Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urbanization and Energy Intensity: A Province-level Study for China

In March 2014 China announced its long awaited plan for managing the migration of the rural population into already overcrowded urban areas. The so called "new style" of urbanization has potentially important implications for China's energy use although the relationship between urbanization and energy intensity is not straight-forward. In this paper we investigate the impact of urbanization and industrialization on the intensity of energy use in China using a balanced panel of 29 provinces for the period 1997 to 2010. Our empirical approach is to use three alternative measures of urbanization and employ augmented mean group (AMG) estimators to allow for heterogeneity in the estimation of the slope coefficients and cross sectional dependence. We demonstrate that the impact of urbanization on energy intensity is sensitive to the econometric modelling approach. Our preferred AMG results show, in contrast to earlier studies, that for this time period urbanization appears to have little or no short or long run impact on energy intensity athough in further results we find that urbanization does appear to have a negative impact on energy intensity in the more developed east but a sometimes positive effect for the western and central regions. Our results suggest that China's recent policy to encourage greater urbanization may not necessarily lead to a significant increase in province level energy intensities but nor will it lead to some of the energy efficiency gains some expect.
Study of a parallel algorithm in liquid front propagation for Ceará’s soils using the finite difference method

Este trabalho apresenta um modelo numerico para simular a propagacao de uma frente de onda liquida em solos insaturados. As equacoes de governo do fluxo de agua foram discretizadas usando o metodo das diferencas finitas centradas para as coordenadas de espaco e diferencas atrasadas para a coordenada de tempo. O esquema gerado e completamente implicito, mas as “influencias das nao linearidades” foram referidas na determinacao das propriedades caracteristicas do solo como funcao do recalque hidraulico. As propriedades do solo, teor de agua e condutividade hidraulica insaturada foram representadas por curvas de regressao para dois tipos de solos (Aluvial Eutrofico e Podzolico Vermelho Amarelo) normalmente encontrados na regiao nordeste do Brasil. Os resultados mostrarm que a frente de onda do solo Aluvial Eutrofico difunde-se mais rapido do que o solo Podzolico Vermelho Amarelo. O uso do algoritmo paralelo mostrou-se com grandes problemas na simulacao 2-D, onde a velocidade de processamento pode alcancar valores entre 2-3 vezes maiores do que problemas simples (1-D).
The link concordance invariant from Lee homology

We use the knot homology of Khovanov and Lee to construct link concordance invariants generalizing the Rasmussen s–invariant of knots. The relevant invariant for a link is a filtration on a vector space of dimension 2 . The basic properties of the s–invariant all extend to the case of links; in particular, any orientable cobordism † between links induces a map between their corresponding vector spaces which is filtered of degree . †/ . A corollary of this construction is that any componentpreserving orientable cobordism from a Kh–thin link to a link split into k components must have genus at least bk=2c . In particular, no quasi-alternating link is concordant to a split link.
PLANT VEGETATIVE STAGES AND DRYING METHODS AFFECT THE FLAVONOID CONTENT OF CLINACANTHUS NUTANS EXTRACTS

Background: Clinacanthus nutans, also known as ‘Sabah snake grass’ or ‘Belalai gajah’, is a herb well known locally for its medicinal values. The primary chemical constituents of the leaves are schaftoside, vitexin, isovitexin, orientin and isoorientin, and antiviral activity is shown by two glycoglycerolipids. Despite the importance of C. nutans, complete information with respect to commercial production and postharvest handling of the herb in the local herbal industry is still lacking. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the optimum postharvest handling processes that could retain the phytochemicals quality of C. nutans. Materials and Methods: The flavonoid compounds of C. nutans were analysed by using ultra fast liquid chromatography (UFLC). Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were determined using a spectrophotometer. Results: The total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in C. nutans were found to be higher in the young vegetative stage than in the mature vegetative stage. Flavonoid compounds (schaftoside, isovitexin, vitexin and orientin) were also found to be highest in the young vegetative plant compared to the mature vegetative plant. All of the assayed phytochemicals and flavonoid compounds levels were found to be highest in oven dried samples compared to the sun, air and solar dried samples. Conslusion: This study suggests that oven-drying young vegetative C. nutans plant material is the optimum method to retain postharvest quality.
The Bladder in MS: A Review

Urinary complaints are common in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), representing a large source of morbidity and financial burden for these patients. These issues can be complex and difficult to manage for the care provider. As new treatments develop, it is important to have a structured but flexible approach to the diagnosis and treatment of urinary symptoms. In this article we review the pathophysiology, symptoms, work up, and management options for the bladder in MS.
Women Can’t Have It All: Benevolent Sexism Predicts Attitudes Toward Working (vs. Stay-at-Home) Mothers

The aim of the present paper was to test differences in perceptions towards a woman who took a 3-month maternity leave (a working mother) as opposed to a 3-year maternity leave (a stay-at-home mother), and then to apply the ambivalent sexism theory to predict those differences. We expected that in Poland, where motherhood is highly appreciated, it is especially benevolent (not hostile) sexism that predicts less positive attitudes toward working mothers, compared to stay-at-home mothers. In two studies, we found that the working mother was perceived as less warm, less effective as a parent and less interpersonally appealing and more successful at work. Additionally, although the stay-at-home mother was evaluated as less successful at work, she was not perceived as less competent. We discuss this as a reflection of the “Mother-Pole” phenomenon, where mothers in Poland are perceived as not only kind, but also competent. Afterward, we showed that benevolent (but not hostile) sexism predicts differences in perceiving the stay-at-home mother and working mother. Participants higher in benevolent sexism rated the stay-at-home mother as warmer, more parenting-effective and more interpersonally appealing compared to the working mother, while participants lower in benevolent sexism perceived them equally well. Studies suggest that benevolent sexism predicts a more positive perception of traditional mothers (as opposed to nontraditional mothers), and at the same time, maintains the status quo of traditional gender relations.
DEPARTAMENTO DE ECONOMÍA DOCUMENTO DE TRABAJO “Foreign direct investment spillovers and the absorption capabilities of domestic firms in the Argentine manufacturing sector (1992-2001)”

Argentina received large amounts of FDI inflows during the 90s. At the same time, deep structural reforms were introduced, forcing domestic firms to rapidly undertake restructuring processes in order to adapt to the new economic and institutional environment. This paper explores to what extent FDI helped or hindered those restructuring processes, analyzing whether positive (or negative) productivity spillovers arose from the increasing presence of TNCs affiliates. We found that TNCs affiliates have higher productivity levels than domestic firms and that the latter, on average, received neither positive nor negative horizontal and vertical (backward) spillovers from the growing presence of foreign firms in the local economy. However, we also found that domestic firms with high absorption capabilities reaped positive spillovers from TNCs presence while those with low absorption capabilities were more likely to receive negative spillovers. These findings suggest that those capabilities are key determinants of the possibilities of domestic firms to take advantage of incoming FDI flows into their countries. JEL Classification: O12, O19, O31, O32, L60
Laser Direct-Write of Metallic Nanoparticle Inks

The combination of nanoparticle inks with laser direct-write allows the laser printing of fine electrically-conductive patterns on substrates requiring extremely low processing temperatures (< 250 oC). Silver lines with widths under 20 microns and thicknesses under one micron have been laser printed (using a 355 nm laser direct-write system) on polyimide substrates. These features are equivalent to those seen in typical vapor deposited and lithographically patterned thin films. Electrical resistivities of these lines in the range of 5-10 times bulk silver have been demonstrated. The low processing temperature of the nanoparticle inks also allows the laser-curing of printed silver lines without damage to the sensitive substrate. A cw 532 nm laser was used to cure asdeposited silver lines with a resistivity similar to that achieved in oven-curing. This approach is ideally suited for the prototyping and short production runs of interconnects for flexible electronics, RFID antennas and OLED displays. This work will show how these nanoparticle inks are processed using laser direct-write, and will discuss the structure and electrical properties of these printed lines on polyimide substrates.
A high performance biometric signal and image processing method to reveal blood perfusion towards 3D oxygen saturation mapping

Non-contact imaging photoplethysmography (PPG) is a recent development in the field of physiological data acquisition, currently undergoing a large amount of research to characterize and define the range of its capabilities. Contact-based PPG techniques have been broadly used in clinical scenarios for a number of years to obtain direct information about the degree of oxygen saturation for patients. With the advent of imaging techniques, there is strong potential to enable access to additional information such as multi-dimensional blood perfusion and saturation mapping. The further development of effective opto-physiological monitoring techniques is dependent upon novel modelling techniques coupled with improved sensor design and effective signal processing methodologies. The biometric signal and imaging processing platform (bSIPP) provides a comprehensive set of features for extraction and analysis of recorded iPPG data, enabling direct comparison with other biomedical diagnostic tools such as ECG and EEG. Additionally, utilizing information about the nature of tissue structure has enabled the generation of an engineering model describing the behaviour of light during its travel through the biological tissue. This enables the estimation of the relative oxygen saturation and blood perfusion in different layers of the tissue to be calculated, which has the potential to be a useful diagnostic tool.
Intrinsic time lags in blazar flares and the search of Lorentz Invariance Violation signatures

Some Quantum Gravity models predict a violation of Lorentz invariance. Namely, the velocity of photons in vacuum could depend on their energies. One possibility for Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV) searches is to look for energy-dependent delays in the arrival time of very high energy (VHE) photons coming from distant sources such as TeV emitting Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), mainly blazars. Up to now, observations of flaring AGN have only provided upper limits on LIV energy scale since no significant time-delay was found and confirmed. However, AGN are not perfect sources for such LIV searches because intrinsic temporal effects can be produced by emission processes, similarly to what has been observed with gamma-ray bursts. With the beginning of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) operations in the coming decade, significant lags should be measured and the question of the origin of these lags will arise. In particular, propagation effects (LIV) will have to be disentangled from source-intrinsic effects. A precise time-dependent modeling of blazar flares becomes necessary to understand the different origins of these time-delays. In this contribution we report on time-delay studies for blazars in the VHE domain. Using dif- ferent time-dependent emission scenarios of blazar flares, we illustrate their resulting intrinsic spectral lags and provide tools for further analyses of the fine temporal and spectral behavior of such astrophysical sources. Tightly constraining intrinsic effects should then allow to better high- light any extrinsic contribution due to LIV. Conversely, any significant detection of a time-delay should provide new constraints on emission scenarios.
Restricted dispersal of the reef fish Myripristis berndti at the scale of the SW Indian Ocean

The reef fish Myripristis berndti (Jordan & Everman 1903) is a pantropical species. A genetic analysis was conducted on 353 individuals from 10 localities distributed across the SW Indian Ocean (SWIO) in order to determine patterns of connectivity in the SWIO. Both the mtDNA sequences (711-bp cytochrome b sequences) and the microsatellites (8 newly developed loci) reveal spatial patterns of differentiation within the SWIO. There is, however, a discrepancy between the structure observed with each kind of marker. MtDNA revealed that 3 peripheral populations (NW Kenya, SE Reunion, and SW Europa) were isolated from the 7 more central populations, which form a more densely connected population network, while microsatellite data indicated a more restricted connectivity with significant differentiation between most pairs of localities. Higher genetic differences between Reunion and Europa were found, which might be explained by geography and isolation by distance pattern. In contrast, the genetic signature of Kenya-the most divergent locality identified by mtDNA basis but not with microsatellite-was probably the consequence of a particular colonisation history. These results indicate a much more restricted connectivity than previously thought for this species.
Cosmological Parameter Estimation Using the Genus Amplitude—Application to Mock Galaxy Catalogs

We study the topology of the matter density field in two-dimensional slices and consider how we can use the amplitude A of the genus for cosmological parameter estimation. Using the latest Horizon Run 4 simulation data, we calculate the genus of the smoothed density field constructed from light cone mock galaxy catalogs. Information can be extracted from the amplitude of the genus by considering both its redshift evolution and magnitude. The constancy of the genus amplitude with redshift can be used as a standard population, from which we derive constraints on the equation of state of dark energy —by measuring A at and , we can place an order constraint on . By comparing A to its Gaussian expectation value, we can potentially derive an additional stringent constraint on the matter density . We discuss the primary sources of contamination associated with the two measurements—redshift space distortion (RSD) and shot noise. With accurate knowledge of galaxy bias, we can successfully remove the effect of RSD, and the combined effect of shot noise and nonlinear gravitational evolution is suppressed by smoothing over suitably large scales . Without knowledge of the bias, we discuss how joint measurements of the two- and three-dimensional genus can be used to constrain the growth factor . The method can be applied optimally to redshift slices of a galaxy distribution generated using the drop-off technique.
Fine-particle pH for Beijing winter haze as inferred from different thermodynamic equilibrium models

Abstract. pH is an important property of aerosol particles but is difficult to measure directly. Several studies have estimated the pH values for fine particles in northern China winter haze using thermodynamic models (i.e., E-AIM and ISORROPIA) and ambient measurements. The reported pH values differ widely, ranging from close to 0 (highly acidic) to as high as 7 (neutral). In order to understand the reason for this discrepancy, we calculated pH values using these models with different assumptions with regard to model inputs and particle phase states. We find that the large discrepancy is due primarily to differences in the model assumptions adopted in previous studies. Calculations using only aerosol-phase composition as inputs (i.e., reverse mode) are sensitive to the measurement errors of ionic species, and inferred pH values exhibit a bimodal distribution, with peaks between −2 and 2 and between 7 and 10, depending on whether anions or cations are in excess. Calculations using total (gas plus aerosol phase) measurements as inputs (i.e., forward mode) are affected much less by these measurement errors. In future studies, the reverse mode should be avoided whereas the forward mode should be used. Forward-mode calculations in this and previous studies collectively indicate a moderately acidic condition (pH from about 4 to about 5) for fine particles in northern China winter haze, indicating further that ammonia plays an important role in determining this property. The assumed particle phase state, either stable (solid plus liquid) or metastable (only liquid), does not significantly impact pH predictions. The unrealistic pH values of about 7 in a few previous studies (using the standard ISORROPIA model and stable state assumption) resulted from coding errors in the model, which have been identified and fixed in this study.
Global climate stabilisation by chemical weathering during the Hirnantian glaciation

Chemical weathering of silicate rocks is a primary drawdown mechanism of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The processes that affect weathering are therefore central in controlling global climate. A temperature-controlled “weathering thermostat” has long been proposed in stabilising long-term climate, but without definitive evidence from the geologic record. Here we use lithium isotopes (δ7Li) to assess the impact of silicate weathering across a significant climate-cooling period, the end-Ordovician Hirnantian glaciation (~445 Ma). We find a positive δ7Li excursion, suggestive of a silicate weathering decline. Using a coupled lithium-carbon model, we show that initiation of the glaciation was likely caused by declining CO2 degassing, which triggered abrupt global cooling, and much lower weathering rates. This lower CO2 drawdown during the glaciation allowed climatic recovery and deglaciation. Combined, the data and model provide support from the geological record for the operation of the weathering thermostat.
Protective Effect of Taurine in the Induction of Genotoxicity by Mutagenic Drugs

Genotoxicity is a toxic action of several drugs, such as anti-neoplastic and nitro-related compounds. TAU (Taurine, 2-aminoetano sulfonic acid) is an important and potent antioxidant amino acid involved in the maintenance of homeostasis in many systems like leukocytes, skeletal muscle, the heart, the kidney, the liver, the bowel, the brain and the retina. The aim of this work was evaluated by the protective effect of TAU co-administered with mutagenic drugs such as benznidazole, cyclophosphamide, hydroxyurea, metronidazole, and nitrofurazone in an in vivo model using a micronucleus assay, evaluatation for the ability of different substances to promote DNA injury. The results showed that TAU decreased genotoxic activity of all drugs suggesting that the protective action of TAU supplementation can be beneficial to reduce genotoxicity of drugs. In this context, we propose one possible mechanism for how TAU blocks the chromosomal aberrations caused by the action of genotoxic substances.
Comparison between Brazilian Exchange-Traded Funds and Mutual Funds Performance: A Multiscale Approach

The relationship between returns and risk factors are likely to vary depending on the investor’s time horizon, but CAPM supposes homogenous expectations. A relatively new approach known as wavelet analysis may help to reduce that problem, incorporating different time scales. Taking advantage of that, this paper aims to verify the differences in performance of Brazilian ETFs and mutual funds, according to benchmark, management style and time scale. We have wavelet decomposed share returns of Brazilian ETFs, the returns of the five main Brazilian mutual funds categories and the returns of the Brazilian Market proxy into 7 time scales. Then, we estimate an extended-CAPM for each time scale. We found that there are considerable performance/pricing differences between fund/ETFs categories, which are linked to the time horizon assumed.
Impact of Parent's Socioeconomic Status on Perceived Parental Pressure and Test Anxiety among Chinese High School Students

This study carries out empirical researches among Mainland Chinese high school students to explore the impact of parent’s socioeconomic status on perceived parental pressure and test anxiety. The discoveries of the study include: perceived parental pressure has significant impact on test anxiety; parents’ occupations, parents’ income and mother’s education have significant impact on perceived parental pressure; parents’ occupations, parents’ income and mother’s education have significant impact on test anxiety. There are sufficient evidences to support the notion that the ethic stressing family glory and material success can be a major source of perceived parental pressure and test anxiety in China. Another finding of the study is that there may exist a mediation relationship among parent’s socioeconomic status, perceived parental pressure, and test anxiety. By controlling perceived parental pressure, the mediator variable, the impact of parent’s socioeconomic status on test anxiety can be greatly reduced.
Land cover classification using landsat-8 optical data and supervised classifiers

Land use and land cover information of an area has got importance in various aspects mainly because of various development activities that are taking place in every part of the world. Various satellite sensors are providing the required data collected by remote sensing techniques in the form of images using which the land use land cover information can be analyzed. Constistency of Landsat satellite is illustrated with two time periods such as Operational Land Imager (OLI) of 2013 and consecutive 2014 procured by earth explorer with quantified changes for the same period in visakhapatnam of hudhud cyclone. Since this city is consisting of mainly urban, vegetation, few water bodies, some area of agriculture and barren,five classes have been chosen from the study area. The results indicate that due to the hudhud event some changes took place. vegetation and built-up land have been increased by An increase of 19.1% (6.3 km 2 ) and 11% (5.36 km 2 ) has been observed in the case of vegetation and built up area where as a decrease of 1.2% (4.06 km 2 ), 6.1% (1.70 km 2 ) and 1.2% (0.72 km 2 ) has been observed in the case of agriculture, barren land, and water body respectively. With the help of available satellite imagery belonging to the same area and of different time periods along with the change detection techniques landscape dynamics have been analyzed. Using various classification algorithms along with the data available from the satellite sensor the land use and land cover classification information of the study area has been obtained. The maximum likelihood algorithm provided better results compared to other classification techniques and the accuracy achieved with this algorithm is 99.930% (overall accuracy) and 0.999 (Kappa coefficient).