Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the price of Australian water

The Murray-Darling Basin is Australia’s largest river system spanning over a million square kilometres and supporting annual agricultural production in excess of $A24 billion. The market for trading in water entitlements linked to this resource seeks to ensure that water flows to its highest value use. The quality of the data produced for these markets is of paramount importance to all participants, whether it be irrigators assessing whether the price offered for their entitlement is fair or a water authority attempting to determine the impact of their intervention through buyback activity. In this paper, we highlight the problem of using median prices when reporting aggregate price levels. We demonstrate that a median-based price index reflects changes in the composition of entitlement sales each month in addition to any general change in aggregate prices. We employ the repeat-sales technique, historically used to construct house price indices, in the novel setting of water entitlement trading to overcome this distortion. JEL Classification: Q25, G10
Enhancement of Lead Phytoremediation by Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) Using Agent of Streptomyces pactum Act12

It has been well recognized that microbes can assist phytoremediation of lead (Pb) by promoting plant growth and metal uptake. However, little is known about the potential of soil inoculation with actinomycetes to enhance Pb uptake and translocation in plants, particularly in semi-arid water-deficient areas. This study was focused on exploring the resistance of a soil actinomycete strain (Streptomyces pactum Act12) to Pb and its effects on plant growth, antioxidant responses, Pb uptake and translocation in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Special attention was given to experimental conditions in semi-arid area in Northerwest China. A fermentation culture of Act12 was applied in powder form to soil with or without Pb treatment (0–1,000 mg kg-1), and ryegrass plants were immediately grown in this soil, in pots, for 60 days under 20% relative soil moisture. Act12 showed tolerance to up to 1,200 mg Pb L-1 in plate culture and well colonized the soil containing less than 500 mg Pb kg-1. Under Pb stress, inoculated plants had higher biomass with greater plant height and root tiller number than the uninoculated controls. Additionally, higher catalase, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities were detected in leaves of inoculated plants under Pb stress. Inoculating soil with Act12 significantly increased Pb concentrations and uptake in plants grown in soil containing 200 to 1,000 mg Pb kg-1. The translocation and bioconcentration factors of inoculated plants were 10.5–36.2% and 37.3–133.1% higher than uninoculated plants, respectively. Streptomyces pactum Act12 can enhance Pb phytoremediation by perennial ryegrass and its powder form facilitates the use in semi-arid areas.
Measurement of coagulating silver and carbon aerosols using a tandem differential mobility analyzer

One of the unresolved technical issues associated with the high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) is the production of carbonaceous dust (e.g. by abrasion, corrosion, radiation damage, gas-to-particle conversion) and the subsequent transport of sorbed fission products via aerosol transport. Diffusion charging and/or self-charging of these aerosols is likely to occur which will affect how the aerosol evolves in time and ultimately deposits on surfaces. At present, nuclear reactor safety codes, such as MELCOR, do not account for these electrostatic effects and there is currently no consensus on their importance. Further experimentation and modeling of these effects are therefore important and ongoing to resolve these issues. The purpose of this research is to experimentally investigate the coagulation of charged aerosols closely associated with HTGRs by measuring the evolution of size and charge distributions over time and to compare the experimental results with available numerical models. Measurements have been completed for both silver and carbon ultrafine aerosols using a tandem differential mobility analyzer and an open flow coagulation chamber with a residence time of nearly 400 seconds. Results for both aerosols indicate that coagulation occurs faster than predicted by the model, at times differing by an order of magnitude. Overall, the apparatus developed here will support future coagulation studies of charged ultrafine aerosols at the Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute by providing data for validation of computer codes and guiding model development.
Seismic Moment Accumulation Response to Lateral Crustal Variations of the San Andreas Fault System

Rheologic variations in the Earth's crust (like elastic plate thickness [EPT] or crustal rigidity) modulate the rate at which seismic moment accumulates for potentially hazardous faults of the San Andreas Fault System (SAFS). To quantify rates of seismic moment accumulation, Global Navigation Satellite Systems, and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar data were used to constrain surface deformation rates of a four‐dimensional viscoelastic deformation model that incorporates rheological variations spanning a 900 km section of the SAFS. Lateral variations in EPT, estimated from surface heat flow and seismic depth to the lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary, were converted to lateral variations in rigidity and then used to solve for seismic moment accumulation rates on 32 fault segments. We find a cluster of elevated seismic moment rates (11–20 × 1015 Nm year−1 km−1) along the main SAFS trace spanning the historical Mw 7.9 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake rupture length; present‐day seismic moment magnitude on these segments ranges from Mw 7.2–7.6. We also find that the average plate thickness in the Salton Trough is reduced to only 60% of the regional average, which results in a ∼60% decrease in moment accumulation rate along the Imperial fault. Likewise, a 30% increase of average plate thickness results in at least a ∼30% increase in moment rate and even larger increases are identified in regions of complex plate heterogeneity. These results emphasize the importance of considering rheological variations when estimating seismic hazard, suggesting that meaningful changes in seismic moment accumulation are revealed when considering spatial variations in crustal rheology.
Separation and purification of four tannins from Potentilla parvifolia Fisch. (Rosaceae) using high-speed counter-current chromatography

ABSTRACT Four tannins were isolated and identified from Potentilla parvifolia using high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) in this study. A two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (1:11:1.2:11, v/v/v/v) was chosen and yielded 18.8 mg of procyanidin B3, 9.8 mg of procyanidin B6, 9.1 mg of procyanidin B7, and 6.9 mg of 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-galloyl-D-glucose, all at over 95% purity, from 120 mg of the crude sample powder. The identifications were performed with 1H NMR and 13C NMR. This is the first report showing the presence of procyanidin B7 and 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-galloyl-D-glucose in the genus Potentilla, and procyanidin B3 and procyanidin B6 were isolated from P. parvifolia for the first time.
Motivated Beliefs in Coordination Games

We characterize how wishful thinking affects the interpretation of information in economies with strategic and external effects. While players always choose to exhibit overconfidence in private information, their interpretation of public information depends on how non-fundamental volatility affects payoffs. When volatility increases payoffs, players may endogenously disagree: some under-react to public news, while others overreact. In contrast to rational expectations, public information can increase dispersion in actions while private information can increase aggregate volatility. Our analysis has novel implications for the social value of information and demonstrates how endogenous beliefs can reconcile recent evidence on forecast revisions and information rigidities.
I sing because I’m happy: an exploration of belongingness among African American males in high school

Abstract This study examined belongingness as it related to academic achievement. The need for research in this area derives from a sense of urgency and commitment to advocate for academically struggling African-American males with the hope that they will graduate high school in a timely manner. This study utilized the perspectives of 12 African-American male students participating in a predominately African-American choral program for at least two years of their high school careers. The researchers explored the relationship between a choral music program, belongingness, and students’ academic success. The goal was to identify a strategy that will support African-American males socially and academically in educational settings. The focus of this phenomenological research was to provide a first-person account by those people who have a direct experience with the phenomenon. The study revealed that choir participation may have a positive impact on academic achievement.
Factors affecting depression and anxiety in female Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE In this study, we attempted to identify which background factors were the most important indicators regarding such psychological problems as depression and anxiety in female rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. METHODS Among female RA patients aged 20 and older, who visited the outpatient clinic, and who met the Revised Criteria of the American Rheumatism Association for RA (ARA1987), 101 Class I and II patients were selected as subjects for the present study. Specially designed questionnaires and psychological tests were given to those subjects who had given their written consent for such testing, and a stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis was carried out on the 85 patients who returned all written forms. Those factors affecting psychological problems at a significance level of 5% or less were identified. RESULTS It was shown that among sociodemographic factors, "a decrease in the frequency of going out socially after having RA" and "a higher education" worked as significantly associated variables for depression, while "a decrease in the number of friends after having RA" served as a significantly associated variable for trait anxiety. Significantly associated variables for state anxiety included "a decrease in the frequency of going out socially after having RA" and "a willingness to join an RA study group". CONCLUSION The present study demonstrated that factors related to social interactions were significantly associated with depression and anxiety in Class I and II female RA outpatients.
Good Corporate Governance and Earnings Management in Indonesia

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of audit quality and audit committee on earnings management. The research population is manufacturing companies indexed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) in the 2017-2019 period. The sample selection method used was purposive sampling. From population of 180 manufacturing companies, and by selecting certain criteria, a sample of 72 manufacturing companies was obtained. Hypothesis testing is performed using multiple linear regression using statistical software SPSS Version 26. The results of this study confirm that partially, audit quality affects earnings management and audit committee also affects earnings management. Then, hypothesis testing is also carried out simultaneously, and the result is that the quality of the audit and audit committee also affects earnings management. The practical implication of this research is that the quality of the audit and the audit committee can be a reference for investors that can be used as material for consideration in making decisions when investing in potential companies.
Growth all along the road? Personality development and international contacts of (in)experienced sojourners

International student mobility (ISM) is an important educational means to promote the international (job market) potential of university students. Beyond that, it constitutes a context of personality development in young adulthood. With the present research, we tried to integrate the perspectives of applied and personality research in addressing the following questions. First, we scrutinized the robustness of ISM effects on personality development as we controlled for effects of sociodemographic characteristics and implemented a waiting group design (N = 3070). Second, we explored ISM anticipation effects as well as the moderation of ISM effects by previous international mobility experiences. Finally, in view of the public discourse on the benefits of “Erasmus crowds”, we assessed the roles of international and host relationships with regard to the personality development of sojourners. The results largely corroborated the robustness of ISM effects on personality development. No ISM anticipation effects occurred, and effects of current ISM engagement were largely unaffected by previous international mobility experiences. Finally, international contact experiences were associated with personality development above and beyond effects of host country contacts. Implications for the understanding of personality development and potential inferences for the organization and improvement of ISM programs are discussed.
Contribution of Islamic Commercial Bank Financing to East Java Economic Growth in the Era of Branchless Banking

This study aims to determine and analyze the contribution of Islamic Commercial Bank’s (BUS) financing to the economic growth of East Java Province in the era of branchless banking. Three types of financing channeled by the BUS namely working capital financing, investment and consumption are used as the independent variables tested each effect on the dependent variable which is economic growth in East Java with a proxy of GDRP in the period of the quarter-I 2010 to quarter-I 2020. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) with dummy variable of branchless banking (0 = before the implementation of the branchless banking program (before November 2014) and 1 = after the implementation of the branchless banking program (after November 2014) is used as data analysis technique with the results of the study show that only consumer financing that have a positive and significant impact on economic growth of East Java. Whereas, the productive financing known to have positive impact but not significant toward the economic growth of East Java. Meanwhile, the branchless banking program known to give the positive and significant difference impact on economic growth in East Java compared to economic growth prior to the enactment of it. The results of this study beneficial for both the BUS and the regulator as an evaluation of the level of inclusiveness of the BUS’s financing to economic growth and the implementation of branchless banking in Islamic bank.
A Simplified Output Feedback Controller for the DC-DC Boost Power Converter

Boost-type dc-dc converters present non-minimum phase dynamic system characteristics. Therefore, controller design using only the output voltage for feedback purposes is not a very straightforward task. Even though output voltage control can be achieved using inductor current control, the implementation of such current-mode controllers may require prior knowledge of the load resistance and also demand more states such as one or more currents in feedback. In this paper, the development of a new output feedback controller for boost-type dc-dc converters is presented. The controller form is such that it avoids the possibility of saturation in the control signal due to division by zero. The basic structure of the proposed controller is firstly obtained from the expression of the open-loop control signal, and the complete controller structure is then derived to satisfy the closed-loop stability conditions. Simulation and experimental results clearly verify the ability of the control law to provide robust regulation against parameter variations.
Earth data assimilation in hydrologic models: recent advances

ABSTRACT Hydrologic model forecasts have inherent uncertainties from input errors, lack of physical representation, and parameter equifinality. Accurate modelling results with reduced uncertainty are necessary for water resources management and decision-making, especially in a changing climate scenario. To this end, the hydrologic modelling community widely accepts the assimilation of satellite remote sensing data. This paper reviews the recent developments in hydrologic data assimilation (DA) focusing on progress in the role of satellite remote sensing data in reducing model uncertainty.
Establishment of a Rolling-Sliding Test Bench to Analyze Abrasive Wear Propagation of Different Bearing Materials for Knee Implants

Currently, new materials for knee implants need to be extensively tested but such tests are expensive in a knee wear simulator in a realized design. However, using a rolling-sliding test bench, these materials can be examined under the same test conditions, but with simplified geometries. In the present study, the test bench was optimized, and forces were adapted to the physiological contact pressure in the knee joint using the available geometric parameters. Various polymers made of polyethylene and polyurethane, articulating against test wheels made of cobalt-chromium and aluminum titanate, were tested in the test bench using adapted forces based on ISO 14243–1. Polyurethane materials showed distinctly higher wear rates than polyethylene materials and showed inadequate wear resistance for use as knee implant material. Thus, the rolling-sliding test bench is an adaptable test setup to evaluate newly developed bearing materials for knee implants. It combines the advantages of screening and simulator tests and allows for the testing of various bearing materials under physiological load and tribological conditions of the human knee joint. The wear behavior of different material compositions and the influence of surface geometry and quality can be initially investigated without the need to produce complex implant prototypes of total knee endoprosthesis or interpositional spacers.
Efficacy and Safety of Different Grafting Types in Endoscopic Sellar Repair

Background: Postoperative CSF leakage is one of the most common complications after pituitary adenoma resection by endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach (0.6%–3.5%). Sellar reconstruction has been postulated as a crucial step in this approach to overcome such complications. Aim of the study: to evaluate the efficacy and safety of different grafting types and factors that determine which sellar repair is needed according to the size of arachnoid defect or CSF flow. Patients and Methods: Retrospective study included 32 patients at Al azhar university hospitals who underwent endoscopic endonasal sellar repair (EER) with different grafting types after pituitary surgery. 14 patients repair with fascia lata graft, 12 patients with dural substitute (Duragen Integra LifeSciences Corp, USA) and 6 patients vascularized nasoseptal flap. Results: The mean age was (33.68 ± 10.2) years, with (59.4%) females and (40.6%) males. Regarding post-operative complications; (21.9%) of patients had CSF leakage, (6.2%) had epistaxis and sinusitis, (9.4%) had pneumocephalus, and the overall complications rate was (34.4%), with success rate (78.1%), and failure rate (21.9%). On comparing the 3 grpups, seven patients (21.9%) had repair failure and required reoperation for repair of persistent CSF leak and need recurrent sellar repair, 4 patients (12.5%) from fascia lata group and 3 patients (9.3%) from dural substitute group. Conclusion: vascularized nasoseptal flap is effective as regards success rate, repair failure and complications rates. The other types (fascia lata and dural substitute) are effective and safe with low CSF leakage rates.
Impact of Urban Roughness Representation on Regional Hydrometeorology: An Idealized Study

Mesoscale climate models provide indispensable tools to understand land‐atmosphere interactions over urban regions. However, uncertainties in urban canopy parameters (UCPs) and parameterization schemes lead to degraded representation of the drag effect in complex built terrains. In particular, for the widely applied single‐layer urban canopy model (SLUCM) coupled with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, near‐surface horizontal wind speed is known to be overestimated systematically. In this study, idealized large eddy simulations (LES) and WRF‐SLUCM simulations are conducted to study the separate effect of UCPs and aerodynamic parameterization on atmospheric boundary layer processes and rainfall variabilities in Phoenix, Arizona. For LES that explicitly resolves surface geometry, significant differences between three‐dimensional (3D) versus two‐dimensional (2D) representation of urban morphology are found in the surface layer and above. When surface drag is parameterized following SLUCM, surface morphologies have little impacts on the mean momentum transfer. WRF‐SLUCM simulation results, incorporated with 3D urban morphology data, indicate that simply refining the frontal area index will reduce the surface drag, which further amplifies the systematic positive bias of SLUCM in predicting horizontal wind speed. Replacing the drag parameterization in SLUCM by LES‐based aerodynamic parameters has evident impacts on near‐surface wind speed. The impact of urban roughness representation becomes the most evident during rainfall periods, due to the important role of surface drag in dictating moisture convergence. Our study underlines that apart from intensive efforts in obtaining detailed UCPs, it is also critical to enhance the urban momentum exchange parameterization schemes.
When Race and Class Collide: Classism and Social-Emotional Experiences of First-Generation College Students

Scholarship devoted to first-generation college students has increased rapidly over the past decade, with studies demonstrating first-generation students are systematically disadvantaged compared to their continuing-generation peers. Recently, scholars have critiqued the treatment of first-generation students as a monolith and encouraged complicating their experiences using intersectionality as an analytic tool. This study examined the association between institutional classism and students’ social-emotional experiences in higher education, and how these relations vary based on sociorace, first-generation college student status, and subjective social status. In a sample (N = 742) of college students from two four-year public institutions, results showed that the strength of the association between institutional classism and social-emotional experiences varied at different intersections of first-generation status, sociorace, and subjective social status. These findings demonstrate the importance of contextualizing first-generation students’ experiences and have implications for efforts to retain first-generation students in higher education.