Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transport Costs and International Trade

The first issue we study is the impact of transport costs on the volume and nature of international trade. To what extent has the rise in international trade been driven by changes in transport costs? Why is cross-country and cross-regional experience so different? Transport costs also influence modal choice, the commodity composition of trade and the organisation of production, particularly as 'just-in-time' methods get extended to the global level. In turn, these new production methods are placing increasing demands on the transport system. The second issue is the determinants of international transport costs. There is enormous cross-country variation in transport costs and in trade costs more generally. To what extent are these determined by geography, infrastructure deficiencies or institutional barriers? Through time, the evidence is that transport costs have not fallen as much as many people might expect. We explore this paradox.
Average QLg, QSn, and observation of Lg blockage in the Continental Margin of Nova Scotia

The term “Lg blockage” refers to the sudden disappearance of the Lg phase along a particular propagation path which is commonly seen at continental‐oceanic transition zones. In this paper we present observational evidence of Lg blockage across the continental margin of Nova Scotia in eastern Canada. Regional Lg and Sn spectra from 91 events with epicentral distances between 100 and 1200 km and magnitudes between 2.5 and 4.7 are inverted simultaneously for the source spectrum, site amplification, and average attenuation. The vertical displacement spectra were estimated between 0.9 and 10.75 Hz. The assumptions include a fixed frequency‐independent geometric spreading rate for Lg and a frequency‐dependent spreading model for the Sn. Estimates for the apparent regional attenuations are QLg (f) = 615(±25) f0.35(±0.04) and QSn (f) = 404(±23) f0.45(±0.03). Results from this study provide an accurate parameterization of observed amplitude spectra and are valuable for representing wave propagation in the region. Based on the observation of a strong trade‐off between Sn and Lg amplitudes which have different attenuation characteristics, we conclude any attenuation study based on measuring amplitude of a package of several different phases, without taking into consideration the propagation characteristics of individual waveforms at the region of study, may bias the estimation of average regional Q.
Behavioural Processes

While domestic dogs, Canis familiaris, have been found to be skillful at social cognitive tasks and even some meta-cognitive tasks, they have not passed the test of mirror self-recognition (MSR). Acknowledging the moti-vational and sensory challenges that might hinder performance, even before the question of self-recognition is broached, this study creates and enacts a novel design extrapolated from the species' natural behaviour. Given dogs' use of olfactory signals in communication, this experiment presents dogs with various canisters for ap- proach and investigation. Each holds an odorous stimulus: in the critical test, either an “ olfactory mirror ” of the subject − the dog's own urine − or one in which the odour stimulus is modi ﬁ ed. By looking at subjects' in- vestigation times of each canister, it is shown that dogs distinguish between the olfactory “ image ” of themselves when modi ﬁ ed: investigating their own odour for longer when it had an additional odour accompanying it than when it did not. Such behaviour implies a recognition of the odour as being of or from “ themselves. " The ecological validity of this odour presentation is examined by presenting to the subjects odours of other known or unknown dogs: dogs spend longer investigating the odour of other dogs than their own odour. Finally, in a second experiment, subjects spent longer with the modi ﬁ ed stimulus than with the modi ﬁ ed odour by itself, indicating that novelty alone does not explain the dogs' behavior. This study translates the MSR study for a species whose primary sensory modality is olfaction, and ﬁ nds both that natural sni ﬃ ng behaviour can be replicated in the lab and that dogs show more investigative interest in their own odours when modi ﬁ ed.
The influencing factors of resources and environments in the process of urbanization of China

Urbanization is an important and integrative topic for the development of society and economy in current China, referring to the fundamental problem of how to promote a coordinated and balanced development of national economy and to achieve a new level; and referring to sustainable development that exploits resources appropriately and protects the environment perennially likewise. China is a developing country with a large population, exiguous land and limited resources,whose population base achieves 1.3 billion. And the absolute number of urban population is the highest in the world. Therefore, the influences of resources and environments on urbanization in China are very tremendous and profound. This article commences from the concept of urbanization, discourses the influences and constraints of foundation of resources and environment to urbanization in China in-depth, and analyzes the country's basic conditions with dialectical thought. It also puts forward new points of view for the future urbanization according to scientific outlook on development, and proposes countermeasures based on the country's basic conditions for urbanization.
On estimating the strength of calcite rocks under natural conditions

Abstract Field studies of calcite mylonites often document microstructures produced by dislocation creep. In contrast, flow laws derived from experiments predict that calcite rocks should deform mostly by diffusion creep during tectonic processes. To investigate this apparent discrepancy, we compare stresses estimated by microstructural piezometers to those obtained by extrapolation of experimentally derived flow laws. Considering shear zones from different geological settings, a clear trend is observed of increasing recrystallized grain size with increasing temperature. However, there is a large spread in grain size and associated stress. Because separate flow laws have been defined for various different marbles and limestones, the strengths predicted for a given set of conditions differ significantly. The stress estimates based on the piezometers and strength extrapolated from the various experimentally derived dislocation creep flow laws agree qualitatively, but no single flow law predicts all the palaeostress estimates. Even if experimental data are disregarded, the field observations are not consistent with a hypothetical law for Coble creep; they are consistent with a power law for dislocation creep, but only if the material constants are different from those currently determined in laboratory experiments.
Information Maximizing Curriculum: A Curriculum-Based Approach for Imitating Diverse Skills

Imitation learning uses data for training policies to solve complex tasks. However, when the training data is collected from human demonstrators, it often leads to multimodal distributions because of the variability in human actions. Most imitation learning methods rely on a maximum likelihood (ML) objective to learn a parameterized policy, but this can result in suboptimal or unsafe behavior due to the mode-averaging property of the ML objective. In this work, we propose Information Maximizing Curriculum, a curriculum-based approach that assigns a weight to each data point and encourages the model to specialize in the data it can represent, effectively mitigating the mode-averaging problem by allowing the model to ignore data from modes it cannot represent. To cover all modes and thus, enable diverse behavior, we extend our approach to a mixture of experts (MoE) policy, where each mixture component selects its own subset of the training data for learning. A novel, maximum entropy-based objective is proposed to achieve full coverage of the dataset, thereby enabling the policy to encompass all modes within the data distribution. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on complex simulated control tasks using diverse human demonstrations, achieving superior performance compared to state-of-the-art methods.
VIRTUAL POPULATION ANALYSES OF ATLANTIC BLUEFIN TUNA WITH ALTERNATIVE MODELS OF TRANSATLANTIC MIGRATION: 1970-1997

SUMMARY This paper presents a VPA implementation of a model for two-stocks with overlapping ranges. The model is applied to catch, abundance, and tag-recapture data for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). The resulting estimates of abundance, mortality, and mixing are compared with the corresponding estimates from the diffusion VPA model used previously by the SCRS and NRC. The overlap model provides the best fit to the index data and the diffusion model provides the best fit to the tagging data. The estimated values for the mixing coefficients are significantly different from zero with both the overlap and diffusion models, but the corresponding abundance trends are similar to those of the VPA without mixing. The use of tagging data has a greater impact on the assessment than the choice of abundance models.
A study of the Earth's crust near Gauribidanur in Southern India

A hypothetical two-layered model has been evolved for the Earth's crust near Gauribidanur. The model is found to be consistent with the local earthquake and rockburst data obtained at Gauribidanur seismographic array. Sixty-seven well-recorded seismic events have been studied for this purpose. First arrival conditions for some of the phases in a “near-source” (epicentral distance Δ ≦ 10°) seismogram have been derived and subsequently made use of in establishing the nature of the first arriving phases pertaining to the available data. Thickness of the top granitic layer and the depth of Moho below this layer are found to be about 16 km and 19 km, respectively. Observed velocities are 5.67, 6.51 and 7.98 km/sec for P phases, and 3.46, 3.96 and 4.61 km/sec for the corresponding S phases. Values of the crustal parameters given by this study have been used in estimating the relative differences in travel times corresponding to various observed phases. These travel times may improve the precision with which earthquakes in this region could be located. Typical geographical and geological features of the region are also briefly described.
The Holocene

Pollen assemblages, diatom assemblages, and sedimentology, from Cumbres Bog in the southeastern San Juan Mountains of Colorado, provide a record of climate and environmental change since the end of the last glacial maximum (LGM). Cumbres Bog is unusually deep (basal sediments extend 12 m below the surface) for its altitude (~3050 m a.s.l.) and we extracted 7 m core of continuous sediment below ~5 m of water and peat. The resulting record provides strong evidence of: a period of warming immediately after the LGM (~18–13 cal. kyr BP), a cool interval coinciding with the Younger Dryas (~12.8–11.5 cal. kyr BP), a warm stable period from 10 to 6 cal. kyr BP, and a cooler and highly variable climate interval after 6 cal. kyr BP. More specifically, pollen ratios and fossil diatoms indicate that cold periods generally match with previously identified periods of rapid climate change that occurred at 10.6, 8.7–7.9, 7.0–6.9, 5.4–5.2, 3.3–3.0, 2.3, 2.0 and 1.5 cal. kyr BP. This record also adds resolution to previous regional records and indicates that the periodicity of climate variability changed from 2000–3000 years to 700–1100 years around 6 cal. kyr BP and to <500 years after 3.5 cal. kyr BP. Overall, our record provides important, relatively high-resolution paleoclimatic information for this remote region of the southern Rockies.
L'eau souterraine en Inde du sud. Un savoir réservé aux nouveaux maîtres de l'eau?

Contrary to ancient techniques, in particular wells, which allowed available water to be seen, tubewells give access to hidden resources and raise numerous questions concerning farmers' knowledge about this "new" resource, deep water. This article discusses ancestral and empirical knowledge, as well as vernacular terminology in the light of new technologies, the new actors involved and the inferred socioeconomic stakes. As a matter of fact, the quest for groundwater is rampant, with pumps and tubewells transforming the way man relates to his environment as well as how people interact with each other. Several reasons are given to explain why water, a resource so fervently sought after, is used in a non-sustainable way. One explanation is farmers' unchanged conception of groundwater, whether from wells or tubewells, which leads to the ongoing practice of using water while it lasts; another reason is related to the notion of groundwater recharge; and yet another to the discourse about the changes in groundwater level which is passed on by the village's leading figures, those new water-masters, whose social status depends precisely on their controlling access to the resource. This article shows to what extent knowledge related to deep groundwater has yet to be validated, and how the multiplicity of the social, economic, political and environmental stakes leads to casting doubt on what the know-how developed by a few is really worth.
Closing the gap between teaching and learning styles – an internationalised pedagogy for offshore

According to NCVER’s blurb on the Teaching and Learning theme of this year’s No Frills (2008) conference, “The diversity of VET's clients makes teaching a particularly challenging task”. This is especially true in China. While the diversity of the student cohort might not be apparent in the classroom except for in the vital area of verbal English language proficiency, the diversity of teaching strategies required by VET teachers to ensure that learners are learning makes teaching in China an especially challenging task. The levels of VET provision in China by Australian providers continue to rise with many of those programs articulating to onshore higher education programs. Given the differences between what might broadly be described as typical Chinese teaching and learning styles and the often communicative pedagogies favoured by Australian teachers, Australian VET teachers need a range of skills to both be effective offshore and to prepare students for future study onshore. Chinese teachers teaching into Australian VET programs also need to have teaching strategies suitable to both the students and the program.
A New Endemic Dextral ＂Satsuma＂ land snail (Pulmonata: Camaenidae) from Taiwan

In this article, a new species of camaenid land snail, ＂Satsuma chengi＂ sp. nov. in eastern Taiwan is established. This medium to large size, semi-arboreal and herbivorous snail inhabits in the middle- altitude mountain area of Beinan, Taitung County. The new species is dedicated to Dr. Yu-Pin Cheng, to honor the contribution of his efforts on the Archaeopulmonata and micro-shell studies in Taiwan. One other species, ＂S. litus＂, which is distributed in eastern Taiwan, is similar to this new species. They can be distinguished and characterized by the body size, morphological and anatomical traits.
Corn supplementation to alfalfa haylage increases ration intake and digestibility in wether sheep.

The objective of the experiment was to examine the effect of corn grain (CG) supplementation to alfalfa haylage (Medicago sativa L.) (AH) on feed ad libitum intake and in vivo digestibility in wether sheep. The study consisted of three feeding treatments incorporating AH only and AH supplemented with 5 or 10 g CG d -1 kg -1 body weight of Suffolk wethers. Inclusion of CG in the AH based ration had positive linear and positive associative effect on ad libitum intake. Also a positive linear effect was recorded for the digestibility of DM (P<0.05) and OM (P<0.05) while a negative for ADF digestibility (P<0.01).
Donations

This paper is an empirical study of the motives for charitable donations, based on a unique data set of the English National Opera. Merging all their box office and fundraising data, our data set not only contains individuals' donations, but also their opera attendance and all the fringe benefits they consume (e.g. dress rehearsals). We can, therefore, study the three main reasons suggested in the literature to explain charitable giving. We find that individuals donate to fund a public good - here, new productions - to have access to a private good - here, fringe benefits - and by altruism. The results are important to learn the extent to which we can model charitable donations in a model with a self-interested utility maximizing agent in a strategic environment and to enhance our understanding of the crowding-out effect of public spending to charities and the arts.
FRI0140 Comorbidity and surgery history of rheumatoid arthritis patients who are receiving biological agent

Background Rheumatoid artritis (RA) is a chronic and autoimmune disorder that primarily affects middle and older ages. Comorbidities are important during RA treatment. Objectives We aim to determine the frequency of comorbidites and surgical history in the RA patients who receive biological agents. Methods Hacettepe University Biologic Registry (HUR-BIO) includes demographic and clinical data of patients treated with biological agent since 2005. By August 2016, 1235 RA patients were recorded in the database. Age, gender, smoking habits, disease duration, rheumatoid factor, anti citrullinated peptide (CCP), C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), current and previous treatments, comorbidites and surgical history of patients were analyzed. Comorbidites and surgery history were determined by patients medical records. Disease activity was estimated by the 28-joint activity calculator- C reactive protein (DAS28-CRP). Functional assessment was evaluated by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). Results Mean age (SD) of the patients (79,8% women) was 53,1 (12,6) and the mean disease duration was 11,0 (7,7) years. Of patients, 166 (16,6%) were older than 65 years. A total of 630 (63%) patients education level were less than high school, 197 (19,7%) of the patients were graduated from university. Smoking habitus of patients was as follows, 599 (59,9%) never smoked, 189 (18,9%) current smoker and 212 (21,2%) ex-smoker. At least one cardiovascular risk factor was detected in 699 (69,9%) patients. Comorbidities and surgical history of patients were shown in the table below. Patients with at least one comorbidity had less frequently female (77.3% vs 84.5%, p=0.007), high seropositivitly of RF (66% vs 57.1%, p=0.004), high patient global assessment (4.4±2.5 vs 3.9±3.9, p=0.007), high fatique score (4.6±3 vs 3.9±3.1, p=0.001), high pain score (4.8±2.5 vs 4.0±2.8, p=0.009), DAS-28 (3.43±1.39 vs 3.17±1.48, p=0,009) and high HAQ score (0.72±0.59 vs 0.58±0.54, p=0.001) than patients without comorbidities. Conclusions Comorbidities and past surgical history should be considered in RA patients when biological therapy is indicated. Comorbidities is one of the important conditions for physicians to manage patients. Cardiovascular, chronic viral infection such as hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis and cancer have to be investigated to start biological treatments. Surgical history such as cataracts, ortopedic surgery were also important for clinicians. HURBIO data demonstrated that patients with at least one comorbidities reflects more negative patient outcome measures. Disclosure of Interest None declared
GIS APPLICATION TO DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL EROSION IN THE CARRAIZO WATERSHED

Water supply is one of the most discussed environmental issue in Puerto Rico at the present. The application of this study to other watersheds should be useful for planning purposes delaying the sedimentation process in other lakes. The purpose of this project was to provide information on the potential effects of land-use development of the Loiza watershed on sedimentation. I estimated the potential soil loss using the Universal Soil Loss Equation(USLE) and by using spatial analysis, I investigated the relationships among the natural factors that contribute to high sediment loads. The storage loss in the lake was 18,270 acre-ft, so the contribution from sheet & rill erosion, as calculated by the USLE and modified by sediment delivery ratio was 16%. The diference, assumed to be from gully/bank erosion or other sources apart from the account for by the USLE was 84%. The GIS technique is a good approach to estimate the potential soil loss in a watershed using the USLE.
Effects of n-acetylcysteine on ischemic preconditioning: study in isolated rat hearts.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess if N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) changes the Ischemic Preconditioning (IP) in isolated rat hearts using only one cycle of IP. METHODS: Heart Rate (HR), Coronary Flow (CF) and Myocardial Contractility (dP/dt) were registered in 30 Wistar rat's hearts. After anesthesia the hearts were removed and perfused with Krebes-Hensleit equilibrated solution with 95% of O2 and 5% of CO2 according Langendorff's method. GI: Control (n=6); GII: 20 min. ischemia (n=6); GIII: IP (n=6); GIV 50 µg/ml/min NAC before IP (n =6); GV: 100 µg/ ml/min NAC before IP (n=6). Parameters were measured after 15 min. of stabilization (T 0) and T3, T5, T10, T15, T20, T25 and T30 min. after reperfusion. Statistical significance was considered when P 0.05). dP/dt was higher in GV than GIV but with statistically significant difference only at T30. CONCLUSION: dP/dt was better in preconditioned hearts and was changed if using NAC in GIV. The use of NAC didn't change the effects of preconditioning on myocardial contractility in GV.
A Hybrid Control for Automatic Docking of Electric Vehicles for Recharging

In this paper, we present the architecture of an innovative docking station for electric vehicles recharging and a hybrid control scheme for automatic docking of the vehicles. This work is a part of on-going project concerning the development of a smart charging station for electric vehicles equipped with an automated arm, which connect the vehicle to the charging station, and an infrared beacon system for localizing the automatically maneuvering vehicle in the docking area. The proposed control scheme combines time-optimal (bang-bang) control with continuous time-invariant nonlinear control, which stabilizes the vehicle to a small neighborhood of the docking point. Simulation and experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.