Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the Aesthetic Success of Books: Can User-driven Databases Fill the Gap?

Abstract Researchers that wish to evaluate the aesthetic success or functional creativity of books in the real world need a method to measure the outcome variable. However, sales figures are rarely published. Bestseller lists and expert judgments may not adequately reflect the aesthetic success among the general public. Data available on the platform Goodreads may serve as an alternative for measuring the popularity of books. In the present study, the ratings and number of ratings from Goodreads, as well as the number of literary prizes awarded are compared with the actual number of copies sold for a significant sample, the 98 most bestselling books in the UK from 1998 to 2012. Results indicated that literary prizes cannot serve as a gauge for the popularity of a book. While ratings were associated with copies sold, the number of ratings was a significantly better indicator of the sales figures of a book.
Muscle metabolism and activation heterogeneity by combined 31P chemical shift and T2 imaging, and pulmonary O2 uptake during incremental knee-extensor exercise

The integration of skeletal muscle substrate depletion, metabolite accumulation, and fatigue during large muscle-mass exercise is not well understood. Measurement of intramuscular energy store degradation and metabolite accumulation is confounded by muscle heterogeneity. Therefore, to characterize regional metabolic distribution in the locomotor muscles, we combined 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy, chemical shift imaging, and T2-weighted imaging with pulmonary oxygen uptake during bilateral knee-extension exercise to intolerance. Six men completed incremental tests for the following: 1) unlocalized 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy; and 2) spatial determination of 31P metabolism and activation. The relationship of pulmonary oxygen uptake to whole quadriceps phosphocreatine concentration ([PCr]) was inversely linear, and three of four knee-extensor muscles showed activation as assessed by change in T2. The largest changes in [PCr], [inorganic phosphate] ([Pi]) and pH occurred in rectus femoris, but no voxel (72 cm3) showed complete PCr depletion at exercise cessation. The most metabolically active voxel reached 11 ± 9 mM [PCr] (resting, 29 ± 1 mM), 23 ± 11 mM [Pi] (resting, 7 ± 1 mM), and a pH of 6.64 ± 0.29 (resting, 7.08 ± 0.03). However, the distribution of 31P metabolites and pH varied widely between voxels, and the intervoxel coefficient of variation increased between rest (∼10%) and exercise intolerance (∼30–60%). Therefore, the limit of tolerance was attained with wide heterogeneity in substrate depletion and fatigue-related metabolite accumulation, with extreme metabolic perturbation isolated to only a small volume of active muscle (<5%). Regional intramuscular disturbances are thus likely an important requisite for exercise intolerance. How these signals integrate to limit muscle power production, while regional “recruitable muscle” energy stores are presumably still available, remains uncertain.
Light acclimation strategies change from summer green to spring ephemeral as wild-leek plants age.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Spring-ephemeral forest-herbs emerge early to take advantage of the high-light conditions preceding canopy closure; they complete their life cycle in a few weeks, then senesce as the tree canopy closes. Summer greens acclimate their leaves to shade and thus manage to maintain a net carbon gain throughout summer. Differences in phenology among life stages within a species have been reported in tree saplings, whose leaf activity may extend beyond the period of shade conditions caused by mature trees. Similar phenological acclimation has seldom been studied in forest herbs. METHODS We compared wild-leek bulb growth and leaf phenology among plants from seedling to maturity and from under 4 to 60% natural light availability. We also compared leaf chlorophyll content and chl a/b ratio among seedlings and adult plants in a natural population as an indicator of photosynthetic capacity and acclimation to light environment. KEY RESULTS Overall, younger plants senesced later than mature ones. Increasing light availability delayed senescence in mature plants, while hastening seedling senescence. In natural populations, only seedlings acclimated to the natural reduction in light availability through time. CONCLUSIONS Wild-leek seedlings exhibit a summer-green phenology, whereas mature plants behave as true spring ephemerals. Growth appears to be more source-limited in seedlings than in mature plants. This modulation of phenological strategy, if confirmed in other species, would require a review of the current classification of species as either spring ephemerals, summer greens, wintergreens, or evergreens.
The political economy of economic liberalization

Two of the major policy problems facing governments of developing countries in the 1 980s have been unsustainable external and internal disequilibria, and implementation of politically feasible stabilization cum liberalization programs which become necessary to correct these imbalances. This article discusses these "crises" and subsequent policy reform. The analysis suggests that balance of payments and fiscal deficits are frequently the result of use of an incorrect accounting system in a fixed exchange rate economy, and of public sector expansion beyond its economically feasible size; that governments usually seek to liberalize their economies during a crisis to regain control when the growth of the "transfer State" has led to generalized tax resistance, avoidance, or evasion; that reduction of the government role will be required to alleviate these crises; that sharp departures from past policies rather than gradual reform may be politically necessary; and that, contrary to the current technocratic opinion on this matter, the sequencing of a consistent and credible package of reforms which will most effectively reduce the costs of adjustment is initial liberalization of domestic capital markets simultaneous with cuts in the fiscal deficit, followed by floating the exchange rate and then commodity market liberalization. With the growing importance of Internal Monetary Fund (IMF) stabilization and World Bank structural adjustment programs, there has been concern about the proper sequencing of the standard stabilization cum liberalization measures contained in these packages. In particular, there is grave concern at the very mixed and in some cases disastrous effects of liberalization attempts on incomes and employment in the Southern Cone of Latin America in the late 1970s and early 1 980s. Much of the existing discussion of the order of liberalization is conducted within the traditional technocratic framework,' which seeks to determine the welfare-cost-minimizing deployment of policies in the standard stabilization and 1. This assumes a benevolent and well informed government maximizing a social welfare function
The Effects of Technology Spillover on the Economic Growth of Iran’s Sports Industry

Background. The sports industry plays an important role in the progress of the economy in developed countries. The role of technology is remarkable in the enhancement of the economy. Objectives. The present study investigates the effects of technology spillover on the economic growth of Iran’s sports industry through import of intermediate and capital goods for the period from 1974 to 2012. Methods. The research method was econometrics and autoregressive distributed lag model was used. To do so, the following categories of data was analyzed by Eviews software: value added to cultural, recreational and sports services; current and construction expenditures of the government compared to the GDP (government size); import of intermediate and capital goods; capital stock of sports and active economic population of the sports section. Results. The results of model estimation showed that technology spillover has a significant and positive effect on the economic growth of Iran’s sports industry (p<0.05) both in the short and the long term. The error correction model also indicated a speedy movement of distortions and imbalances towards the long-term equilibrium. Conclusion. The findings show that import of capital and intermediate goods creates the context for increased productivity in Iran’s sports sector by facilitating access to the required intermediate agent and global technologies for organizations.
Exposure to whole body vibration in heavy mine vehicle drivers and its association with upper limbs musculoskeletal disorders

Background: Vibration as one of the harmful physical factors is relatively present in a wide range of jobs. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are among the most prevailing complaints of workers encountering occupational factors for example vibration. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate vibration and its association with the MSDs in upper limbs of heavy mine vehicles drivers. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted, on heavy mine vehicles of GolGohar Sirjan Centre, Sirjan, Iran. In general, 288 drivers with 92 vehicles were working at the mine site. SVAN958 vibration meters and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire were used to measure whole body vibration and upper limb MSDs, respectively. Finally, the data were analysed using SPSS. Results: The highest average equilibrated acceleration was in graders (2.179 m/s2 ) and drills had the lowest average acceleration (0.479 m/s2 ). Prevalence of MSDs within past 12 months showed a significant difference in the neck (P = 0.044) and elbow (P = 0.023) between case and control group. The whole body vibration variable was associated with MSDs in the neck (P = 0.020) and wrist/hands (P = 0.030), and with increase in vibration the MSDs showed a 59% increase in neck and 72% in wrist/hands. In multivariate analysis, the whole body vibration variable had a significant relation with MSDs in wrist/hand (P = 0.027) and caused an 83% increase in the risk of MSDs per each unit in wrist/hand. Conclusions: The prevalence of disorders in studies with short duration is probably not quite visible; however, by increasing the working experience with these vehicles which have higher vibration than standard rates, the chance of developing MSDs increases.
African volcanic emissions influencing atmospheric aerosol particles over the Amazon rain forest

Long-range transport (LRT) plays an important role in the Amazon rain forest by bringing in different primary and secondary aerosol particles from distant sources. The atmospheric oxidation of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), emitted from marine plankton, is considered an important sulfate source over the Amazon rain forest, with a lesser contribution from terrestrial soil and vegetation sulfur emissions. Volcanic sulfur emissions from Africa could be a source of particulate sulfate to the Amazonian atmosphere upon transatlantic transport but no observations have been published. By using satellite observations, together with ground-based and airborne aerosol particle observations, this paper provides evidence of the influence that volcanic emissions have on the aerosol properties that have been observed
Combining inter-source seismic interferometry and source-receiver interferometry for deep local imaging

The virtual source method has been applied successfully to retrieve the impulse response between pairs of receivers in the subsurface. This method is further improved by an updown separation prior to the crosscorrelation to suppress the reflections from the overburden and the free surface. In a reversed situation where the sources are in the subsurface and receivers are on the surface, in principle, one can apply the same logic to retrieve the virtual response between pairs of sources by source-receiver reciprocity, turning the physical borehole sources into virtual receivers. However, since the up-down separation is not applicable on the source side, the simple crosscorrelation of the total fields results in spurious events due to the incomplete receiver coverage around the sources. We show with a numerical example that for this configuration of borehole sources and surface receivers, one can replace such an updown separation at the source side by that of the direct and reflected waves as a first order approximation. This procedure produces the virtual receiver data that is adequate for local imaging below the source depth and is completely independent of the accuracy of the overburden velocity model. We implement this inter-source type of interferometry by multidimensional deconvolution (MDD). Further, if the conventional surface survey data is available, we test the methodology from source-receiver interferometry (SRI) for this reverse configuration with borehole sources to retrieve the virtual receiver data with reflections coming from above, using also only the separation of the direct and reflected waves. By migrating the two sets of virtual receiver data, one can create a local image around the borehole sources in a deep area with better focusing and localization without a sophisticated velocity model.
Effect of missing sire information on genetic evaluation

Abstract. Stochastic simulation was used to analyse the effect of missing sire information (MSI) on different parameters of genetic evaluation. Eighty proven bulls producing 100 progeny and 40 test bulls producing 50 progeny were simulated. The proportion of MSI was varied in four steps from 10 to 40%. Analyses were carried out for h² = 0.10 and h² = 0.25. A sire model was used for simulation and evaluation. The variance of DYD increased with increasing proportion of MSI. Variances of sire breeding values as well as rank correlations decreased with increasing proportion of MSI. The probability that the simulated Top5 and Top10 bulls were placed under the estimated Top5 and Top10 bulls, respectively, decreased with increasing percentage of MSI. The same holds true for the probability of ranking a bull with 10 to 40% MSI under the 5% best bulls with complete pedigree. The loss of response to selection increased up to 8.6% for proven bulls and up to 12.6% for test bulls.
Rural-Urban Inequality in Africa: A Panel Study of the Effects of Trade Liberalization and Financial Deepening

Using panel data from 39 countries, this paper examines the effects of financial deepening and openness to trade and foreign capital (FDI) on rural-urban inequality in Africa. Four estimations were performed: OLS pooled cross-section, GLS pooled cross-section, fixed effects model and an adjusted fixed effects specification with regional dummy terms. We construct an alternative measure of rural-urban inequality, namely the ratio of growth in agricultural output to growth of manufacturing output. Overall, the econometric results show that openness to trade seems to help reduce rural-urban inequality. However, the empirical evidence does not unambiguously delineate the nature and significance of the impact FDI and financial deepening have on the rural-urban gap. The findings imply that there may be some support for the so-called offsetting-trend in inequality (OTI) hypothesis.
Use of methods of cluster analysis in designing strategy of region's agro-food complex

The article substantiates the necessity of using cluster analysis methods in designing the strategy for the development of the agro-food complex at the regional level. A brief analysis of the foreign experience of using the cluster approach in the development of regional strategic planning programs is given. The algorithm of clusterization that allows allocating "reference" and "target" municipal entities of the region, based on indicators reflecting the volumes of production of agro-food products is presented. The results of clustering of municipal entities of the Republic of Bashkortostan by selfsufficiency of the population with basic food products are given. Because of clustering, the "standard" ("leaders") and "target" ("outsiders") municipal formations of the region are defined. Within the formed clusters, municipal formations that have "extreme" values of indicators of the volume of production of basic food products per capita have been identified. The practical significance of the research is that the proposed recommendations make it possible to solve problems on the development of food provision for the population of the region, the use of commodity food resources, and the improvement of inter-municipal food relations. Keywords— cluster analysis; cluster; region; agro-food complex;
Salinity control on Na incorporation into calcite tests of the planktonic foraminifera Trilobatus sacculifer – evidence from culture experiments and surface sediments

Abstract. The quantitative reconstruction of past seawater salinity has yet to be achieved, and the search for a direct and independent salinity proxy is ongoing. Recent culture and field studies show a significant positive correlation of Na∕Ca with salinity in benthic and planktonic foraminiferal calcite. For accurate paleoceanographic reconstructions, consistent and reliable calibrations are necessary, which are still missing. In order to assess the reliability of foraminiferal Na∕Ca as a direct proxy for seawater salinity, this study presents electron microprobe Na∕Ca data measured on cultured specimens of Trilobatus sacculifer. The culture experiments were conducted over a wide salinity range of 26 to 45, while temperature was kept constant. To further understand potential controlling factors of Na incorporation, measurements were also performed on foraminifera cultured at various temperatures in the range of 19.5 to 29.5 ∘C under constant salinity conditions. Foraminiferal Na∕Ca values positively correlate with seawater salinity (Na/CaT. sacculifer=0.97+0.115⋅salinity, R=0.97, p<0.005). Temperature, on the other hand, exhibits no statistically significant relationship with Na∕Ca values, indicating salinity to be one of the dominant factors controlling Na incorporation. The culturing results are corroborated by measurements on T. sacculifer from Caribbean and Gulf of Guinea surface sediments, indicating no dissolution effect on Na∕Ca in foraminiferal calcite with increasing water depth up to >4 km. In conclusion, planktonic foraminiferal Na∕Ca can be applied as a potential proxy for reconstructing sea surface salinities, although species-specific calibrations might be necessary.
Seismic monitoring at The Geysers

During the last several years Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have been working with industry partners at The Geysers geothermal field to evaluate and develop methods for applying the results of microearthquake (MEQ) monitoring. It is a well known fact that seismicity at The Geysers is a common occurrence, however, there have been many studies and papers written on the origin and significance of the seismicity. The attitude toward MEQ data ranges from being nothing more than a curious artifact of the production activities, to being a critical tool in evaluating the reservoir performance. The purpose of the work undertaken by LBL and LLNL is to evaluate the utility, as well as the methods and procedures used in MEQ monitoring, recommend the most cost effective implementation of the methods, and if possible link physical processes and parameters to the generation of MEQ activity. One of the most promising uses of MEQ monitoring that has been proposed is monitoring the flow of fluids during injection activities. Another proposed use has been to define active fault and fracture patterns that could be possible targets for in-fill drilling. A more recent use has been to use the microearthquakesmore » as sources to image the physical properties within the reservoir area. The success of all of these proposed uses, as well as any other, will depend upon the resolution obtained and the understanding of the physical and chemical processes causing the MEQ activity. The use, or misuse, of MEQ data is critically dependent upon the quality and resolution of the data. In this sense The Geysers offers an excellent and unique test case due to the diversity of the studies carried out at The Geysers and the supporting geological, geophysical, hydrological, and geochemical information potentially available. « less
Testing the Extraction of DNA from Human Teeth Exposed to Different Chemical Solutions

The aim of this study was to evaluate the extraction of dental DNA exposed to different chemical solutions. The sample was composed by 15 subjects, from which 5 samples of oral mucosal cells (reference population) and 15 teeth (experimental population) were collected. The experimental population was divided in three equal parts, which were exposed to different chemical solutions, namely hydrochloric acid (HCl) at 37 %, formaldehyde (CH 2 O) at 10 % and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) at 2.5 %. The DNA from the oral mucosa was extracted using organic method, while the dental DNA was extracted using the AFDIL method, including amplification by PCR and sequencing through capillary electrophoresis. The DNA exposed to hydrochloric acid dissolved, lacking extraction. The exposure of teeth to formaldehyde and sodium hypochlorite did not interfere in the extraction of DNA, once the amplification was visible in both experimental populations. The present outcomes demonstrated that DNA extraction may be limited under exposure to chemical solutions.
You Need an Innovation Strategy

Despite massive investments of management time and money, innovation remains a frustrating pursuit in many companies. Innovation initiatives frequently fail, and successful innovators have a hard time sustaining their performance—as Polaroid, Nokia, Sun Microsystems, Yahoo, Hewlett-Packard, and countless others have found. Why is it so hard to build and maintain the capacity to innovate? The reasons go much deeper than the commonly cited cause: a failure to execute. The problem with innovation improvement efforts is rooted in the lack of an innovation strategy.
Variability and Extremes in Leaf Wettability and Run-Off Properties inPlants from Various Habitats

The natural variability and extremes of surface wettability properties of leaves was investigated in 396 plant species out of 85 families growing in three different continents at various elevations (186-5268 m) and in all major ecological zones. This should yield the range of leaf surface wettablility properties but also allow detecting extreme hydrophobic and hydrophilic leaf surfaces. Surface wettability properties were measured by contact angle θ of defined water droplets applied to the leaves and their run off angle. Wettability of leaf surfaces differed significantly between species (16.7° 150°), were from virtually all ecological zones and observed mostly abaxial and on pubescent leaves. On extreme-hydrophilic leaf surfaces water droplet run off occurred at a significantly lower mean angle of inclination (8°) as compared to super-hydrophobic (19°) leaf surfaces. Within each leaf wettability category, significant differences between species with respect to run off angle were found. Leaf surface wettability properties in the 396 species tested were highly divers. Extreme surface properties were only partly related to the ecological zone or a peculiar family and run off and leaf surface wettability turned out to be independent functional traits.