Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Saturating multiple ionization in intense mid-infrared laser fields

The interpretation of experimental data from novel mid-infrared few-cycle laser sources requires an understanding of ionization mechanisms and knowledge about related ion yields. Experimental studies have indicated sequential double ionization as the dominant process above 1014 W cm−2. These results contradict a recent prediction that in this spectral region, non-sequential processes dominate the double ionization of xenon up to intensities of about 1015 W cm−2. In either case, the ratio of doubly to singly charged xenon yield reported in previous studies has been limited to a few percent, indicating a regime well below the onset of saturation of the double ionization process. We present an experimental study of double ionization of xenon and krypton atoms exposed to intense near four-cycle pulses at 3.2 μm. Our experiments rely on the ion microscopy technique, which facilitates the detection of ions originating from a restricted region within the interaction volume, thereby reducing the impact of focal averaging. Our measurements suggest that at intensities of close to 1.2 × 1014 W cm−2, double ionization of xenon and krypton is already significantly saturated. In particular, we find a doubly to singly charged yield ratio of about 75 percent for xenon and 25 percent for krypton. We compare our results with the predictions of different models accounting for the effects of volume averaging and focal geometry. We find that in the deeply saturated regime of our experiment, the Perelomov–Popov–Terentyev theory significantly underestimates the observed double ionization yield.
Effects of simulated hail damage and foliar-applied recovery treatments on growth and grain yield of wheat, field pea, and dry bean crops

Abstract: Hailstorms can be responsible for significant economic loss to the agricultural sector in Alberta, Canada. Foliar applications of certain fungicides and nutrient blends have been advocated to promote recovery and yield of hail-damaged crops. Proper understanding of different crop and hail-related factors is required for an accurate assessment of hail damage to crops and for evaluations of hail-recovery product claims. This study was undertaken at three locations in Alberta during three growing seasons (2016–2018) to determine the effects of two levels of simulated hail severity at three different crop developmental stages, including the early growth (BBCH 30 for wheat; BBCH 14–16 for pulses), mid-growth (BBCH 39 for wheat; BBCH 60 for pulses), and late growth (BBCH 60 for wheat; BBCH 71 for pulses) stages. Plant growth and yield parameters of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), field pea (Pisum sativum L.), and dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) crops were measured. Simulated hail damage led to reductions in height, biomass, NDVI, grain yield, and kernel weight of all three crops. Average yield decreased by 24% and 35% for wheat, 17% and 35% for dry beans, and 37% and 45% for field peas for light and heavy hail severity, respectively. Hail timing was a critical factor influencing the extent of crop damage, with hail damage during the early growth stage leading to a lesser yield reduction compared with hail damage at the mid-growth and late growth stages. Fungicides and nutrient blends applications did not significantly improve crop recovery, grain yield, or kernel weight for any of the crops in this study.
Phylogeny of true ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae: Coccinellini) reveals pervasive convergent evolution and a rapid Cenozoic radiation

Coccinellini, the ‘true ladybirds’, is a large, cosmopolitan tribe of lady beetles with immense variability in colour and form that include many commonly recognized species and major biocontrol agents, as well as some ubiquitous invasive species. In this study, we performed phylogenetic analyses of molecular and morphological data. For the molecular analysis, we gathered DNA sequence data from 164 species in 57 genera (and outgroups) from five nuclear genes [CAD (two fragments), TOPO, WGL, 3059fin] and one mitochondrial (COI) gene. The morphological analyses comprised 301 terminals and 61 discrete characters that were analysed by parsimony (MP). Our phylogenetic analyses indicate a monophyletic Coccinellini (former Coccinellinae) containing previously recognized tribes [Coccinellini, Discotomini, Halyziini, Singhikaliini and Tytthaspidini (incl. Bulaeini)]. Coccinellini is further divided into four main clades as follows: the Coccinella group (Clade A; incl. former Tytthaspidini), the Cycloneda group (Clade B), the Hippodamia group (Clade C) and the Synonycha group (Clade D; incl. former Halyziini, Singhikaliini and Discotomini). The phylogenetic relationships between them are: (A, (B, (C, D))). Our analyses also indicate that several currently recognized genera of Coccinellini are para‐ or polyphyletic. Based on our phylogenetic results, new generic groups are defined for Coccinellini, and new generic amendments are proposed as follows: Micraspis Chevrolat sensu n. (Oriental and Australian species), Microcaria Crotch sensu n. (=Bothrocalvia Crotch) (incl. Coelophora Mulsant species) and Phrynocaria Timberlake sensu n. (incl. Coelophora species). Further possible synonyms are discussed, for example, Coccinella Linnaeus (incl. Lioadalia Crotch), Psyllobora Chevrolat (including Oxytella Weise) and Xanthadalia Crotch (incl. Declivitata Fürsch and the African species of Micraspis). The large Clade D, the Synonycha group, with 26 predominant Old World genera, contains the two notable, large and non monophyletic genera Calvia Mulsant and Coelophora that confound the relationships throughout the clade. Additionally, we performed ancestral state reconstruction of selected morphological characters traditionally used in the classification of this group, revealing their homoplastic nature. We also found that the traditional synapomorphy of the tribe, that is, female colleterial glands, closely resemble structures used in symbiotic relationships in other beetles. We used the results of our phylogenetic inferences to estimate divergence times of the tribe and major clades of Coccinellini.
Challenges facing students to adopting the blackboard system: The case study of the University of Ha’il in Saudi Arabia

This study seeks to identify the challenges facing students through the adoption of a blackboard system at the University of Ha’il in the KSA. Though the blackboard system has an effective role in the educational context, the adoption of the learning system in educational institutes is still in its infancy. However, students face various types of challenges that could affect their adoption and usage of the blackboard system. The previous researches on blackboard systems produced general rules, and studied a lot of common factors, did not consider the specific human factors. This study uses a quantitative research method. An online survey questionnaire was employed for data collection. For data analysis, SPSS was used for descriptive analysis; Structural equation modeling using AMOS software was applied. The results confirmed that the user’s LMS experience leaves a positive effect on the perception of the usefulness of the Blackboard system, but not computer anxiety. In addition, user’s LMS experience has a moderating effect on the relationship between self-efficacy and their perception of the usefulness of the Blackboard system. This moderating effect reflects that the more student’s LMS experience is the more affected their computer self-efficacy to perceive the Blackboard system more useful. This study produces theoretical and practical implications, and recommendations for the University of Ha’il should move forward with a learning platform.
A study on demographic and obstetric profile, its relation with present antenatal practices and prevalence of anaemia in pregnant women attending tertiary care hospital

Every minute, one woman dies due to pregnancy or child birth related causes, this translates into 1,500 women dying every day. According to statistics released by UNICEF and WHO 2006 in India every five minutes a woman dies during child birth. Thus, maternal mortality continues to be a major public health problem. The focus on maternal mortality was sharpened when reduction in maternal mortality became one of the eight goals for development in the Millennium Declaration (Millennium Development Goal 5 or MDG 5). Maternal health care is important for better maternal, perinatal and infant health outcomes. High maternal and neonatal mortality rates are associated with inadequate and poor quality maternal health care, including antenatal care, skilled attendant at birth and postnatal care. Hence achieving MDG goal on maternal health requires providing high quality pregnancy and delivery care, improving sexual and reproductive health care and universal access to all its aspects. Antenatal care ABSTRACT
Improving crowd counting with scale-aware convolutional neural network

Large-scale variations may cause a serious problem in crowd counting. In recent years, most methods for this problem use convolutional neural networks with a ﬁxed scale for encoding and decoding image features. The scale of the convolutional layer is usually manually adjusted and may have to deal with image features on unﬁtted scales. In this paper, a method called scale-aware convolutional neural network(SCNet) is proposed, which adds a scale selection mechanism to the dilated convolutional operation. Shared weight multi-branch is used to deal with features on different scales, and an attention mechanism is introduced to determine the weights of the branches that ﬁt the scale. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed SCNet outperforms most existing methods.
Beyond intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: A meta-analysis on self-determination theory’s multidimensional conceptualization of work motivation

This meta-analysis aims to shed light on the added value of the complex multidimensional view on motivation of Self-determination theory (SDT). We assess the unique and incremental validity of each of SDT’s types of motivation in predicting organizational behavior, and examine SDT’s core proposition that increasing self-determined types of motivation should have increasingly positive outcomes. Meta-analytic findings (124 samples) support SDT, but also adds precision to its predictions: Intrinsic motivation is the most important type of motivation for employee well-being, attitudes and behavior, yet identified regulation is more powerful in predicting performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, introjection has both positive and negative consequences, while external regulation has limited associations with employee behavior and has well-being costs. Amotivation only has negative consequences. We address conceptual and methodological implications arising from this research and exemplify how these results may inform and clarify lingering issues in the literature on employee motivation.
Low-temperature CO oxidation over manganese, cobalt, and nickel doped CeO2 nanorods

Surface active sites such as oxygen vacancies, Ce3+ ions, and unsaturated coordinated sites on nano ceria (CeO2) are significant in catalytic oxidation reactions. The recent development in nanoengineered CeO2 made a pathway to extend its use in various catalytic applications. In this study, transition metals (Mn2+, Ni2+, and Co2+) doped CeO2 nanorods (NRs) were prepared by hydrothermal method and tested towards CO oxidation. Furthermore, the samples were characterized by various physicochemical techniques, namely, TEM and HR-TEM, SEM-EDX, XRD, ICP-OES, BET surface area, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, and H2-TPR. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of dopants greatly enhances the surface defective sites (Ce3+ ions and a high degree of surface roughness) and redox properties of CeO2 NRs and thereby improved catalytic activity. Especially, the Co–CeO2 NR catalyst exhibited better CO conversion (T50 ∼ 145 °C) when compared to pure CeO2 NR (T50 ∼ 312 °C).
Seeking low carbon urban design through modelling of carbon emission from different sources in urban neighbourhoods, case study: Semnan

ABSTRACT Today, low carbon policies are more important in developing countries such as Iran with an oil-based economy. The present study addresses Semnan as a major Iranian city and attempts to examine carbon emissions from residential buildings, industrial plants and motor vehicles with new methodology to analyse the interaction of urban design and carbon emissions. First, carbon emission sources were examined; then, the summarised models and methods based on background researches have been divided into two general categories of carbon emission calculation and simulation to be used in softwares based on the level of accuracy and nature of their sources. The results show that the increased penetration of carbon emissions into residential areas can be reduced by designs that conform to climate changes (such as block arrangements and orientations) to avoid the pollutant to enter and to reduce the need for energy consumption.
Thermodynamics of the Magnetotail Current Sheet Thinning

Substorm growth phase in the magnetotail is characterized by formation of a thin current sheet (CS) becomes unstable due to external or internal drivers. Such instability results in magnetic field line reconnection, the substorm onset. The CS thinning, as a key process of substorm dynamics, has been included into many global and local simulations of the magnetotail magnetic reconnection. However, recent observations indicate that the evolution of plasma characteristics and magnetic field configuration during the CS thinning can differ from predictions of the classical adiabatic scenario. In this study, we combine two most extensive datasets of the CS evolution, as observed by Cluster and THEMIS missions for 2001–2009 and 2015, respectively. We show that for a wide range of downtail distances and dawn‐dusk direction there are quite similar quantitative characteristics of the thinning: the magnetic field line stretching (north‐south magnetic field decrease), the intensification of the current density, and the evolution of plasma temperatures and densities. We confirm that the process cannot be directly associated with increase of the lobe magnetic pressure. Using advantages of multispacecraft measurements and CS flapping motion, we demonstrate that the thinning is usually result in the equatorial density increase and plasma temperature decrease. We discuss the revealed evolution features in the context of the thermodynamical CS characteristics for contemporary thinning models.
Multi‐approach characterization of shallow‐water carbonates off Minamitorishima and their depositional settings/history

Sedimentological, geochemical, and chronological analyses were carried out on 18 carbonate rock samples collected at depths of 938, 1085, and 3354 m on the western slope of Minamitorishima (Marcus Island), which is located near the western margin of the Pacific Plate. Four groups of carbonate rocks were distinguished: a mollusk‐rich limestone, a coral‐rich dolomite, a foraminiferal‐nannofossil packstone, and a phosphatized mudstone/wackestone. The mollusk‐rich limestone is characterized by the dominance of bivalves (including rudists) and gastropod shells. Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) and Mesorbitolina ex gr. texana (a large benthic foraminifer) indicate that the shallow‐water carbonates were deposited during the late Aptian–early Albian (ca. 123–111 Ma). The coral‐rich dolomite is characterized by abundant scleractinian corals and nongeniculate coralline algae associated with encrusting acervulinid foraminifers. The biotic composition is similar to that of the Oligocene–Pleistocene carbonates reported from other seamounts in the northwestern Pacific. Geochemical data show that the coral‐rich carbonates were dolomitized at 9.5–6.8 Ma (Tortonian–Messinian) and that normal seawater was the most likely parent fluid. The foraminiferal‐nannofossil packstone is a semi‐consolidated foraminiferal‐nannofossil ooze and was deposited during the Pleistocene (0.99–0.45 Ma). The phosphatized mudstone/wackestone is marked by the absence of macrofossils and the presence of traces of planktic foraminifers. Although its depositional age is not constrained, the Sr isotope ratios indicate that the phosphatization occurred at 33.2–28.9 Ma. After the deposition of the Cretaceous shallow‐water carbonates, including the mollusk‐rich limestone, Minamitorishima was drowned and its top was covered with a pelagic cap, represented by the mudstone/wackestone. The late Eocene–early Oligocene volcanism (40.2–33.2 Ma) caused episodic uplift and returned the top of Minamitorishima to a shallow‐water environment. After the early Oligocene phosphatization of the pelagic cap, coral reefs flourished on the top of this island. The reef limestone was dolomitized during the Tortonian–Messinian.
Sampling James R. Thompson's inspired nonparametric portfolio approaches

Asset or security returns are an example of phenomena whose distributions still cannot be convincingly modeled in a parametric framework. James R. (Jim) Thompson (1938–2017) used a variety of nonparametric approaches to develop workable investing solutions in such an environment. We review his ground breaking exploration of the veracity of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), and several nonparametric approaches to portfolio formulation including the Simugram™, variants of his Max‐Median rule, and Tukey weightings.
Evolution of the Oceanic 13C Suess Effect in the Southeastern Indian Ocean Between 1994 and 2018

The decrease in δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CDIC) owing to uptake of anthropogenic CO2 (the oceanic 13C Suess effect) in the Southeastern Indian Ocean over the last decade was calculated using an extended multiparameter linear regression technique. Samples collected on the CROCCA‐2S (Coring to Reconstruct Ocean Circulation and Carbon Dioxide Across 2 Seas) cruise in November–December 2018 were compared to samples from the CLIVAR (Climate and Ocean: Variability, Predictability, and Change) and OISO (Océan Indien Service d'Observation) programs from 2007 to 2009. Surface ocean δ13CDIC decreased by an average of −0.53 ± 0.04‰ across this period, at an average rate of −0.053 ± 0.004‰ per year. This rate of δ13CDIC change is an increase from −0.021 ± 0.024‰ per year between 1994 and 2008. We find that the interior water mass most impacted by the oceanic 13C Suess effect between 2008 and 2018 was Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW), within which δ13CDIC decreased by −0.044 ± 0.002‰ per year. Using previously published relationships between the oceanic 13C Suess effect and anthropogenic carbon, we estimate the annual storage of anthropogenic carbon within SAMW in the southeastern Indian Ocean has increased from ∼2.0 ± 0.2 μmol/kg per year between 1994 and 2008 to 5.5 ± 0.6 μmol/kg per year between 2008 and 2018.
Influence of settling organic matter quantity and quality on benthic nitrogen cycling

Coastal sediments are major contributors to global carbon (C) mineralization and nutrient cycling and are tightly linked to processes in the pelagic environment. In this study, we aimed to investigate the regulating potential of quantity and quality of planktonic organic matter (OM) deposition on benthic metabolism, with a particular focus on nitrogen (N) cycling processes. We simulated inputs of spring (C : N 10.9) and summer (C : N 5.6) plankton communities in high and low quantities to sediment cores, and followed oxygen consumption, nutrient fluxes as well as nitrate reduction rates, that is, denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for 10 d. Our results demonstrate the primary importance of OM quality in determining the fate of organic N once it settles to the sediment surface. Settling of N‐rich summer plankton material resulted in a ∼ twofold lower denitrification efficiency (40–56%) compared to N‐poor spring plankton (88–115%). This indicates that N‐rich plankton deposition favors recycling of inorganic nutrients to the water column over N‐loss via denitrification. OM quantity was positively related to mineralization activity, but this neither directly affected N fluxes nor denitrification activity, highlighting the complex interplay between the OM quantity and quality in regulating N cycling. In light of these new findings, we support the use of simple qualitative indicators such as C : N ratio of OM to investigate how future changes in benthic‐pelagic coupling might influence N budgets at the sediment–water interface.
Does Person Organization Fit and Person-Job Fit Mediate the Relationship between Public Service Motivation and Work Stress among U.S. Federal Employees?

A plethora of research has extolled the benefits of public service motivation (PSM) in public organizations. However, much less empirical attention has focused on its relationship to work stress. Even though it has been theorized that high levels of PSM causes individuals to be more resilient in stressful public service work environments, empirical research has failed to provide support. Only one study has been conducted which has revealed that high levels of PSM is directly associated with high levels of job stress among public employees, but that its beneficial effects are partially mediated by person-organization (PO) fit. That is, employees with high levels of PSM and high levels of fit to their organizations did not appear to suffer from high stress. This study sought to add to this limited body of research and explore the extent to which person-job (PJ) improves the field’s understanding of the relationships among PSM, PO fit, and work stress. Based on a sample of federal employees in the United States, this study challenged and confirmed the findings of existing research. For instance, PSM had no direct relationship to work stress. However, PSM maintained an indirect relationship to stress through PO fit. The respondents with high levels of PSM reported that they had high levels of fit to their organizations which was associated with significantly lower levels of work stress. Similarly, PSM was not directly related to PJ fit, but was indirectly related through its association with PO fit. PSM was associated with high levels of fit between employees and public organizations, which was subsequently associated with high levels of fit with public service jobs and lower work stress. Above all, this research clarifies the process of how PSM influences work stress among public employees, through PO fit and PJ fit.