty is determined not only by mapping resolution, but also by basin boundary fractal dimension. Results of this study therefore suggest similar constraints on the accuracy of drainage divide mapping for the two climatic regimes.
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE JUIZ DE FORA FACULDADE DE ECONOMIA PROGRAMA DE PÓS GRADUAÇÃO EM ECONOMIA

Establishments worldwide experience a trade-off between following the law and incurring higher labor costs or evading regulations and running the risk of being punished. In this context, labor inspection is the main public policy that aims to reduce the gap between laws on paper and compliance by society. This paper studies how inspections affect firms’ outcomes in Brazil. We explore the fact that firms are not warned about the inspection act, which makes the timing exogenous. We combine data of firms inspected between 2007 and 2017 with employer-employee administrative data (RAIS). Using a sample with companies inspected only once in the period or never inspected that had between 10 and 500 employees on the baseline (first quarter in the dataset) and event study/difference-in-difference approaches, we find that receiving the inspection negatively affects the establishment. There is a decline in all eight quarters after the inspection in employment, hiring, separation and wages. The average effect is 16.47%, 17.39%, 11.31% and 4.26% respectively. We also document a little change in labor composition due to inspection, more flexible contracts and fewer hours contracted. Moreover, establishments in the construction and services sector are most affected, as are companies with 50 to 100 employees. We argue that the main channel can be through increasing labor costs.
Constraining the mid-crustal channel flow beneath the Tibetan Plateau: data from the Nielaxiongbo gneiss dome, SE Tibet

Gneiss domes involving the South Tibetan Detachment System provide evidence for crustal extension simultaneous with shortening. The Nielaxiongbo gneiss dome is composed of a metamorphic complex of granitic gneiss, amphibolite, and migmatite; a ductilely deformed middle crustal layer of staurolite- or garnet-bearing schist; and a cover sequence of weakly metamorphosed Triassic and Lower Cretaceous strata. The middle crust ductilely deformed layer is separated from both the basement complex and the cover sequence by lower and upper detachments, respectively, with a smaller detachment fault occurring within the ductilely deformed layer. Leucogranites crosscut the basement complex, the lower detachment, and the middle crustal layer, but do not intrude the upper detachment or the cover sequence. Three deformational fabrics are recognized: a N–S compressional fabric (D1) in the cover sequence, a north- and south-directed extensional fabric (D2) in the upper detachment and lower tectonic units, and a deformation (D3) related to the leucogranite intrusion. SHRIMP zircon U–Pb dating yielded a metamorphic age of ∼514 million years for the amphibolite and a crystallization age of ∼20 million years for the leucogranite. Hornblende from the amphibolite has an 40Ar/39Ar age of 18 ± 0.3 million years, whereas muscovites from the schist and leucogranite yielded 40Ar/39Ar ages between 13.5 ± 0.2 and 13.0 ± 0.2 million years. These results suggest that the basement was consolidated at ∼510 Ma and then exhumed during extension and silicic plutonism at ∼20 Ma. Continuing exhumation led to cooling through the 500°C Ar closure temperature in hornblende at ∼18 Ma to the 350°C Ar closure temperature in muscovite at ∼13 Ma. The middle crustal ductilely deformed layer within gneiss domes of southern Tibet defines a southward-extruding ductile channel, marked by leucogranites emplaced into migmatites and amphibolites. We propose a model involving thinned upper crust for the initial extension of the Tibetan Plateau in the early Miocene.
Knowledge for Sustainable Development in the Tajik Pamir Mountains

Abstract Initiating a process of informed decision-making for sustainable development requires the following: a) the values and objectives to be pursued need to be negotiated among all concerned stakeholders of a specific territorial unit; b) these stakeholders should have access to a comparable level of knowledge; and c) the decisions taken and the subsequent actions initiated should have a positive impact on all dimensions of sustainability. In the remote Tajik Pamir mountains, a special effort was made to fulfill the above 3 principles by developing and applying a new methodological approach to sustainable development. The paper presents the results of a multi-year baseline study project in which 10 sectors ranging from agriculture to natural hazards were assessed by a transdisciplinary Swiss–Tajik research team. This knowledge base was enhanced in a development strategy workshop that brought together stakeholders from the local to the international levels. The methodology applied was found appropriate to initiate a broad reflection and negotiation process among various stakeholder groups, leading to a joint identification of possible measures to be taken. Knowledge—and its enhancement through the involvement of all stakeholder levels—appeared to be an effective carrier of innovation and changes of attitudes, thus containing the potential to effectively contribute to sustainable development in marginalized and resource-poor mountain areas.
Wind extremes in the North Sea Basin under climate change: An ensemble study of 12 CMIP5 GCMs

Coastal safety may be influenced by climate change, as changes in extreme surge levels and wave extremes may increase the vulnerability of dunes and other coastal defenses. In the North Sea, an area already prone to severe flooding, these high surge levels and waves are generated by low atmospheric pressure and severe wind speeds during storm events. As a result of the geometry of the North Sea, not only the maximum wind speed is relevant, but also wind direction. Climate change could change maximum wind conditions, with potentially negative effects for coastal safety. Here, we use an ensemble of 12 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) General Circulation Models (GCMs) and diagnose the effect of two climate scenarios (rcp4.5 and rcp8.5) on annual maximum wind speed, wind speeds with lower return frequencies, and the direction of these annual maximum wind speeds. The 12 selected CMIP5 models do not project changes in annual maximum wind speed and in wind speeds with lower return frequencies; however, we do find an indication that the annual extreme wind events are coming more often from western directions. Our results are in line with the studies based on CMIP3 models and do not confirm the statement based on some reanalysis studies that there is a climate‐change‐related upward trend in storminess in the North Sea area.
DEEP PROCESSES OF MESOZOIC YANSHANIAN LITHOSPHERE THINNING IN NORTH CHINA

The main goal of continent dynamics is creating the evolution dynamics model of Eastern Asia continent at the Mesozoic-Cenozoic era, and providing the new prediction and evaluation theory for resources exploring, disaster-reduction, and environmental protection. A general theory of mantle differentiation and lithosphere origin will be created in 10～20 years. For creating this new theory, we will use the main approaches of magmatic-tectonic event sequence and igneous petrotectonic assemblage on the basis of field geological, petrological, and geochemical studies, and numerical modelling. The following topics will be investigated: (1) Mechanism and processes of the large lithospheric thinning in the Jurassic-Cretaceous Yanshanian orogenic belt of North China; (2) Deep crust-mantle processes through input of juvenile materials and heat of mantle into crust; (3) Feedback relationship between large scale magmatism activity and magmatism-heat-deformation; (4) General model for origin and evolution of the orogenic belt and "Yanshan movement" in North China region which had a long-term tectonically stable cratonic history since the late Archean. Through those studies, we can provide the scientific evidences of deep earth dynamics for the answer of why there is a tremendous change of tectonic situation in North China in the Jurassic-Cretaceous. Namely, provide scientific evidence from deep dynamics for craton changing abruptly to the orogenic belt "Yanshan movement" or continental activation.
e-Publications@Marquette e-Publications@Marquette

Background : Stigmatizing attitudes against anorexia nervosa (AN) may act as barriers to treatment. Aims : Evaluated college students’ perceptions of AN as compared to major depressive disorder (MDD). Method : One-hundred two female undergraduates read vignettes describing targets with mild or severe MDD or AN, then rated biological, vanity, and self-responsibility attributions; feelings of admiration, sympathy, and anger; and behavioral dispositions toward coercion into treatment, imitation
e-Publications@Marquette e-Publications@Marquette

Previous work has explored regretful experiences on social media. In parallel, scholars have examined how people do not use social media. This paper aims to synthesize these two research areas and asks: Do regretful experiences on social media influence people to (consider) not using social media? How might this influence differ for different sorts of regretful experiences? We adopted a mixed methods approach, combining topic modeling, logistic regressions, and contingency analysis to analyze data from a web survey with a demographically representative sample of US internet users (n=515) focusing on their Facebook use. We found that experiences that arise because of users’ own actions influence actual deactivation of their Facebook account, while experiences that arise because of others’ actions lead to considerations of non-use. We discuss the implications of these findings for two theoretical areas of interest in HCI: individual agency in social media use and the networked dimensions of privacy.
Preparing of the soil salinity map using geostatistics method in the Qazvin Plain

In land evaluation, soil salinity is a limiting factor of plant growth in most suitable land systems. In order to prepare map salinity of south Qazvin Plain with sampling topsoil sample of 0 to 30 cm, electrical conductivity (EC), clay and pH of soil samples were measured. Finally, to provide the salinity map of topsoil, the accuracy of the several common methods of interpolation including Kriging, CoKriging, Spline, and Inverse Distance Weighted was evaluated. The results showed that Co-Kriging method by using auxiliary variable like clay had the lowest mean absolute error (MAE) (0.5) and root mean square error (RMSE) (108) compared to the other methods.
Synthesis And Characterization Of Mixed Ligand Complexes Of Co(Ii) And Fe(Iii) Ions With Maleic Acid And Heterocyclic Amines

This paper describes the preparation and characterization of mixed ligand complexes of Co(II) and Fe(III) ions with maleic acid and heterocyclic amines of general formula [M(ME)L] and K[M(ME)L] (where M = Co(II) (1-4), Fe(III) (5-6); ME = C 4 H 2 O 4 (1-4), 2C 4 H 2 O 4 (5-6); L = C 5 H 6 N 2 (1), C 9 H 7 N (2-3), C 9 H 6 NO (4), C 5 H 5 N.H 2 O (5), C 6 H 7 N (6)). The molecular structures of the complexes have been determined by spectral, magnetic studies and elemental analysis. Journal of Bangladesh Chemical Society, Vol. 25(2), 139-145, 2012 DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/jbcs.v25i2. 15066
Pattern and Magnitude of Deforestation in the South Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia

Abstract The pattern and magnitude of deforestation that occurred from 1972 to 2000 in the south central Rift Valley of Ethiopia were analyzed using remote sensing change detection techniques. The results show that natural forest cover declined from 16% in 1972 to 2.8% in 2000. The total natural forest cleared between 1972 and 2000 amounted to 40,324 ha, corresponding to an annual loss of 1440 ha. The total loss was 82% of the 1972 forest cover and the annual loss was equivalent to 0.9% of the national figure. The forest decline in the area involved proximate causal factors as well as causal factors that are more spatially diffuse and are part of the long-term evolution of a region much larger than the study area. In order of importance, the major causes of change were small-scale agriculture, commercial logging, and commercial farms. Two major modes of change were observed: 1) internal, ie openings created by small farm plots, grazing lands, and villages; and 2) external, ie expansion of agriculture from the exterior into the forests. The main consequences of deforestation were habitat destruction and decline of water availability.
Seismic Risk Assessment Of Corinth Canal,Greece

Corinth canal is one of the most important navigation projects made in Greece and plays a significant role in marine transportation connecting the Ionian sea to the West through the Corinth Gulf and Saronikos Gulf to the Aegian sea to the East. It has a total length of 6.3km and due to its steep slopes possesses serious slope instability problems. This work deals with the effect that local seismicity has upon Corinth Canal by assessing the corresponding site specific seismic risk. Special parameters such as the expected peak ground acceleration and the Arias intensity which are close related with local slope instabilities have been determined. All well known near by seismic faults have been taken into consideration and the most dangerous seismic sources which can cause serious damage to the canal have been defined.
Ethnic Differences in Activity Spaces: A Study of Out-of-Home Nonemployment Activities with Mobile Phone Data

The need to examine the entire scope of everyday activities of individuals in segregation studies has recently been recognized by social scientists and policy makers. To bring forth new insights into ethnic segregation through investigating the activities and movement undertaken by different population groups, we used mobile phone positioning data to compare the activity spaces of out-of-home nonemployment activities over a one-year period in Estonia and abroad. The results show that ethnicity has a significant influence on the activity spaces of individuals. The biggest differences between the two population groups occur in Estonia outside the respondents’ home city of Tallinn, where the Russian-speaking minority was found to visit 45 percent fewer districts than Estonians. Moreover, they exhibit a preference for districts that are more heavily populated by a Russian-speaking population. With respect to international travel, the Russian-speaking minority visits fewer countries and are 3.6 times more likely to visit former Soviet Union countries than Estonians. The activity spaces of out-of-home nonemployment activities have fewer differences between the two groups in the respondents’ home city of Tallinn. Overall, our results show that ethnic differences have less effect on the everyday activity space and a greater influence on the choices made regarding long-distance travel.
Vascularized versus Free Nerve Grafts: An Experimental Study on Rats

Background: Vascularized nerve grafts (VNGs) have been proposed as a superior alternative to free nerve grafts (FNGs) for complex nerve defects. A greater regenerative potential has been suggested by clinical and experimental studies, but conclusive evidence is still lacking. Methods: In this experimental study, 10 adult male Wistar rats received a non-vascularized orthotopic sciatic nerve graft on their right side, and a vascularized orthotopic sciatic nerve graft nerve on their left side. Functional outcome following nerve regeneration was evaluated through electrodiagnostic studies, target muscles weight and histomorphology, and data of VNGs and FNGs were compared. Results: The results of this study showed a significant difference in the motor unit number of Gastrocnemius Medialis (GM) estimated by MUNE in the VNG side compared to the FNG side. No other significant differences in axonal regeneration and muscle reinnervation were evident at either electrodiagnostic, histomorphology studies or muscle weight. Conclusions: This experimental model showed slight differences in nerve regeneration between VNGs and FNGs, but cannot support a high clinical advantage for VNGs. The results of this study show that VNGs are not strongly superior to FNGs in the rat model, even in avascular beds. Clinical advantages of VNGs are likely to be limited to extensive and thick nerve defects and can only be assessed on experimental model with bigger animals. Also, we showed that the MUNE technique provided a reliable and reproducible evaluation of functional outcomes in the rat sciatic nerve and defined a reproducible protocol for functional evaluation of muscle reinnervation.