Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fabrication of a polymeric coating layer with unique micro-spherical structure on water treatment membranes

The fabrication of stable, non-leachable spherical polymers on solid surfaces, particularly on water treatment membranes, has the advantage of high surface area and high permeability, which is beneficial for anti-fouling coatings of water treatment membranes. We describe a straight, one-step generation of spherical polymeric coatings on nanofiltration membrane surface which was performed by emulsion co-polymerization of styrene and polyethylene glycol methacrylate (PEGMA) in water. The chemical characterization of the membrane surface and its coating layer was done by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Microscopic images showed micelles of 30 – 120 µm size. PEGMA with molecular weight of 526 g/mole was found to have a critical micelle concentration (CMC) value of 0.05 M, which is much lower than its concentration in the polymerization mixture. Hence, in the copolymerization reaction PEGMA-526 created stable micelles and also acted as a surfactant in respect to the styrene. The produced poly(PEGMA) may also act as a surfactant due to its amphiphilic nature. A homogeneous surface morphology on the NF membrane was achieved, with spherical polymeric micelles that have a large surface area.
Fractional Dynamics of Computer Virus Propagation

We propose a fractional model for computer virus propagation. The model includes the interaction between computers and removable devices. We simulate numerically the model for distinct values of the order of the fractional derivative and for two sets of initial conditions adopted in the literature. We conclude that fractional order systems reveal richer dynamics than the classical integer order counterpart. Therefore, fractional dynamics leads to time responses with super-fast transients and super-slow evolutions towards the steady-state, effects not easily captured by the integer order models.
Emotionality in computer-mediated environments: analyzing the emotional content of psychotherapeutic communication

The present study aimed to investigate the ability of psychotherapists to decipher emotional discourse in computer-mediated communication and whether delivery mediums can increase the ambiguity in their assessment. Ignoring any reduction in efficacy of remote therapy, it is assumed that therapists’ experiences of communication and their ability to construct a diagnosis on the basis of what they perceive will be influenced by Computer-Mediated Psychotherapy. Participants of the study scaled four emotional factors i.e., intensity, valence, potency and activation to measure the constructive nature of emotional discourse. Among other findings, the study showed that estimating emotional factors of communication did not differ significantly across main delivery modalities (i.e., text, audio and video). The results demonstrate further that telecommunication technologies did not alter the diagnostic level of psychotherapists. However, the reduction of emotional perception is very much remarkable for clinicians’ decisions when discourse is communicated via non-human computer-mediated mode.
Digestibilidade intestinal verdadeira da proteína de alimentos para ruminantes

The true protein digestibility in the small intestine of different ruminant feeds were measured using in situ and in vitro techniques. Two steers with average body weight of 450 kg and fitted with ruminal cannulas were used for in situ incubation of different feeds. The following feedstuffs were evaluated: animal and vegetable protein concentrate, energy concentrate, fiber by-products, and forage. Protein truly digested in the small intestine was estimated by pepsin or pepsin/pancreatin incubation with or without previous ruminal incubation. Out of 30 evaluated feeds, ruminal incubation decreased the true protein digestibility in the small intestine of 24 feeds, increased that of feather meal, black oat, 2.5-mm particle size corn grain, and oat and Tifton hays and had no effect on sunflower meal. These results showed that the small intestinal digestibility of rumen-undegradable protein from most analyzed feeds was lower than that of the original feed protein. With the exception of black oat, all remaining feeds (29) had greater true small intestinal protein digestibility after incubation with pepsin plus pancreatin showing the contribution of abomasal digestion on feed protein. Because true small intestinal protein digestibility differed among feeds, is important to take it into account on diet formulation in order to accurately determine the requirements of metabolizable protein of ruminants.
Rectifying behaviours of heterojunctions composed of manganites with different resistive properties

Oxide heterojunctions composed of manganite films of different tolerance factors and SrTiO3 : Nb are fabricated and their rectifying properties are experimentally studied. The current–voltage characteristics of the junctions are found to be dominated by diffusion current at high temperatures and by tunnelling current at low temperatures. Further analyses on the rectifying behaviours of the junctions indicate the occurrence of a built-in voltage independent of manganites, despite the great resistivity change of the manganites and the metal-to-insulator transition above 350 K (for La0.67Sr0.33MnO3) and ∼87 K (for La0.29Pr0.38Ca0.33MnO3). In contrast, the increase in the Nb content causes a reduction of the built-in voltage by ∼0.2 eV. The presence of the depletion layer insensitive to the phase transition of the manganites is believed to be responsible for the present observations.
The Danube Region: transformation and emergence

The paper deals with the impact of concrete / tangible social transformation processes on the emergence and shaping of new concepts such as multi-dimensional identity. It also discusses the preconditions necessary for the emergence of such concepts as well as the reasons that may lead to their acceptance or rejection by the respective target groups. The topic is discussed on the concrete empirical evidence of the transformation and the emergence of the Danube Region as the third EU macro-region. It shows that transformation processes require careful coordination and transparency, especially when they address social spaces that do not conform to traditional boundaries and perceptions of reality. Education is considered to play a crucial role in the process of internalisation of such social realities and the redefinition of obsolete thinking patterns.
Optical and geometrical properties of cirrus clouds in Amazonia derived from 1 year of ground-based lidar measurements

Abstract. Cirrus clouds cover a large fraction of tropical latitudes and play an important role in Earth's radiation budget. Their optical properties, altitude, vertical and horizontal coverage control their radiative forcing, and hence detailed cirrus measurements at different geographical locations are of utmost importance. Studies reporting cirrus properties over tropical rain forests like the Amazon, however, are scarce. Studies with satellite profilers do not give information on the diurnal cycle, and the satellite imagers do not report on the cloud vertical structure. At the same time, ground-based lidar studies are restricted to a few case studies. In this paper, we derive the first comprehensive statistics of optical and geometrical properties of upper-tropospheric cirrus clouds in Amazonia. We used 1 year (July 2011 to June 2012) of ground-based lidar atmospheric observations north of Manaus, Brazil. This dataset was processed by an automatic cloud detection and optical properties retrieval algorithm. Upper-tropospheric cirrus clouds were observed more frequently than reported previously for tropical regions. The frequency of occurrence was found to be as high as 88 % during the wet season and not lower than 50 % during the dry season. The diurnal cycle shows a minimum around local noon and maximum during late afternoon, associated with the diurnal cycle of precipitation. The mean values of cirrus cloud top and base heights, cloud thickness, and cloud optical depth were 14.3 ± 1.9 (SD) km, 12.9 ± 2.2 km, 1.4 ± 1.1 km, and 0.25 ± 0.46, respectively. Cirrus clouds were found at temperatures down to −90 °C. Frequently cirrus were observed within the tropical tropopause layer (TTL), which are likely associated to slow mesoscale uplifting or to the remnants of overshooting convection. The vertical distribution was not uniform, and thin and subvisible cirrus occurred more frequently closer to the tropopause. The mean lidar ratio was 23.3 ± 8.0 sr. However, for subvisible cirrus clouds a bimodal distribution with a secondary peak at about 44 sr was found suggesting a mixed composition. A dependence of the lidar ratio with cloud temperature (altitude) was not found, indicating that the clouds are vertically well mixed. The frequency of occurrence of cirrus clouds classified as subvisible (τ 0. 3). Hence, in central Amazonia not only a high frequency of cirrus clouds occurs, but also a large fraction of subvisible cirrus clouds. This high frequency of subvisible cirrus clouds may contaminate aerosol optical depth measured by sun photometers and satellite sensors to an unknown extent.
Web–based Participatory GIS with data collection on the field – A prototype architecture

The rise of Web 2.0 and the current, unprecedented diffusion of mobile devices have laid new foundations for the development of PGIS (Participatory GIS). This study evaluates the possibility of exploiting FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) tools to build up a PGIS prototype providing Web publication of user field-collected data. Besides increasing public awareness and collaboration, user-generated content should also enlarge the knowledge of specific phenomena up to the local level. A prototype architecture was designed and tested in relation to a simple, planning-related case study, i.e., the report of road pavement damages. Open Data Kit suite was used to gather georeferenced multimedia data using mobile device sensors (e.g., the GPS) and to store them into a PostgreSQL database with PostGIS spatial extension. Data was then Web-published using GeoServer. Web access was finally enabled from both traditional desktop-computers and mobile plat forms through ad hoc OpenLayers and Leaflet clientside solutions. The architecture provided support for FOSS applicability within the typical PGIS-related tasks, from field survey to data storage, management and dissemination on the Internet. This bottom-up communication paradigm, which exploits real-time, freely available user contributions, can become a potentially precious tool for making decision-processes more democratic, faster and ultimately better.
Laboratory Oriented Teaching In Web And Distributed Computing

In this paper, we present our experiences in teaching two laboratory-oriented courses in the Web and distributed computing area using our NSF-sponsored Distributed Systems Laboratory (DSL). The DSL consists of one Sun Enterprise 3500 server and 12 Sun Ultra 10 workstations connected through fast Ethernet and ATM networks. The computer systems in this laboratory are solely for the purpose of instruction in computer engineering and computer science, allowing system-level class projects to provide students hands-on experience. Science and Engineering of WWW (CECS 383) and Parallel and Distributed Processing (CECS 486) are two of the system area courses enhanced significantly by the laboratory. Science and Engineering of WWW introduces the fundamental technologies and their applications on the Internet and the Web. Students taking the course are given a sequence of projects to experiment with the technologies. They are asked to set up and configure their own Web servers, study performance and security-related issues, develop e-commerce applications supported by their Web servers. Parallel and Distributed Processing is a graduate-level course. It studies theoretical foundation and provides hands-on experience in the area of distributed and parallel computing. In addition to the theoretical studies, the students are offered a sequence of laboratory projects with the state-of-the-art technologies. These new laboratory-oriented courses have attracted many students and received good feedback. The projects in these courses are shown to be effective in helping students understand the concepts and theories of those subjects.
An empirical investigation of stalled residential sites in England

Abstract Drawing upon a national database of unimplemented planning permissions and 18 in-depth case studies, this paper provides both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the phenomenon of stalled sites in England. The practical and conceptual difficulties of classifying sites as stalled are critically reviewed. From the literature, it is suggested that planning permission may not be implemented due to lack of financial viability, strategic behaviour by landowners and house-builders, and other problems associated with the development process. Consistent with poor viability, the analysis of a national database indicates that a substantial proportion of stalled sites are high density apartment developments usually is located in low house value areas. The case studies suggest that a combination of interlinked issues may need to be resolved before a planning permission can be implemented. These include; the sale of the land to house-builders, renegotiation of the planning permission and, most importantly, improvement in housing market conditions.
Extending the GTAP Family of Models: A Partial Equilibrium Approach to Measuring the Costs of Carbon Sequestration and Avoided Deforestation.

Current estimates suggest forests could provide 1-3 billion t CO2 of annual carbon storage over the next half century. Many of these estimates are based either on static general equilibrium approaches, which cannot model forestry management and dynamics, or that focus explicitly on forestry rather than land use generally. Given increasing demands for agricultural products due to rising incomes and diversion of crops to the energy sector, the agricultural sector will continue to demand new land, much of which would be derived from forests. This paper develops a detailed partial equilibrium model of forestry and agriculture to examine the costs of carbon sequestration globally. The data for the model is also broken into 18 different regions in the world, and 18 agro ecological zones (AEZ) per region. Production in the crop and livestock sectors is modeled with a nested Constant Elasticity of Substitution production functions that aggregates the 18 AEZ-specific inputs. The nest structure includes production inputs such as capital, labor, and aggregated land inputs. The supply side of land market is modeled with a Constant Elasticity of Transformation function. We derive land supply function using CET function and rent maximization land owners problem. The capital and labor input data is utilized from GTAP 6 data and land use inventory is obtained from GTAP land use data base. The forest sector structure and the carbon cycling component is adopted from a forestry dynamic optimization model, which accounts for dynamic adjustment in forestry. For policy analysis, the authors will present three baselines which explore alternative scenarios about future technology change in the agricultural sector. We then examine the implications of these alternative baselines on carbon sequestration outcomes over the next century. The study will analyze how sequestration rates change with application of the DICE optimal price path followed by constant c price path sensitivities
Heat Transfer Enhancement of Copper-water Nanofluids in an Inclined Lid-driven Triangular Enclosure

A numerical study is conducted to investigate the transport mechanism of mixed convection in an inclined lid-driven triangular enclosure subject to cooling at the inclined right surface and simultaneous heating at the base surface filled with nanofluids. Fluid mechanics and conjugate heat transfer, described in terms of continuity, linear momentum and energy equations, are predicted by using the Galerkin finite element method. Numerical results are obtained for a wide range of parameters such as the Richardson number, tilt angle, and copper-water nanofluids is used with Prandtl number, P r = 6.2. The streamlines, isotherm plots and the variation of the average Nusselt number at the hot surface as well as average fluid temperature in the enclosure is presented and discussed. It is found that the tilt angle strongly affects the fluid flow and heat transfer in the enclosure at the three convective regimes. Keywords: Copper-water nanofluid; Penalty finite element method; Lid-driven triangular enclosure; Tilt angle; Mixed convection. © 2011 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved. doi:10.3329/jsr.v3i3. 7642 J. Sci. Res. 3 (2), 535-548 (2011)
The Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on Earnings Forecasts

This study provides empirical evidence regarding the credibility of management forecasts during pre-SOX and post-SOX forecasting periods. Bias results indicate that managers exert greater upward earnings management on the forecast during a pre-SOX environment, but tend to exert greater downward earnings management on the forecast during post-SOX time periods. Information content results indicate the presence of incremental information content in management forecasts in a post-SOX environment, and this information content is significantly different from that in a pre-SOX time periods.
Methods for prediction of economic crises in the global economy and financial centers

The paper studies the issues pertaining to the timely identification of economic crises under conditions of globalization. It offers an integral indicator of the economy’s development level (global economy and financial centers), carries out the filtering of the trend and systemic components of this indicator’s time series, which makes it possible to determine the cyclicity of crises and to predict the min short-term and long-term perspective. It introduces the indicator to formalize and quantify the crises on the global scale and in the three major financial centers (the United States, Europe and Asia). It also examines the adequacy of the proposed approach based on the dynamics of the global crises over the past 50 years.
Adding Value: Open Online Learning and the MBA.

Evidence suggests that MOOCs are being used as a strategic tool to explore alternative models of course delivery (Allen & Seaman, 2013) and this paper shares insight into an example of such innovation for Business School Education. Gateway MBA draws on examples of open learning worldwide to create a MOOC to extend the MBA distance learning programme for Northampton Business School. The Gateway MOOC offers open online access to MBA education to develop recruitment to the MBA internationally and to raise the profile of the university. While there are risks in this strategy, the Gateway project team see potential to introduce and market the MBA to a global audience through open online learning, raising the university brand profile and expanding the eLearning horizons of those involved in the project and beyond.This paper will consider recurring themes in the literature in the context of the design and delivery of the Gateway MBA. It is clear that reconciling MOOC values and aims with educational quality and learner satisfaction standards is problematic so this paper considers how we develop and embed innovations in the areas of technology and academic cultural practices in order to meet this challenge. Finally we will consider the issues and challenges in the use of the Carpe Diem (Salmon et al, 2013) as a model for the design and delivery of a MOOC and will offer further considerations for sustainability.
How users shape markets

The purpose of this article is to elaborate conceptually on the user–market relationship. Existing research reports a limited user–market relationship, which simultaneously exaggerates and underplays user influence on markets. Assuming a constructivist market studies (CMS) perspective, we argue that the scope of the user–market relationship is broader than developing offers and uses. We conceptualize market shaping as five interrelated subprocesses in which users may be involved as agents: qualifying goods, fashioning modes of exchange, configuring actors, establishing market norms and generating market representations. The extent of user influence in these subprocesses is likely to vary both within a specific market and across markets. By identifying conditions conducive to user involvement in each subprocess, we lay the foundation for empirical research into how users shape markets.
INTEGRATION, RECOGNITION AND SECURITY Discourses on social support by families with a Russian background living in Finland

* E-mail: eveliina.heino@helsinki.fi Abstract This article analyses the discursive representations of social support received through social relationships by families with a Russian background. As a result of the analysis, three discourses are identified: the ‘Integration’ discourse, the ‘Recognition’ discourse and the ‘Security’ discourse. These discourses define the social support received through informal and formal relationships from different angles, highlighting the complexity and tension between relations. The analysis reveals situations in which social support is lacking and shows how the existence of social relationships does not intrinsically carry positive effects.
TLR9 agonist enhances lung cancer invasiveness by alternating miRNA expression profile

To investigate the role of miRNA expression profile in the increased invasiveness of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) 95D cells upon TLR9 agonist stimulation, miRNA microarray assay was performed to detect the expression profile of miRNA in NSCLC 95D cells with or without treatment of CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN). Real time PCR was performed in twenty NSCLC samples and corresponding normal tissues to verify the expressions of target miRNA. The miRNA microarray assay showed that CpG ODN stimulation alternated the miRNA expression profile in NSCLC 95D cells and the difference in the expressions of 23 miRNAs between the CpG ODN treated group and untreated group was at least two-fold, among which 20 miRNAs were down-regulated. The down-regulation of let-7a was the most significant, which was also confirmed by Real time PCR. We concluded that TLR9 agonist might raise the invasiveness of NSCLC 95D cells by alternating the expression profile of miRNA, especially the down-regulation of let-7a.