Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Channel network extension by logging roads in two basins, western Cascades, Oregon

ABSTRACT: Based on field surveys and analysis of road networks using a geographic information system (GIS), we assessed the hydrologic integration of an extensive logging-road network with the stream network in two adjacent 62 and 119 km2 basins in the western Cascades of Oregon. Detailed surveys of road drainage for 20 percent of the 350 km road network revealed two hydrologic flow paths that link roads to stream channels: roadside ditches draining to streams (35 percent of the 436 culverts examined), and roadside ditches draining to culverts with gullies incised below their outlets (23 percent of culverts). Gully incision is significantly more likely below culverts on steep (< 40 percent) slopes with longer than average contributing ditch length. Fifty-seven percent of the surveyed road length is connected to the stream network by these surface flowpaths, increasing drainage density by 21 to 50 percent, depending on which road segments are assumed to be connected to streams. We propose a conceptual model to describe the hydrologic function of roads based on two effects: (1) a volumetric effect, increasing the volume of water available for quickflow and (2) a timing effect, altering flow-routing efficiency through extensions to the drainage network. This study examines the second of these two effects. Future work must quantify discharge along road segments connected to the stream network in order to more fully explain road impacts on basin hydrology.
Nanofeatured Titanium Surfaces for Dental Implantology: Biological Effects, Biocompatibility, and Safety

Nanotechnology enables the control and modification of the chemical and topographical characteristics of materials of size less than 100 nm, down to 10 nm. The goal of this review is to discuss the role of titanium substrates as nanoscale surface modification tools for improving various aspects of implantology, including osseointegration and antibacterial properties. Techniques that can impart nanoscale topographical features to endosseous implants are described. Since the advent of nanotechnology, cellular specific functions, such as adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, have been better understood. By applying these technologies, it is possible to direct cellular responses and improve osseointegration. Conversely, modulating surface features by nanotechnology could have the effect of decreased bacterial colonization.
It Takes Two to Tango

Older adults report more positive feelings and fewer problems in their relationships than do younger adults. Prior theories have focused on aspects of the older adult (e.g., social cognition, motivation) to explain these findings. We propose a social input model to explain why older adults describe themselves as having better relationships. This model maintains that older adults’ reports of positive social ties reflect both their own actions and those of their social partners. When adults of any age find themselves in a tense interchange with an older adult, they minimize tensions to facilitate positive emotional experiences. These behaviors may stem from perceived time remaining in the relationship, forgiveness or abrogation of blame, and stereotypes of aging. Findings suggest socioemotional regulation in late life involves actions on the part of both older adults and their social partners.
University of Birmingham Participation in sport and moral functioning: Does ego orientation mediate their relationship?

This study examined whether participation in contact sports influences moral functioning within the sport context, and whether these effects are mediated by ego orientation; the role of task orientation on moral functioning was also examined. Participants ( N = 221) were college athletes participating in bas-ketball, soccer, field hockey, and rugby. They completed questionnaires assessing sport participation, goal orientations, moral functioning, and social desirability. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that participation in contact sports positively predicted ego orientation, which in turn predicted low levels of moral functioning. The direct effects of sport participation on moral functioning became nonsignificant in the presence of ego orientation, indicating that the latter construct mediates the relationship between the first two variables. Task orientation corresponded to high levels of moral functioning. These findings help us further understand the processes operating in contact sports and are discussed in terms of their implications for eliminating unsportspersonlike conduct from the sport context.
Chapter 12 PAWL-Forced Simulated Tempering

In this short note, we show how the parallel adaptive Wang–Landau (PAWL) algorithm of Bornn et al. (J Comput Graph Stat, to appear) can be used to automate and improve simulated tempering algorithms. While Wang–Landau and other stochastic approximation methods have frequently been applied within the simulated tempering framework, this note demonstrates through a simple example the additional improvements brought about by parallelization, adaptive proposals, and automated bin splitting. 12.1 A Parallel Adaptive Wang–Landau Algorithm The central idea underlying Wang–Landau [6] and related algorithms is that instead of generating samples from a target density π, it is sometimes more efficient to instead sample a strategically biased density π̃. In the case of Wang–Landau, the goal is to sample π̃(x) = π(x)× 1 d d ∑ i=1 IXi(x) ∫ Xi π(x)dx , (1) where IXi(x) is equal to 1 if x ∈ Xi and 0 otherwise. Interestingly, this biased target ensures each of the partitions of the space (Xi)i=1 are visited equally: ∫ Xi π̃(x)dx = ∫ Xj π̃(x)dx, ∀i, j ∈ (1, . . . , d). Additionally, the restriction of the modified distribution π̃ to each set Xi coincides with the restriction of the target distribution π to this set up to a multiplicative constant, namely for all i, π̃(x) ∝ π(x), ∀x ∈ Xi. L. Bornn ( ) Harvard University, 1 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA e-mail: bornn@stat.harvard. edu E. Lanzarone and F. Ieva (eds.), The Contribution of Young Researchers to Bayesian Statistics, Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics 63, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-02084-6__12, © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014 61
The magnetic properties of closely spaced three-dimensional nanomagnet array

With Monte Carlo method, we investigate the magnetic ground state, magnetic specific heat, and magnetic hysteresis loop for three types of closely spaced nanomagnet arrays in three-dimensional (3D) space. It is found that the magnetic ground state of three nanomagnet arrays exhibits the vortex order, caused by the long-range dipolar interactions. Three types of nanomagnet arrays have almost the same magnetic transition temperature even if their array formation in 3D triangular lattice is different. Some slight jump occurs in the hysteresis loop of the face-centered cubic nanomagnet array, while for the simple hexagonal nanomagnet and close-packed hexagonal nanomagnet arrays no jump is found.
Twentieth century air pollution near London: a reconstruction from measurements of atmospheric electricity.

Past urban measurements of air pollution provide information with which to investigate human health effects from smoke exposure. Direct measurements of atmospheric smoke concentrations were made at Kew, near London, from the early twentieth century, using the density of an optical stain on a filter through which air was pumped. Atmospheric electrical measurements were also made at the same site, including the vertical Potential Gradient, which is an effective proxy for smoke pollution levels. The electrical proxy method is used here to provide a consistent calibration for the early direct smoke measurements, extending the record to before the direct measurements began. Reconstruction of annual smoke concentrations from 1909 shows that the direct measurements in the early part of the 1920s were not reliable, and that the high concentrations of smoke in London occurring in the early 1950s, associated with substantial increases in mortality, were probably the largest annual values since 1909.
Optimised Importance Sampling in Multilevel Monte Carlo Candidate Number : 194537

This dissertation explores the remarkable variance reduction effects that can be achieved combining Multilevel Monte Carlo and Importance Sampling. The analysis is conducted within a Black-Scholes framework, focusing on pricing deep out-of-the-money options. Particular attention is addressed to the choice of the Importance Sampling measure and to the optimisation of its parameters. Numerical results show that the combination of the two methods significantly outperforms both techniques if applied separately.
Identifying vital effects in Halimeda algae with Ca isotopes

Abstract. Geochemical records of biogenic carbonates provide some of the most valuable records of the geological past, but are often difficult to interpret without a mechanistic understanding of growth processes. In this experimental study, Halimeda algae are used as a test organism to untangle some of the specific factors that influence their skeletal composition, in particular their Ca-isotope composition. Algae were stimulated to precipitate both calcite and aragonite by growth in artificial Cretaceous seawater, resulting in experimental samples with somewhat malformed skeletons. The Ca-isotope fractionation of the algal calcite (−0.6‰) appears to be much smaller than that for the algal aragonite (−1.4‰), similar to the behaviour observed in inorganic precipitates. However, the carbonate from Halimeda has higher Ca-isotope ratios than inorganic forms by approximately 0.25‰, likely because of Rayleigh distillation within the algal intercellular space. In identifying specific vital effects and the magnitude of their influence on Ca-isotope ratios, this study suggests that mineralogy has a first-order control on the marine Ca-isotope cycle.
Purely‐Elastic Flow Instabilities in a 3D Six Arms Cross‐Slot Geometry

A numerical study of the creeping flow of an UCM fluid is carried out in a three‐dimensional cross‐slot geometry with inlets and outlets in all three orthogonal directions. Using two different inlet flow rate configurations, Io = 4:2 and 2:4, representing uniaxial extension and biaxial extension, respectively, it was possible to assess the importance of different types of extensional flow near the stagnation point. Two different methods of calculation of the polymer stress were used, the standard approach and the log‐conformation approach. The uniaxial extension flow configuration is prone to the onset of steady flow asymmetries, at a rather small Deborah number (Decrit = 0.21) and regardless of the stress computation method. However, for the biaxial extension flow configuration a perfectly symmetric flow has so far been observed up to De = 0.5 using the log‐conformation approach. The use of these two configurations allowed the variation of the amount of stretch and compression near the stagnation point, .
Mechanical Properties and Fracture Toughness of Epoxy Resin Improved by Low-viscosity Hyperbranched Epoxy

Epoxy resins modified with low-viscosity hyperbranched epoxy were prepared. The tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength, fracture toughness, glass transition temperature (Tg) of the cured samples were investigated. The results show that the addition of hyperbranched epoxy improves the overall mechanical and fracture performance because of the unique three-dimensional macromolecule structure. With the content of hyperbranched epoxy increases, the tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and fracture toughness all increases first and then decreases. This variation trend can be attributed to the reverse e ffect of crosslinking density and the rigidity of molecule chain of the hyperbranched epoxy. The Tg of the cured samples decreases in the whole range studied. The decrease of viscosity may be contributive to developing an easier fabrication process of the epoxy based materials.
Effects of Asiatic Acid on Neurite Outgrowth in Neuro-2a Cells

Recently, medicinal plants from ancient Ayurvedic medicine have provided clues to the discovery of novel therapeutics for various diseases. In Ayurvedic medicine, a common Indian plant, Centella asiatica i s highly regarded as a "rasayana" or nerve tonic. The Centella extract is used to ward off age-related dementia and to increase memory and intell igence. The mechanism by which Centella improves memory and learning and reduces the risk of dementia is unclear. We recently tested the effects of asiatic acid, the main active component of Centella, on neuronal growth. We hypothesized that asiatic acid will promote neuronal growth and neurite network formation. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effects of asiatic acid on neuronal growth in murine neuroblastoma cells, Neuro2a. Neuro2a cells were cultured for 24 hours in DMEM medium containinglO mM glucose and 1 0% FBS in six-well plates at a concentration of 200,000 cells/well. The cells were further cultured for 72 hours in DMEM containing 1 0 mM glucose and with either 1 μM asiatic acid in ethanol or ethanol alone (vehicle). Cells were photographed, and neurite outgrowth quantified using NeuronJ software. The results revealed that asiatic acid treatment significantly increased the percentage of cells bearing neurites as compared to neurons grown in medium alone. In addition, asiatic acid treatment increased neurite extension and combined length of neurites. To investigate the impact of asiatic acid on bioenergetics in Neuro2a cells, we first analyzed the electron transport chain of the mitochondria via respirometry. The respiration rates of Neuro2a cells cultured in medium containing asiatic acid was significantly (p< 0.05) higher than cells grown in
Genetic and Economic Aspects of Applying Embryo Transfer in Traditional and Genomic Evaluation in Iranian Holstein Dairy Cattle

Embryo transfer (ET) in Holstein dairy cattle became an important commercial enterprise after the introduction of non-surgical recovery technique. Embryo transfer could increase the reproductive rate of genetically superior cows. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the use of ET in Iranian Holstein dairy cattle to increase selection intensity on the dam side, economically; estimate its impact on genetic improvement with and without using genomic information and compare genetic improvement of ET with its costs. In the present study, the economic value (EV) of two strategies was calculated. In the first strategy, 10% of superior heifers, cows in parity 1 and 2 were assumed to be donor. In the second strategy heifers were not assumed as donors. The results showed that the average loss per individual in population applying ET was US$51.7 and US$46.5, for strategy 1 and 2, respectively. The average genetic superiorities of progenies produced with strategy 1 for net merit (NM$) were US$54.25, US$64.17 and US$71.27 using traditional evaluation, genomic evaluation with 3 k chip and genomic evaluation with 50 k chip and with strategy 2 were US$68.14, US$84.04 and US$87.21, respectively. In conclusion for each strategy using each method of breeding value estimation, genetic gain resulted from ET could justify the economic loss of it.
A gap in the Pliocene invasion of seawater to the Gulf of California

The Proto-Gulf extensional province was formed during the Miocene, from 14 to 12 Ma. During the main extensional period, within the Baja California central domain, several depocenters were formed including the El Boleo basin, followed to the south by the Bahia Concepcion basin, and to the southeast, the San Nicolas basin. The San Nicolas basin is associated with the transfer zone coupled to the Bahia Concepcion accommodation zone. The Miocene extensional process resulted in the uplift and exhumation of the regional Cretaceous granodiorite basement in the Concepcion peninsula, Punta San Antonio, and San Juan Londo valley. The episode of extension is responsible for the tilting of volcanic blocks of Miocene age. The late Pliocene San Nicolas Formation is a lithostratigraphic unit with three sedimentary members. Most of the sedimentary units iSan Nicolas Formation reflect a post-extensional episode that involved rapid initial subsidence, reactivation associated with low rates of sedimentation , followed by periods of shallow water deposition dominated by storm activity, and the presence of large scale sand wave deposits which delineate extreme tidal conditions. The maximum age assigned to the San Nicolas Formation is 3.3 ± 0.5 Ma. In contrast, at Punta Chivato, and in the Bahia Concepcion area, all the marine units are assigned to the lower Pliocene San Marcos Formation, and upper Pliocene Marquer Formation. Here, the marine strata reflect a po st-extensional episode that involved low rates of subsidence, associated with moderate rates of sedimentation followed by per iods of shallow water deposition dominated by very low energy. These relationships suggest that during the late Pliocene, the interconnection between the Proto-Gulf and the Gulf of California was not completed, and the head of the developing modern Gulf of Calif ornia was near the San Nicolas basin during the late Pliocene, clearly associated with the transtensional regime responsible for the present tectonic configuration in the Gulf of California
Faunus – a flexible framework for Monte Carlo simulation

Faunus is a set of building blocks or ‘statistical mechanical Lego’ for constructing molecular simulation programs to study complex solutions, including proteins, polymers, salts, phospholipid membranes, surfaces and/or rigid macro-molecules. Current focus is on Metropolis Monte Carlo (MC) algorithms with support for anisotropic particles (multipolar, polarisable and sphero-cylindrical) and a flexible Hamiltonian. The design is inherently modular and it is trivial to extend functionality to cover new interaction potentials, geometries or moves. In this study, we present basic features, C++ design principles and review- selected applications. The latter includes splined pair potentials, two-dimensional parallel tempering of protein mixtures and MC swap moves for modelling ion-specific effects without ions.
Mixed Matrix Blend Membranes of NaCMC/HPC Loaded with Phosphotungstic Acid for the Dehydration of Aqueous Isopropanol by Pervaporation Technique

Mixed matrix blend membranes of sodium carboxy methyl cellulose (NaCMC)/hydroxy propyl cellulose (HPC) were prepared using solution casting method by incorporating 5, 10, and 15 Wt. % of phosphotungstic acid (PWA) particles. The membranes thus prepared were crosslinked with glutaraldehyde and tested for the pervaporation (PV) dehydration of aqueous isopropyl alcohol (IPA) at 30 °C. The phosphotungstic acid, with its hydrophilic nature as well as its molecular sieving effect and its favorable interaction with hydrophilic NaCMC and HPC, was responsible to enhance the PV dehydration of aqueous isopropanol in terms of selectivity (α), flux (J), and pervaporation separation index (PSI). The membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to confirm crosslinking and assess the intermolecular interactions present between membranes and PWA. Thermal stability and crystallinity of these membranes were determined from thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (X-RD) studies. The morphology of membranes was characterized by SEM studies, which indicated good compatibility of these membranes. Swelling studies were carried out to evaluate the extent of hydrophilicity with and without PWA particles and also based on their nature. The pervaporation performance was evaluated by varying experimental parameters such as feed composition, different polymer compositions and found to be promising membrane for separation of water- isopropanol mixtures. The results pertaining to the 15 wt% PWA loaded blend membrane (M-3) had the highest selectivity 11,241 which was attributed to the combined effect of molecular adhesion between PWA and NaCMC-HPC blend matrix as well as hydrophilicity.
Tapping Gabriel Conroy: An Investigation into the Mind Style of the Protagonist of The Dead

This study examines the mind-style of a well-known fictional character, Gabriel Conroy from James Joyce’s short story, The Dead, in an attempt to better understand the stifling paralysis that characterises the protagonist’s actions and behaviour in the narrative. This examination takes the form of a linguistic analysis of syntactic patterns and transitivity relations in the Free Indirect Discourse that characterizes Gabriel’s speech and thought presentation, drawing on references from literary theory (specifically psychoanalytical and deconstructivist theory). The study concludes that patterns of intransivity and syntactic similarity in the discourse reinforce the impression of Gabriel as neurotic and unsure of his identity, while his imaginative conceptualization of the falling snow in the final scene corresponds with an epiphany, a moment of self-realisation, which holds with it the promise of personal transformation.
A positioning-tolerant wireless charging system for roadway-powered electric vehicles

This paper proposes a positioning-tolerant wireless power transfer technique to compensate the impact of misalignment on the power transmission performance, which is used to implement the wireless charging functionality in a free-positioning manner, thus significantly improving the practicality for roadway-powered electric vehicles (EVs). The key of the proposed wireless power transfer technique is to adopt the gapless alternate-winding topology for the power supply unit to produce an evenly distributed electromagnetic field and the vertical-and-horizontal coil design for the pickup unit to enhance the capability of acquiring energy. Hence, the power transmission can be effectively improved in spite of an offset between the centers of the primary and secondary coils. In this paper, both the computational simulation and experimentation are carried out to verify the feasibility of the proposed positioning-tolerant wireless charging system for roadway-powered EVs.
Behaviour Profiling in Healthcare Applications Using the Internet of Things Technology

This position paper advocates applying the monitoring pogwer of IoT to build profiles of user behaviour using the large volumes of collected data. The desired system exploits sensor data mining approaches to profile user behaviour patterns in smart environments. Sensor data is mined to extract relationships of interest between environmental variables (context) and the user, building in this way behaviour profiles. The capability of applying knowledge to manipulate user’s environment is expected take monitoring beyond the simple alert-mode of operation to long term profiling of user’s behaviour. After a brief literature review to prove the suitability of IoT as a low-cost unsupervised profiling platform, we give the details of our proposal and the objectives that needs to be met before user behaviour profiling across inter-spaces is possible.
The relationship between root traits and aboveground traits in peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.)

Data of 12 peanut varieties were analyzed with a view to investigate the relationship between root traits and aboveground traits. Results showed that root biomass was positively correlated with aboveground biomass and total biomass at three stages of growth and development. Root activity at different growth stages were significantly and positively correlated with yield at the mature stage. However, a significant negative correlation was observed between yield and root/shoot ratio at the mature stage. It was concluded that the root system possessed a close relationship with aboveground parts, and keeping the root activity of peanut at the mature stage was essential for achieving high and stable yield.