Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The upper Eocene-Oligocene carnivorous mammals from the Quercy Phosphorites (France) housed in Belgian collections

1. Introduction The Quercy region (southwestern France; Fig. 1) contains many deposits with more than 80 distinct mammal localities that correspond to karstic fissure fillings. These paleokarst faunas range from the lower Eocene to the lower Miocene (Renaud et al., 1978; Remy et al., 1987; Sige et al., 1991; Legendre et al., 1992; Maitre et al., 2006, 2008; Escarguel et al., 2008; Maitre, 2014). This expanded temporal record, in addition to the quality and richness of the mammal fossils makes Quercy a key area for understanding the evolution of the European Paleogene mammals (Remy et al., 1987; Legendre & Hartenberger, 1992; Escarguel et al., 2008). However, from the beginning of the exploitation of the Quercy Phosphorites Formation in 1870 until its end in 1907, the exact sources of the fossils have rarely been recorded, and only toponyms were provided (e.g., Caylus, Lamandine, Bach). These names do not correspond to clearly defined fossiliferous sites, but that of close-by villages, resulting in occasional mixing of faunas of different ages. The fossils collected during that period make up for the so-called ‘old Quercy collections’ (see Rage, 2006: p.162; Maitre, 2014: p.143). However, since 1965, paleontologists from the Universite des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc at Montpellier (now part of the Universite de Montpellier), the Universite Paris 6 (former Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, UMPC, now Sorbonne Universite), the Universite Claude-Bernard Lyon I, and later
Apatite Fission Track Signatures of the Ross Sea Ice Flows During the Last Glacial Maximum

The catchment for the Ross Sea ice includes both the East and the West Antarctic ice sheets, but the mass balance is a direct response to climate change. Our work is aimed to reconstruct the ice flows after the Last Glacial Maximum and is based on apatite fission track data from samples collected from 18 piston cores across the Ross Sea embayment. Fission track ages have been divided into meaningful populations and then compared with bedrock ages from West and East Antarctica. Furthermore, fission track lengths have been measured on each population and then compared through forward modeling with thermal histories derived from literature. The widespread presence of apatites with cooling ages of about 30–40 Ma reveals a main exhumation phase of the Transantarctic Mountains during the Oligocene associated to the last phases of the West Antarctic Rift System. Furthermore, the presence of key marker apatites (e.g., younger than 21 Ma or older than 230 Ma) allows to identify the Central High as a major ice flow divide.
Efficient Simulation of Generalized SABR and Stochastic Local Volatility Models based on Markov Chain Approximations

Abstract We propose a novel Monte Carlo simulation method for two-dimensional stochastic differential equation (SDE) systems based on approximation through continuous-time Markov chains (CTMCs). Specifically, we propose an efficient simulation framework for asset prices under general stochastic local volatility (SLV) models arising in finance, which includes the Heston and the stochastic alpha beta rho (SABR) models as special cases. Our simulation algorithm is constructed based on approximating the latent stochastic variance process by a CTMC. Compared with time-discretization schemes, our method exhibits several advantages, including flexible boundary condition treatment, weak continuity conditions imposed on coefficients, and a second order convergence rate in the spatial grids of the approximating CTMC under suitable regularity conditions. Replacing the stochastic variance process with a discrete-state approximation greatly simplifies the direct sampling of the integrated variance, thus enabling a highly efficient simulation scheme. Extensive numerical examples illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of our estimator, which outperforms both biased and unbiased simulation estimators in the literature in terms of root mean squared error (RMSE) and computational time. This paper is focused primarily on the simulation of SDEs which arise in finance, but this new simulation approach has potential for applications in other contextual areas in operations research, such as queuing theory.
Intelligent approach for residential load scheduling

Residential load scheduling has been introduced in recent years as a result of implementing demand response programmes in the residential sector. Up to now, studies have focussed on developing algorithms for scheduling the residential loads with the objective of reducing the electricity payment while satisfying the users’ comfort level. To aim at this goal, the user should determine the desired scheduling window for each appliance to initiate the scheduling process. Although these algorithms designed to benefit the end-users, determining the scheduling window for each appliance at the beginning of the scheduling process can be challenging. In this study, an intelligent load scheduling model is proposed to perform the scheduling with the least user intervention. The proposed model predicts the preferred scheduling window for each appliance and initiates the scheduling process. Furthermore, the degradation cost of the battery pack in the vehicle-to-grid mode is considered in the cost function. The model is applied to a case study containing plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and flexible loads such as a washing machine and dishwasher under inclining block rates and hourly pricing tariffs. The results indicate that implementing the model in a residential building can decrease the electricity payment while performing the residential load scheduling with the least user intervention.
‘Zombies’, ‘cannibals’, and ‘super humans’: a quantitative and qualitative analysis of UK news media reporting of the cathinone psychostimulants labelled ‘monkey dust’

Abstract Background News media helps set the agenda for public thinking and policy responses to drugs use, by framing substances, substance use and people who use drugs (PWUD) within a ‘drug scare’ narrative. Using the example of ‘monkey dust’, an inconsistently identified set of substituted cathinone psychostimulants, we explored how an emerging drug ‘problem’ was reported in the UK news media, and what this tells us about prevailing attitudes towards substance use and PWUD. Methods A quantitative and qualitative analysis of UK news media (n = 368 articles) representations of ‘monkey dust’ was conducted, and the underlying discourses identified. Findings Monkey dust reporting met the criteria of a drug scare, which was predominantly underpinned by discourses of criminality and legality. An unrepresentative, somewhat distorted, incomplete and simplified account of monkey dust as new and dangerous, and as requiring urgent legislative action, was provided. PWUD were dehumanised, criminalised, and stigmatised and the complexities of use, and responses other than those that fell within the status quo, obscured. Conclusions To prevent the negative impact such reporting may have on PWUD, it is important that relevant stakeholders, including advocacy groups, academics, and researchers, work with journalists to change the way drug use and PWUD are reported.
Crecimiento y supervivencia de los mejillones Perna perna, Perna viridis y de un morfotipo indefinido bajo cultivo suspendido Growth and survival of the mussels Perna perna, Perna viridis and an undefined morphotype in suspended culture

Se evaluaron el crecimiento y la influencia de factores ambientales bajo condiciones de cultivo suspendido del mejillón Perna perna L. , P. viridis L. y una variante o morfotipo indefinido, que comparte sustrato y características morfológicas y de color de ambas especies. El estudio fue conducido durante 10 meses en la localidad de Turpialito, Golfo de Cariaco, Venezuela. Las tres poblaciones experimentales, sembradas con una talla inicial homogénea (45–50 mm) presentaron un patrón de crecimiento similar; sin embargo, P. viridis mostró tasas de crecimiento significativamente menores a las de P. perna y del morfotipo, alcanzando al final del estudio 71.2, 77.0 y 77.8 mm de longitud dorso-ventral de la concha, respectivamente. Los análisis de correlatividad de los factores ambientales y el crecimiento no mostraron una modulación definida del crecimiento somático debido a factores ambientales; no obstante, la actividad reproductiva, especialmente cuando se inicia por primera vez, puede actuar como factor endógeno negativo. Aunque los resultados muestran similar respuesta fisiológica de los mejillones, se observó mayor similitud entre P. perna y el morfotipo y diferencias suficientes entre éstas y P. viridis, sugiriendo que las dos primeras pueden estar más relacionadas genéticamente. Sin embargo, existieron diferencias entre el morfotipo y P. perna, en cuanto a las características fenotípicas de la concha, supervivencia e índice gonadosomático, que pueden establecer diferencias genéticas definidas. La mayor producción gonádica en la variante sugiere su selección para el cultivo.
Engineering of NIR fluorescent PEGylated poly(RGD) proteinoid polymers and nanoparticles for drug delivery applications in chicken embryo and mouse models

Proteinoids are non-toxic biodegradable polymers based on thermal step-growth polymerization of natural or synthetic amino acids. Hollow proteinoid nanoparticles (NPs) may then be formed via a self-assembly process of the proteinoid polymers in an aqueous solution. In the present article polymers and NPs based on d-arginine, glycine and l-aspartic acid, poly(RDGD), were synthesized for tumor targeting, particularly due to the high affinity of the RGD motif to areas of angiogenesis. Near IR fluorescent P(RDGD) NPs were prepared by encapsulating the fluorescent NIR dye indocyanine green (ICG) within the formed P(RDGD) NPs. Here, we investigate the effect of the covalent conjugation of polyethylene glycol (PEG), with different molecular weights, to the surface of the near IR encapsulated P(RDGD) NPs on the release of the dye to human serum due to bio-degradation of the proteinoid NPs and on the uptake by tumors. This work illustrates that the release of the encapsulated ICG from the non-PEGylated NPs is significantly faster than for that observed for the PEGylated NPs, and that the higher molecular weight is the bound PEG spacer the slower is the dye release profile. In addition, in a chicken embryo model, the non-PEGylated ICG-encapsulated P(RDGD) NPs exhibited a higher uptake in the tumor region in comparison to the PEGylated ICG-encapsulated P(RDGD) NPs. However, in a tumor xenograft mouse model, which enables a prolonged experiment, the importance of the PEG is clearly noticeable, when a high concentration of PEGylated P(RDGD) NPs was accumulated in the area of the tumor compared to the non-PEGylated P(RDGD). Moreover, the length of the PEG chain plays a major role in the ability to target the tumor. Hence, we can conclude that selectivity towards the tumor area of non-PEGylated and the PEGylated ICG-encapsulated P(RDGD) NPs can be utilized for targeting to areas of angiogenesis, such as in the cases of tumors, wounds or cuts, etc.
Conservation needs for the endangered New Zealand sea lion, Phocarctos hookeri

Understanding population size and trend is critical information in species management and conservation. To enable accurate population trend estimates, consistent robust monitoring of a species is essential, particularly for a species such as the New Zealand (NZ) sea lion, Phocarctos hookeri, which has experienced an almost continuous decline in pup production since the late 1990s. This research examines the pup production estimates for all known breeding sites for this species, and using a stage-structured matrix population model, estimates population size and trend between 1995 and 2015. Overall, it is estimated that 2,316 pups were born in 2015, a decrease of 13% since 1995 and a 27% decline since the highest pup production estimate in 1998. This decline has been driven by the significant decline of 48% at the main breeding area, the Auckland Islands since 1998. Using the stage-structured matrix population model a total species population size of 11,767 sea lions (95% CrI: 10,790–12,923) was estimated. This is the lowest population size of any sea lion species. Trend data for the Auckland Islands indicated that pup and population numbers have decreased at 1.9% yr−1 in the last 20 yr, while total species population decline is 0.6% yr−1. Estimates of population trends for this species have been hindered by inconsistent monitoring at most breeding sites. This study strengthens the growing field of research highlighting the need for consistent long-term monitoring for the conservation management of endangered species.
Riding the Wave of Crypto-Exuberance: The Potential Misusage of Corporate Blockchain Announcements

Abstract Cryptocurrencies have been broadly scrutinised in recent times for a host of concerning regulatory and cybercriminality issues. Although steps have been taken to promote regulatory sufficiency in the near future, we examine the avenues through which this extremely high-risk industry can derive potentially devastating contagion channels, influencing both unwilling and unsuspecting investors. We focus this research on the expressions of interest by publicly traded companies across the world to utilise cryptocurrency and blockchain projects. We find evidence that there exists a substantial stock price premium and sustained increase in volatility in the aftermath of blockchain announcements, with emphasis on highly-speculative motives such as coin creation and corporate name changes. Changes in price discovery and information flows are found to be largely determined from cryptocurrency-based pricing sources in the aftermath of speculative announcements. We discuss the inherent ethical and legal issues, considering as to whether such announcements are simply an attempt to artificially manipulate share prices and take part in the current phase of crypto-exuberance.
Aboveground carbon loss associated with the spread of ghost forests as sea levels rise

Coastal forests sequester and store more carbon than their terrestrial counterparts but are at greater risk of conversion due to sea level rise. Saltwater intrusion from sea level rise converts freshwater-dependent coastal forests to more salt-tolerant marshes, leaving ‘ghost forests’ of standing dead trees behind. Although recent research has investigated the drivers and rates of coastal forest decline, the associated changes in carbon storage across large extents have not been quantified. We mapped ghost forest spread across coastal North Carolina, USA, using repeat Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) surveys, multi-temporal satellite imagery, and field measurements of aboveground biomass to quantify changes in aboveground carbon. Between 2001 and 2014, 15% (167 km2) of unmanaged public land in the region changed from coastal forest to transition-ghost forest characterized by salt-tolerant shrubs and herbaceous plants. Salinity and proximity to the estuarine shoreline were significant drivers of these changes. This conversion resulted in a net aboveground carbon decline of 0.13 ± 0.01 TgC. Because saltwater intrusion precedes inundation and influences vegetation condition in advance of mature tree mortality, we suggest that aboveground carbon declines can be used to detect the leading edge of sea level rise. Aboveground carbon declines along the shoreline were offset by inland aboveground carbon gains associated with natural succession and forestry activities like planting (2.46 ± 0.25 TgC net aboveground carbon across study area). Our study highlights the combined effects of saltwater intrusion and land use on aboveground carbon dynamics of temperate coastal forests in North America. By quantifying the effects of multiple interacting disturbances, our measurement and mapping methods should be applicable to other coastal landscapes experiencing saltwater intrusion. As sea level rise increases the landward extent of inundation and saltwater exposure, investigations at these large scales are requisite for effective resource allocation for climate adaptation. In this changing environment, human intervention, whether through land preservation, restoration, or reforestation, may be necessary to prevent aboveground carbon loss.
Recovery Mechanisms for Cyclic (Huff-n-Puff) Gas Injection in Unconventional Reservoirs: A Quantitative Evaluation Using Numerical Simulation

Unconventional reservoirs produce large volumes of oil; however, recovery factors are low. While enhanced oil recovery (EOR) with cyclic gas injection can increase recovery factors in unconventional reservoirs, the mechanisms responsible for additional recovery are not well understood. We examined cyclic gas injection recovery mechanisms in unconventional reservoirs including oil swelling, viscosity reduction, vaporization, and pressure support using a numerical flow model as functions of reservoir fluid gas–oil ratio (GOR), and we conducted a sensitivity analysis of the mechanisms to reservoir properties and injection conditions. All mechanisms studied contributed to the additional recovery, but their significance varied with GOR. Pressure support provides a small response for all fluid types. Vaporization plays a role for all fluids but is most important for gas condensate reservoirs. Oil swelling impacts low-GOR oils but diminishes for higher-GOR oil. Viscosity reduction plays a minor role for low-GOR cases. As matrix permeability and fracture surface area increase, the importance of gas injection decreases because of the increased primary oil production. Changes to gas injection conditions that increase injection maturity (longer injection times, higher injection rates, and smaller fracture areas) result in more free gas and, for these cases, vaporization becomes important. Recovery mechanisms for cyclic gas injection are now better understood and can be adapted to varying conditions within unconventional plays, resulting in better EOR designs and improved recovery.
Improvement for image‐sticking phenomenon occurred in 8K‐liquid crystal displays with adaptive pre‐charge driving technique

We proposed adaptive pre‐charge driving (APD) technique that is appropriate for large‐size and high‐resolution liquid crystal display (LCD) panels for TVs to compensate the shortage of charging voltage to a pixel. APD technique enables to realize LCD panels of 8K resolution even though thin‐film‐transistor (TFT) is amorphous‐Si. Recently, this APD renamed line‐overdrive (line‐OD), and it has been reported to be applied to 8K‐LCD panels, and its technical value is increasing. This paper describes an image‐sticking phenomenon with APD. We have made clear that this phenomenon is triggered by the residual DC that was created by the charging performance to the pixel of positive polarity being inferior to the charging performance to that of negative polarity. To solve this issue, it further explains how best to optimize the pre‐charge table for positive and negative polarities, respectively, by effectively using the high‐precision pixel simulation.
Roadmap to free space optics

With the ever-increasing demand for data and the radio frequency spectrum becoming congested, free space optics (FSO) may find a niche for situations where fiber is too expensive or too difficult to install. FSO is a cross-disciplinary field that draws from radio and fiber communication, astronomy, and even quantum optics, and it has seen major advances over the last three decades. In this tutorial-style review, we provide a broad overview of many of the important topics required to design, develop, and research the next generation of FSO technology.
Masquerading as equitable: using white teachers’ racist communication to guide diversity course revisions

ABSTRACT Graduate programs for inservice teachers seeking additional credentialing often include a mandatory diversity course. One aim of these types of courses is to help teachers recognize and dismantle their racial biases in hopes that this self-reflection process will enable teachers to use antiracist teaching approaches and create classroom communities where all students feel safe, respected, and justly included in the classroom. We, two practitioner-researchers, both taught separate sections of one such mandatory graduate diversity course for inservice teachers. Instructor photos revealing our race (Author 1: Black, Author 2: White) were the only differences in the fully online, asynchronous course sections. After experiencing/witnessing graduate students’ racial bias towards the Black instructor captured via informal communication posted to the ‘Ask the Instructor’ board, we investigated whether students’ racial bias would be captured in graded coursework. Using both Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) we compared students’ work samples from each course section and found that students’ racial biases were not captured. Our findings help us problematize diversity courses hinged on broad-stroke equity frameworks. Thus, we use CRT to posit course revisions aimed at helping students develop post-racist mindsets and commit to anti-racist practices.
Phytochemical Properties and Proximate Composition of Papaya (Carica papaya L. var solo 8) Peels

Papaya (Carica papaya) is a common tropical fruit used for nutrition as well as medicinal purposes. Apart from fruit, seed, latex and other plant parts of papaya tree have been shown to have medicinal properties. Since, no systematic study has been performed on nutritional analysis of papaya (Carica papaya L. var solo 8) peels. In this study, the proximate composition, mineral element profile and phytochemical composition of papaya (Carica papaya L. var solo 8) peels were investigated. The peels were harvested fresh, dried in an oven at 45°C for 48 hours, ground and analyzed according to standard procedures. Proximate analysis showed high level of proteins (11.67 ± 0.04 %), crude fibre (32.51 ± 0.03 %), carbohydrate (47.33 ± 0.08 %), ash (5.98 ± 0.03 %) 0.03 %) and fat (2.51 ± 0.13 %). Mineral analysis indicated the papaya (Carica papaya L. var solo 8) peels were specifically rich in potassium and phosphorus. Potassium was found to be the most abundant mineral present in the peels (516.33 ± 0.82 mg/100g). Phytochemical composition showed high level of total phenolic (65.48 ± 0.39 mg (GAE)/100 g DW), flavonoids (5.58 ± 0.83 mg (QE)/100 g DW) and tannins (10.51 ± 0.93 mg (TAE)/100 g DW). The methanolic extracts of the papaya (Carica papaya L. var solo 8) peels exhibited the high DPPH radical scavenging activities (81.89 ± 0.14 %). These data indicated that this papaya (Carica papaya L. var solo 8) peels could constitute a potential good source of natural antioxidant for local population.