Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-Proxy Study of a Holocene Soil Profile from Romania and Its Relevance for Speleothem Based Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions

In this study, we describe a sedimentary deposit situated above Ascunsă Cave (SW Romania) that should be in depositional connection with coeval stalagmites from the cave. We excavated a 2.5 m deep soil profile and took contiguous bulk samples every 5 cm. Soil samples were analyzed for clay mineralogy, grain size, chemical composition, magnetic susceptibility, and stable carbon isotopes. Radiocarbon dating revealed that the soil is of Holocene age, and presents a depositional hiatus between 5.4 and 2.3 thousand years before the present. Due to the open system behavior of soils and mobility of organic matter, a few hundred years of uncertainty should be considered for the duration of this hiatus. The fine fraction is dominated by silt, while the clay mineralogical association is made of illite, chlorite, kaolinite, vermiculite, and illite–vermiculite and illite–chlorite mixed layered minerals. The sediment source of this soil is represented by a nearby mélange complex, as well as by an underlying terra rossa-type soil. As this latter type of soil is widespread in our study area, we performed luminescence dating on two samples from a representative location close to our site and it appears that this type of Mediterranean soil was formed during the Last Interglacial period. δ13C variability in soil organic matter and a stalagmite from the cave are comparing well, and could help future studies identify modifications in isotopic fractionation processes within the cave.
Mathematical Model Applied to Green Building Concept for Sustainable Cities Under Climate Change

Recently the effect of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is worldwide terrified anxiety to the public and scholars. Even this global problem is one of the great issues that continuously makes worrying the governments and environmentalists, but its solution findings are not out of the image at all. In this study, we have proposed and analysed a mathematical model for the solvable management of GHGs by sowing the seeds of green building dynamic systems. Moreover, in the model, the human community is used to enhance the production power of individuals of green buildings by absorbing the GHGs. The model is analysed by stability analysis at the equilibrium points: trivial and global equilibrium, and also by convincing the stability and instability of the system of equations. The behaviour of the propound model has been developed by numerical simulations which shows the rate of the fruitfulness of GHG components.
Position Paper: On Using Trusted Execution Environment to Secure COTS Devices for Accessing Industrial Control Systems

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are traditionally designed to operate in an "air-gapped" environment. With the advent of digital technologies, many ICS are adopting IT solutions to improve interoperability and operational efficiency. Thus, the air-gap assumption no longer holds in practice. Most ICS devices today are modernized with networking capabilities to facilitate system maintenance, upgrades, and troubleshooting. Since these devices are connected to the Internet, ICS networks face the same security threats as regular IT systems. In addition, ICS operators can connect commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment to ICS networks to perform operational tasks. Those COTS devices are usually personal computers or even mobile devices, which can be infected with malware and become weapons against ICS. In this position paper, we examine the design challenges of establishing trust between COTS equipment and ICS. We also present some commonly used security solutions and discuss their deployment challenges due to issues caused by legacy systems. Finally, we introduce the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), a technology commonly available on modern COTS devices, as a trust anchor for establishing secure communications with the ICS infrastructure. We discuss some research gaps related to the use of TEE and propose some recommendations to guide future research.
An Introduction to Indoor Localization Techniques. Case of Study: A Multi-Trilateration-Based Localization System with User–Environment Interaction Feature

The problem of estimating the indoor position of a person or an object, also known as indoor localization, has gained a lot of interest in the last decades. Actually, this feature would be valuable in many application contexts, from logistics to robotic and Assistive Technology. Different solutions have been proposed in the literature, exploiting a wide range of approaches. This paper aims to provide a brief review of the state-of-the-art approaches in the field, as well as to present the RESIMA case study. The latter exploits an ultrasound-based indoor localization system and a User–Environment Interaction functionality, which allows for performing the continuous estimation of the distance between the end-user and objects in the environment. The latter is valuable to provide the end-user with efficient assistance during the environment exploitation. The main focus of this work is related to the overall description of the system architecture, the trilateration algorithm adopted for the sake of user localization and the estimation of the delay time produced by user-distance computation under different operating conditions.
Creating community: the process of entrepreneurial community building for civic wealth creation

ABSTRACT This article examines the development of an entrepreneurial community focused on civic wealth creation. This case study identifies how a team of community entrepreneurs successfully leveraged their relationships to develop a shared vision and invest complementary assets to re-build a defunct cotton mill and form an entrepreneurial community around it to create civic wealth through the creation of opportunities of others and curation of the space. Building on the case, the paper explicates the process through which the entrepreneurial community is formed with the intent to create civic wealth, elaborates on the challenges of maintaining dual roles of animator and entrepreneur and highlights the importance of the maintenance of relationships in entrepreneurial communities.
Why are Faculty Unfavorably Disposed to MOOCs? — A Sharing of Views by Chinese Hospitality Educators

ABSTRACT This study explores the negative disposition of many hospitality higher education faculty toward MOOCs, an increasingly prominent delivery mode in pedagogical discourse which potentially enriches student learning. Such enrichment is particularly welcome in the case of hospitality because of its diverse stakeholders and student learning needs. The researchers conducted an in-depth and qualitative exploration with faculty members in mainland China. They combined the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) approach and theory of motivation to propose five dimensions that account for groupings of resistance to deploying MOOCs. These are attributes and complexities, perceived incompatibility, unsuitability for trial, and lack of observational capacity. The study contributes to knowledge by examining the perspectives of faculty who have the capacity to constrain the deployment of MOOCs. The authors suggest that faculty members should be encouraged to embrace MOOCs as an innovative medium for learning and teaching.
Teachers’ Decision-Making about Teaching Novels in Middle School

Abstract Middle school is a place where many students are first introduced to more complex novels. Novel instruction in middle school English language arts classrooms is potentially influenced by the elementary focus on reading strategies and/or the secondary focus on literary analysis. Using a qualitative methodological approach, six middle school language arts teachers were interviewed about their novel instruction. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which middle school ELAR teachers engage students in novel study and factors that appear to impact novel instruction. Findings reveal great diversity in teachers’ instructional goals, planning, and activities. Some participants worked from a cohesive framework that reflected one or more theoretical perspectives. Still others struggled to articulate goals for novel instruction and the resulting instruction appeared to be a patchwork of activities.
Formation and Maintenance Mechanisms of the Subseasonal Eastern Pacific Pattern: Energetics Analysis

Based on daily data from Japanese 55‐year Reanalysis (JRA‐55), this study examines the formation and maintenance mechanisms of the subseasonal eastern Pacific (EP) pattern from an energetics perspective. Results show that the baroclinic energy conversion (CPB) acts as an important energy source to overcome the thermal damping caused by the transient eddies and as a major kinetic energy (KE) source. The feedback forcing of transient eddies (CKE) acts as a major KE source during the growing stage and a major KE sink during the decay of the EP pattern. At the same time, the barotropic energy conversion (CKB) also makes substantial positive KE contribution. The results also suggest that the EP dynamics differ among different tropospheric layers. In the upper layer, CPB, CKB, and the anomalous geopotential height flux divergence (AGHFD) term all act as major KE source, while CKE acts as a major KE source (sink) during the growth (decay) stage of the EP pattern. The middle layer is mainly driven by CPB and AGHFD: CPB acts as a KE source while AGHFD as a sink. In the lower layer, CPB and AGHFD act as major KE sources with the later larger than the former, while the friction term damps the EP pattern heavily. It is found that the vertical component of the divergence of geopotential height flux anomaly plays a crucial role in the dynamic coupling of the different vertical parts of the EP pattern.
The Psychological Legacy of the Lebanese Civil War in Paramilitary Veterans

ABSTRACT The experiences of irregular combatants and the psychosocial impact of their participation in violent conflict are poorly understood in comparison to the body of research available on military veterans in developed countries. The Lebanese civil war (1975–1990) was an archetypal intra-national armed conflict, involving thousands of civilians turned fighters. Fifteen former fighters were interviewed about their active involvement in the war. The qualitative analysis reveals a persistent psychosocial burden decades later. Former paramilitary fighters have needs that overlap only partially with those of regular veterans. Further research on this population would be beneficial to global peacebuilding efforts and conflict prevention.
The BYPASS-CTCA Study: the value of Computed Tomography Cardiac Angiography (CTCA) in improving patient-related outcomes in patients with previous bypass operation undergoing invasive coronary angiography: Study Protocol of a Randomised Controlled Trial

Background Patients with ischaemic heart disease and previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) often need coronary evaluation by means of invasive coronary angiography (ICA). ICA in such patients is technically more challenging and carries a higher risk of complications including kidney damage, myocardial infarction, stroke and death. Improvements in Computed Tomography Cardiac Angiography (CTCA) technology have ensured its emergence as a useful clinical tool in CABG assessment, allowing for its potential use in planning interventional procedures in this patient group. Methods The BYPASS-CTCA study is a prospective, single centre, randomised controlled trial assessing the value of upfront CTCA in patients with previous surgical revascularisation undergoing ICA procedures. A total of 688 patients with previous CABG, requiring ICA for standard indications, will be recruited and randomised to receive ICA alone, or CTCA prior to angiography. Subjects will be followed up over a 12-month period post procedure. The primary endpoints are ICA procedural duration, incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and patient satisfaction scores post ICA. Secondary endpoints include contrast dose (mL) and radiation dose (mSv) during ICA, number of catheters used, angiography-related complications and cost-effectiveness of CTCA (QALY) over 12 months. Discussion The study will investigate the hypothesis that CTCA prior to ICA in patients with previous CABG can reduce procedural duration, post-procedural kidney damage and improve patient satisfaction, therefore strengthening its role in this group of patients. Trial Registration The study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov which is a resource maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Registration number NCT03736018.
Evaluation of kinetics and thermodynamics of a naturally hydrophobic coal flotation in the presence of frother and regulated with pH

ABSTRACT Zeta potential of coal particles and kinetics of flotation along with the maximum recovery after a long time of fractionated flotation of naturally hydrophobic coals, both as a function of pH, were investigated. Empirical relations between the 1st order rate constant of flotation and zeta potential as well as the maximum recovery and zeta potential were established. Since fractionated flotation has features similar to chemical reactions, thermodynamic relations between maximum recovery and zeta potential as well as between rate constant and zeta potential were found. It was determined that the 1st order rate constant depends on two constants: flotation equilibrium constant and activity coefficient of surface electrical potential. It also depends on two variables: surface electrical potential (approximated with zeta potential) and the rate constant of the particle-bubble aggregate (flotulas) disintegration being a function of surface electrical potential. The values of the flotation equilibrium constant, activity coefficient of surface electrical potential and reverse process rate constant were determined. These parameters (especially flotation constant and activity coefficient of surface electrical potential) can be used for comparison of different flotation systems. Also useful for comparison purpose are kinetico-thermodynamic limits (Rmax vs k1) and Arrheniusan-type (ln k 1 vs ξ) plots.
Media Sentiment, Government Supervision Strategy, and Stock Price Fluctuation Risk

From the cross perspective of communication science and administration management, based on complex network theory, this paper constructs a model of stock price fluctuation risk contagion, which comprehensively considers media sentiment and government supervision strategy, and deeply analyzes the contagion mechanism of stock price fluctuation risk under the interaction of media sentiment and government supervision strategy. The main conclusions are as follows: The stock association network established by random way is more likely to cause contagion of stock price fluctuation risk. Media sentiment tendency, media sentiment intensity, and media attention persistence have positive “U” relationship, inverted “U” relationship, and positive correlation with contagion intensity of stock price fluctuation risk, respectively. There is a negative correlation between the strength, persistence, and timeliness of government supervision and the contagion intensity of stock price fluctuation risk. There is a positive correlation between market noise and contagion intensity of stock price fluctuation risk, and market noise has a restraining effect on media sentiment and government supervision strategy. In addition, the stock price fluctuation risk is inherent risk in the stock market, which cannot be eliminated by adjusting media sentiment and government supervision strategy, but its contagion intensity can be effectively controlled.
Exploring the role of HE teachers as change agents in the reconstruction of post-conflict Syria

This article explores Syrian higher education (HE) teachers ’ perceptions of their role as change agents in the reconstruction of post-con ﬂ ict Syria. It utilises the notions of ‘ change agent ’ and ‘ strategic competence ’ (previously developed in relation to academics by Idahosa and Vincent) for exploring HE teachers ’ capacity to contribute to the post-con ﬂ ict reconstruction of Syria. This article is based on a small-scale, qualitative study using in- depth interviews to explore the experiences and perspectives of HE teachers who have been working at a con ﬂ ict-a ﬀ ected university for the duration of the con ﬂ ict. The study concludes that HE teachers may be considered change agents in post- con ﬂ ict societies, but that the challenges these teachers face must be taken into account, as must considerations of how the institution and the HE system can facilitate teachers in their change-making remit.
Interaction of CO with Gold in an Electrochemical Environment

We present a joint theoretical-experimental study of CO coverage and facet selectivity on Au and under electrochemical conditions. With in situ attenuated total reflection surface enhanced IR spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS), we investigate the CO binding in an electrochemical environment. At 0.2V vs. SHE, we detect a CO band that disappears upon facet selective partial Pb underpotential deposition, suggesting that Pb blocks certain CO adsorption sites. With Pb underpotential deposition on single crystals and theoretical surface Pourbaix analysis, we eliminate (111) terraces as a possible adsorption site of CO. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of explicit water at the Au surface, shows the adsorption of CO on (211) steps to be significantly weakened relative to the (100) terrace due to competitive water adsorption. This result suggests that CO is more likely to bind to the (100) terrace than (211) steps in an electrochemical environment, even though Au steps in gas phase conditions bind CO* more strongly. The competition between water and adsorption can result in different binding sites for CO* on Au in gas phase and electrochemical environments. @font-face {font-family:"MS Mincho"; panose-1:2 2 6 9 4 2 5 8 3 4; mso-font-alt:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:modern; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 134217746 0 131231 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-469750017 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;}@font-face {font-family:"\@MS Mincho"; panose-1:2 2 6 9 4 2 5 8 3 4; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:modern; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 134217746 0 131231 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}. MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
Q-Switched 1064/532 nm Laser with Picosecond Pulse to Treat Benign Hyperpigmentations: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

(1) Benign melanoses are a frequent issue in aesthetic dermatology. Solar lentigo, ephelides, café au lait spots, and other melanoses represent a cosmetic issue for a growing number of subjects. The Q-switched 1064/532-nanometer (nm) laser may be considered the gold standard for management of these aesthetic issues. A new generation of Q-switched lasers, capable of concentrating the energy pulse in the spectrum of hundreds of picoseconds, is emerging, promising better results than previous ones. In this paper, we report the use of a Q-switched laser with a picosecond pulse to manage hypermelanoses. (2) Methods: 36 patients seeking melanosis removal were retrospectively enrolled at Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro. Treatment parameters, although variable, were the following: 1064 nm with a pulse duration of 450 picoseconds (ps) for dermic lesions and 532 nm with 370 ps for epidermal lesions. Up to four treatments, with a minimum interval between laser treatments of 30 days, were performed. After the last session, patients’ satisfaction was assessed at a three-month follow up with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Two blinded dermatologists measured the aesthetic outcome using a five-point scale comparing pictures before laser sessions and during follow-up. (3) Results: 36 patients were enrolled; 23 were females (63.9%) and 13 males (36.1%). The mean reported age was 49.2 ± 18.9 years. All participants were assessed with a complete/almost complete melanosis removal at the dermatological evaluation, with a mean VAS score of 9.39 ± 0.90. (4) Conclusions: The Q-switched 1064/532 nm laser may be considered the main weapon in treating benign hypermelanosis. The picosecond pulse seems to guarantee better results than other devices. However, a clinical trial comparing Q-switched nanosecond pulse with picosecond pulse is necessary to confirm this study’s findings.
Developing Conversion Factors of LCIA Methods for Comparison of LCA Results in the Construction Sector

The inconsistency caused by different life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods is a long-term challenge for the life cycle assessment (LCA) community. It is necessary to systematically analyze the differences caused by LCIA methods and facilitate the fair comparison of LCA results. This study proposes an effective method of conversion factors (CFs) for converting the results of 8 LCIA methods for 14 impact categories and then demonstrates its application in the construction sector. Correlation analyses of the datasets of construction materials are conducted to develop CFs for the impact categories. A set of conversion cards are devised to present the CFs and the associated correlation information for the LCIA methods. It is revealed that the differences between LCIA methods are largely caused by the characterization methods, rather than due to the metrics. A comparison based only on the same metrics but ignoring the underlying LCIA mechanisms is misleading. High correlations are observed for the impact categories of climate change, acidification, eutrophication, and resource depletion. The developed CFs and conversion cards can greatly help LCA practitioners in the fair comparison of LCA results from different LCIA methods. Case studies are conducted, and verify that by applying the CFs the seemingly incomparable results from different LCIA methods become comparable. The CF method addresses the inconsistency problem of LCIA methods in a practical manner and helps improve the comparability and reliability of LCA studies in the construction sector. Suggestions are provided for the further development of LCIA conversion factors.