Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dry minor mergers and the size evolution of high-z compact massive early-type galaxies

Recent observations show evidence that high-z (z ~ 2 − 3) early-type galaxies (ETGs) are more compact than those with comparable mass at z ~ 0 (e.g. Trujillo et al. 2007; Buitrago et al. 2008). Such a size evolution is most likely explained by the ‘dry merger scenario’. However, previous studies based on this scenario are not able to consistently explain both the properties of the high-z compact massive ETGs and the local ETGs (Nipoti et al. 2009). We investigate the effect of multiple sequential minor mergers on the size evolution of the compact massive ETGs.
Regulation AU 1 c of Mouse Microglia Activation and Effector Functions by Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Mesenchymal stems or stromal cells (MSCs) are rare multipotent cells with potent regenerative and immunomodulatory properties. Microglial cells (MGs) are specialized tissue macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS) that continuously survey their environment with highly motile extensions. Recently, several studies have shown that MSCs are capable of reprogramming microglia into an ‘‘M2-like’’ phenotype characterized by increased phagocytic activity and upregulated expression of anti-inflammatory mediators in vitro. However, the precise polarization states of microglia in the presence of MSCs under physiological or under inflammatory conditions remain largely unknown. In this study, we found that MSCs induce a mixed microglia phenotype defined as Arg1-high, CD86-high, CD206-high, IL-10-high, PGE2-high, MCP-1/CCL2-high, IL-1bmoderate, NALP-3-low, and TNF-a-low cells. These MSC-elicited MGs have high phagocytic activity and antigen-presenting ability. Lipopolysaccharide is able to shape this microglia phenotype quantitatively, but not qualitatively in the presence of MSCs. This unique polarization state resembles a novel regulatory microglia phenotype, which might contribute to the resolution of inflammation and to tissue repair in the CNS.
The consequences of four land‐use scenarios for forest ecosystems and the services they provide

Anticipating landscape- to regional-scale impacts of land use on ecosystems and the services they provide is a central challenge for scientists, policymakers, and resource managers. Working with a panel of practitioners and regional experts, we developed and analyzed four plausible but divergent land-use scenarios that depict the future of Massachusetts from 2010 to 2060 to address two questions: (1) “How do the magnitude and spatial distribution of ecosystem service provisioning vary under the different land-use regimes? ” and (2) “What are the synergies and trade-offs among direct human uses, ecosystem services, and habitat quality? ” Each scenario specifies the detailed prescriptions for the major uses of the forests, including conversion to residential and commercial development, clearing new farmland, shifting silvicultural practices, and designating forests protected from development. We simulated the land-use scenarios and their interactions with anticipated climate change by coupling statistical models of land use to the LANDIS-II landscape model and then evaluated the outcomes in terms of the magnitude and spatial distribution of (1) direct human uses of the landscape (residential and commercial development, agricultural, timber harvest), (2) ecosystem services (carbon storage, flood regulation, nutrient retention), and (3) habitat quality (forest tree species composition, interior forest habitat). Across all scenarios, conflicts occurred between dispersed residential development and the supply of ecosystem services and habitat quality. In all but the scenario that envisioned a significant agricultural expansion, forest growth resulted in net increases in aboveground carbon storage, despite the concomitant forest clearing and harvesting. One scenario, called Forests as Infrastructure, showed the potential for synergies between increased forest harvest volume through the sustainable practices that encouraged the maintenance of economically and ecologically important tree species, and carbon storage. This scenario also showed trade-offs between development density and water quantity and quality at the watershed scale. The process of integrated scenario analysis led to important insights for land managers and policymakers in a populated forested region where there are tensions among development, forest harvesting, and land conservation. More broadly, the results emphasize the need to consider the consequences of contrasting land-use regimes that result from the interactions between human decisions and spatially heterogeneous landscape dynamics.
Response of seismicity to Coulomb stress triggers and shadows of the 1999 Mw=7.6 Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquake

[1] The correlation between static Coulomb stress increases and aftershocks has thus far provided the strongest evidence that stress changes promote seismicity, a correlation that the Chi-Chi earthquake well exhibits. Several studies have deepened the argument by resolving stress changes on aftershock focal mechanisms, which removes the assumption that the aftershocks are optimally oriented for failure. Here one compares the percentage of planes on which failure is promoted after the main shock relative to the percentage beforehand. For Chi-Chi we find a 28% increase for thrust and an 18% increase for strike-slip mechanisms, commensurate with increases reported for other large main shocks. However, perhaps the chief criticism of static stress triggering is the difficulty in observing predicted seismicity rate decreases in the stress shadows, or sites of Coulomb stress decrease. Detection of sustained drops in seismicity rate demands a long catalog with a low magnitude of completeness and a high seismicity rate, conditions that are met at Chi-Chi. We find four lobes with statistically significant seismicity rate declines of 40–90% for 50 months, and they coincide with the stress shadows calculated for strike-slip faults, the dominant faulting mechanism. The rate drops are evident in uniform cell calculations, 100-month time series, and by visual inspection of the M ≥ 3 seismicity. An additional reason why detection of such declines has proven so rare emerges from this study: there is a widespread increase in seismicity rate during the first 3 months after Chi-Chi, and perhaps many other main shocks, that might be associated with a different mechanism.
Overtime Work Hours, Health Behaviors and Health Outcomes for Correctional Officers: An Examination of Moderated Effects

Most of the existing research on corrections officers (COs) has focused on stress and burnout as well as the organizational factors that contribute to these outcomes. Recent studies have also revealed that COs are more likely to be obese and hypertensive than the general population. Studies not specific to corrections provide evidence that overtime hours are associated with poor employee health, and the present study aimed to address this general lack of research on the potential health impacts of overtime hours for COs. More specifically, this study investigated whether the effect of healthy behaviors on health and wellness outcomes changed, depending on how much overtime work COs engaged in. Health and wellness data were collected for COs (N= 202) at two correctional facilities using three different methods: surveys, physical assessments and continuous overtime data. The use of continuous overtime data is rare in the overtime literature, particularly when the data are collected objectively rather than through self-report methods. Therefore, this study used a measure of overtime that is both more accurate and precise than that typically found in earlier studies of overtime. Hierarchical linear regression models were used to test the hypotheses that the amount of overtime hours worked would moderate the beneficial effect of healthy behaviors on health outcomes. The healthy behaviors examined were physical activity, healthy eating and healthy sleep hygiene. The assessed health outcomes were physical strength, body fat composition, depressive symptoms, and burnout. The beneficial effect of healthy sleep hygiene on burnout was moderated by the number of overtime hours worked in a typical week. Essentially, the effect of healthy sleep hygiene on burnout lost its beneficial impact when COs worked on average more than three shifts of overtime in a week. No other moderated relationship between healthy behaviors and health
Using Visible and Near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy to Characterize and Classify Soil Profiles

Using Visible and Near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy to Characterize and Classify Soil Profiles. (August 2010) Katrina Margarette Wilke, B.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Cristine L.S. Morgan Visible and near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (VisNIR-DRS) is a method being investigated for quantifying soil properties and mapping soil profiles. Because a VisNIR-DRS system mounted in a soil penetrometer is now commercially available for scanning soil profiles in situ, methodologies for using scans to map soils and quantify soil properties are needed. The overall goal of this research is to investigate methodologies for collecting and analyzing VisNIR-DRS scans of intact soil profiles to identify soil series. Methodologies tested include scanning at variable versus uniform moistures, using individual versus averaged spectra, boosting an intact spectral library with local samples, and comparing quantitative and categorical classifications of soil series. Thirty-two soil cores from two fields, representing three soil series, were extracted and scanned every 2.5 cm from the soil surface to 1.5 m or to the depth of parent material at variable field moist conditions and at uniform moist condition. Laboratory analyses for clay, sand, and silt were performed on each horizon. Soil series were classified using partial least squares regression (PLS) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). A Central Texas intact spectral library (n=70 intact cores) was used for
Casting Roles to Stakeholders – A Narrative Analysis of Reputational Storytelling in the Digital Public Sphere

ABSTRACT This article presents a narrative study of stakeholder positions, storytelling agency, and power in the digital public sphere as seen by organizational actors. According to the institutional approach, corporations and their reputations are enacted, sustained, and altered by their external stakeholders. This article posits that, in the online public sphere, corporate reputations are formed by narratives, in which stakeholders take different positions on intended actions. Using a qualitative data set derived from seventeen interviews with communication and risk management professionals, these positions were analyzed using a Burkean pentadic analysis combined with the Stakeholder Saliency Model. Using pentadic ratios, seven different narrative stakeholder positions were identified: Information seeker, Influencer, Pressurer, Communicator, Mender, Monitor, and Intermediator. These positions were taken by different actors, such as individual users, communities, online media and the organization itself. Analyzing the attributes of power, legitimacy and urgency related to these positions three transformations were identified: mobilizing crowds, issue recognition, and scene transformation. The proposed model helps to identify the different stakeholders in the digital communication sphere and to understand their agency through their narrative positions.
DNA-based Biotechnologies

A breeders have made incredible genetic progress by selecting animals with desirable traits as parents of the next generation. Remarkably, this selective breeding, or artificial selection, was historically accomplished based solely on outward appearances (phenotypes) and then later with genetic prediction estimates, without understanding which genes influence particular characteristics. Advances in the field of genetics enabled breeders to make more rapid progress toward their explicit breeding objectives, with modern approaches combining genomics and statistics to rank individuals based on their genetic merit (Georges et al., 2019). During the past century, several new technologies have been incorporated into programs aimed at accelerating the rate of the genetic improvement of livestock by providing tools for breeders to maximize the genetic contributions of highly productive animals. These include artificial insemination (AI), the use of hormones to control the female reproductive cycle to allow for synchronization and superovulation, and embryo transfer. Prior to their eventual widespread adoption, some of these new technologies (e.g. AI) were
Integrative View of Emotion and the Dedication-Constraint Model in the Case of Coffee Chain Retailers

: Following the phenomenal growth of and competition among coffee chain retailers, the coffee chain market has expanded substantially thanks to rising income levels, the increasing young population, and rapidly changing lifestyles. Attracting consumers’ attention and enhancing their loyalty behaviors have become very difficult for coffee chain retailers. This study seeks to understand the mechanisms through which emotions and the dedication-constraint model lead to brand loyalty and willingness to pay more to certain coffee chain retailers. Emotions and the dedication-constraint model are major factors in the research, but few studies have combined them to examine the formation of loyalty behaviors. This study synthesizes emotional responses and the dedication-constraint model to develop a theoretical model. Based on the ambivalent view of emotions, it also examines how positive and negative emotions affect the combination of brand loyalty and willingness to pay more to certain coffee chain retailers. Moreover, it identifies the antecedents of affective and calculative commitments in the context of coffee chain retailers. Our findings indicate that loyalty behaviors (dedication- and constraint-based mechanisms from brand loyalty and willingness to pay more to certain coffee chain retailers), emotional responses, and affective and calculative commitments significantly affect brand loyalty directly and indirectly through both positive and negative emotions. Furthermore, service quality, physical environment quality, and price fairness significantly affect affective commitments, while price fairness significantly affects both affective and calculative commitments. Finally, affective and calculative commitments significantly affect willingness to pay more, both directly and indirectly, through positive emotions and affect it directly through negative emotions. The results’ theoretical and managerial implications and possible future research directions are discussed.
Collectors endanger Australia's most threatened snake, the broad-headed snake Hoplocephalus bungaroides

The collection of reptiles for the pet trade is often cited as a potential problem for threatened species, but quantitative data on the effects of this trade on wild populations are lacking. In south-eastern Australia the decline of the threatened broad-headed snake Hoplocephalus bungaroides has been blamed on habitat destruction and the collection of snakes for pets, but there was little evidence to support the latter hypothesis. During 1992-2000 we studied one of the last extant southern populations of broad-headed snakes in Morton National Park, New South Wales, where <600 individuals remain on an isolated plateau. Analysis of 9 years of mark-recapture data reveal that the activities of snake collectors seriously endanger the viability of this species. The study population of H. bungaroides was stable over 1992-1996, but declined dramatically in 1997, coincident with evidence of illegal collecting, possibly stimulated by a government amnesty that allowed pet owners to obtain permit,, for illegally held reptiles. Survivorship analyses revealed that 85% of adult females disappeared from the population in 1997. There was no such effect on male survivorship, suggesting that snake collectors, selectively removed adult females, which are the largest snakes in the population. Humans caused significant damage to fragile rock outcrops in three of the 9 years of the study, and a second bout of habitat disturbance in 1999 coincided with a second decline in the H. bungaroides, population, We recommend that locked gates be placed on fire trails to protect existing populations of broad-headed snakes.
Trade Costs and International Strategy of Firms: The Role of Endogenous Product Differentiation

We study the impact of trade liberalization on the international strategy of firms (to export and/or invest abroad as well as the number of varieties to be produced) when product differentiation is endogenous. By considering product differentiation as a strategic variable, our analysis sheds new light on the impact of trade barriers on the decision to produce abroad and on the choice of product range, in accordance with recent empirical evidence. We show, even though technology exhibits the same productivity for each variety, firms drop some of varieties with trade integration. In addition, our results reveal that, contrary to the standard theoretical literature, the relationship between the decision to export and trade costs is non-linear. When trade costs are relatively high, firms may export and be multi-product. Finally, the choice of producing abroad results from either a prisoner’s dilemma game or a chicken game.
Strategic marketing planning for heritage tourism: a conceptual model and empirical findings from two emerging heritage regions

Abstract This paper examines the process of strategic marketing planning for heritage tourism, an inherently complex and fragmented system, requiring a coordinated approach among a range of stakeholders. A conceptual model, detailing key stakeholders and specific strategic functions, as well as a prescribed method of coordination, is presented. Two regions were investigated using a qualitative methodology, which examined five strategic documents and consisted of in-depth interviews with 11 key informants from the tourism industry. Key findings indicate that weak coordination, in terms of strategic marketing planning, has negative implications for heritage tourism marketing concerning four key strategic functions, strategic orientation, resource allocation, product service development and destination promotion. The paper emphasises the importance of strategic marketing planning for each function and considers the role of the public sector in terms of providing strategic direction. Furthermore, the paper highlights the potential difficulties of engaging in heritage tourism development in a non-traditional destination.
Average observational quantities in the timescape cosmology

We examine the properties of a recently proposed observationally viable alternative to homogeneous cosmology with smooth dark energy, the timescape cosmology. In the timescape model cosmic acceleration is realized as an apparent effect related to the calibration of clocks and rods of observers in bound systems relative to volume-average observers in an inhomogeneous geometry in ordinary general relativity. The model is based on an exact solution to a Buchert average of the Einstein equations with backreaction. The present paper examines a number of observational tests which will enable the timescape model to be distinguished from homogeneous cosmologies with a cosmological constant or other smooth dark energy, in current and future generations of dark energy experiments. Predictions are presented for comoving distance measures; $H(z)$; the equivalent of the dark energy equation of state, $w(z)$; the $Om(z)$ measure of Sahni, Shafieloo, and Starobinsky; the Alcock-Paczy\ifmmode \acute{n}\else \'{n}\fi{}ski test; the baryon acoustic oscillation measure, ${D}_{V}$; the inhomogeneity test of Clarkson, Bassett, and Lu; and the time drift of cosmological redshifts. Where possible, the predictions are compared to recent independent studies of similar measures in homogeneous cosmologies with dark energy. Three separate tests with indications of results in possible tension with the $\ensuremath{\Lambda}\mathrm{CDM}$ model are found to be consistent with the expectations of the timescape cosmology.
CHANDRA VIEW OF MAGNETICALLY CONFINED WIND IN HD 191612: THEORY VERSUS OBSERVATIONS

High-resolution spectra of the magnetic star HD 191612 were acquired using the Chandra X-ray Observatory at both maximum and minimum emission phases. We confirm the flux and hardness variations previously reported with XMM-Newton, demonstrating the high repeatability of the behavior of HD 191612 over a decade. The line profiles appear typical for magnetic massive stars: no significant line shift, relatively narrow lines for high-Z elements, and formation radius at about . Line ratios confirm the softening of the X-ray spectrum at the minimum emission phase. Shift or width variations appear of limited amplitude at most (slightly lower velocity and slightly increased broadening at minimum emission phase, but within 1–2σ of values at maximum). In addition, a fully self-consistent 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the confined wind in HD 191612 was performed. The simulation results were directly fitted to the data, leading to a remarkable agreement overall between them.
Brazil Nut Effect and CONCRETE: Entering Terra Incognita

This paper presents some evidence of the impact of the Brazil nut effect (BNE) on concrete’s particulate structure on meso-level (aggregate) as well as on micro-level (cement paste). BNE is associated with long-range size segregation in particle mixtures due to vibration in slurry state of concrete, both near boundaries and in bulk. Presented evidences on meso- as well as on micro-level are coming from experiences in practice and in research, as well as from discrete element modelling (DEM) investigations.
Origin of Residual Stress in Arteries

The structural protein elastin endows large arter ies with unique biological functionality and mechanical integrity, hence its disorganization, frag mentation, or degradation can have important consequences on the progression and treatment of vascu lar diseases. There is, therefore, a need in arterial mechanics to move from materially uniform, phen omenological, constitutive relations for the wall to those that account for separate contributions of the primary structural constituents. In this paper, we employ a recently proposed constrained mixture mo del of the arterial wall and show that highly prestretched elastin contributes significantly to b oth the retraction of arteries that is observed upon transection and the opening angle that follows the intr oduction of a radial cut in an unloaded segment. We also show that the transmural distributions of e lastin and collagen, compressive stiffness of collagen, and smooth muscle tone play complementary roles.
Runoff Forecasting and Its Application in Reservoir Operation and Flood Warnings in Nepal

Runoff forecasting is a very useful tool in hydrology to predict runoff based on a weather forecast. In developed countries, the method is also currently used for flood forecasting, and to predict runoff for hydropower reservoirs and water allocation for irrigation. But this is not the case in Nepal. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how to set up a system for runoff forecasting for a Nepalese catchment and illustrate how these procedures could be utilized in reservoir operation and flood warnings. This paper provides the necessary steps for implementing such a system in Nepal, including the selection of a meteorological forecast model, bias correction of the model output, HBV model set up, and runoff forecast simulation. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/hn.v15i0. 11288 HYDRO Nepal Journal Journal of Water Energy and Environment Volume: 15, 2014 July Page: 23-29