Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interaction of soil water and groundwater during the freezing–thawing cycle: field observations and numerical modeling

Abstract. Freezing-induced groundwater-level decline is widely observed in regions with a shallow water table, but many existing studies on freezing-induced groundwater migration do not account for freezing-induced water-level fluctuations. Here, by combining detailed field observations of liquid soil water content and groundwater-level fluctuations at a site in the Ordos Plateau, China, and numerical modeling, we showed that the interaction of soil water and groundwater dynamics was controlled by wintertime atmospheric conditions and topographically driven lateral groundwater inflow. With an initial water table depth of 120 cm and a lateral groundwater inflow rate of 1.03 mm d−1, the observed freezing and thawing-induced fluctuations of soil water content and groundwater level are well reproduced. By calculating the budget of groundwater, the mean upward flux of freezing-induced groundwater loss is 1.46 mm d−1 for 93 d, while the mean flux of thawing-induced groundwater recharge is as high as 3.94 mm d−1 for 32 d. These results could be useful for local water resources management when encountering seasonally frozen soils and for future studies on two- or three-dimensional transient groundwater flow in semi-arid and seasonally frozen regions. By comparing models under a series of conditions, we found the magnitude of freezing-induced groundwater loss decreases with initial water table depth and increases with the rate of groundwater inflow. We also found a fixed-head lower boundary condition would overestimate freezing-induced groundwater migration when the water table depth is shallow. Therefore, an accurate characterization of freezing-induced water table decline is critical to quantifying the contribution of groundwater to hydrological and ecological processes in cold regions.
Adalet Sektöründe Çalışanların Çalışmaya Tutkunlukları Sürdürülebilir Kalite Algıları ile İş Performansları Arası İlişkide Rol Oynar Mı?

This study aims to investigate job engagement and perceived sustainable quality of women and men working in the justice sector as the factors that predict their job performance perceptions. Participants consist of 137 women (32.1%) and 290 men (67.9%), 427 people in total, working in the justice sector. Employees took online survey. We tested the mediating role of job engagement on the relationship between sustainable quality perception and job performance in the justice sector. Structural equation modeling with the bootstraping method revealed a partial mediating effect of work engagement in the relationship between sustainable quality and perceived performance. The perception of sustainable quality in the justice sector predicts the employees' work engagement, which predicts high work performance. Partial mediation shows that perceived performance can be directly influenced by when the perception of sustainable quality is high. Those with a high work engagement fully mediates the relationship between satisfaction and performance. Employees with high job satisfaction in the justice sector have a higher level of work engagement, which predicts high perceptions of job performance. In multi-group analysis of the mediation model, in which the moderating effect of gender was examined, we observed all these effects for male employees.
Second Thoughts: First Introductions to Philosophy

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STUDY OF FLAVONOIDS PRESENT IN POMELO (Citrus Maxima) BY DSC, UV-VIS, IR, 1H AND 13C NMR AND MS

Flavonoids are among the most important plant metabolites. Due to their potential benefits, there is a considerable interest in this natural product. In genus Citrus , some plants have not yet been much exploited in Brazil, as in the case of grapefruit ( Citrus maxima ), whose main flavonoids are naringin and their aglycone naringenin. The physico-chemical characteristics are important pre-requisites of reference chemical in future studies. In this context, the objective of this study was to determine the characterization of naringin and naringenin by melting point, DSC, UV-VIS, 1 H and 13 C NMR, IR and MS. Results revealed that, naringin and naringenin after characterization, can be used as a chemical of reference in future studies and contribute to seeking possible technological applications.
Cost Leadership Strategy: A New Game Strategy for Competitive Advantage in Milk Processing Firms in Kenya

Competitive advantage refers to the benefits that firms accrue from unique combination of possessions to outperform competitors. To build competitive advantage as a gateway to superior performance, firms pursue various beneficial strategic orientations. This study sought to establish whether cost leadership strategy gave rise to competitive advantage in milk processing firms in Kenya. The authors utilized the indicators of economies of scale, economies of scope and operational efficiency to operationalize cost leadership strategy while competitive advantage was operationalized through capabilities and knowledge. A census of all the milk processing firms was conducted with 148 respondents participating in the study. Data was collected using semi-structured self-administered questionnaires and subsequently analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study concluded that cost leadership strategy was a source of competitive advantage for the milk processors. It therefore recommends pursuit of cost leadership strategy as a competitive tool. It further recommends building of relevant capabilities and protection of tacit knowledge by firms as foundational blocks for competitive advantage.
Adaptive fully-distributed sign-consensus control approach for nonlinear multi-agent systems over a signed graph

In this paper, the notion of sign-consensus for the Lipschitz nonlinear multi-agents over a signed graph is introduced and controller design conditions are provided for realizing consensus among signs of states of agents. The previous works on sign-consensus are limited to the linear systems only. The attainment of sign-consensus for the nonlinear multi-agent systems is a non-trivial control problem, for which Lipschitz nonlinear dynamics are reformulated using the linear parameter varying (LPV) transformation. To guarantee the sign-consensus in a network of multiple agents, fully-distributed adaptive protocol is applied using reformulated Lipschitz nonlinear dynamics, and two design conditions are provided based on the Lipschitz constant oriented and LPV-based approaches. The first approach is comparatively less computationally complex while LPV approach holds significance for developing less conservative sign-consensus control scheme. To the best of our knowledge, distributed sign consensus methods for Lipschitz systems, based on LPV formulation, have been analyzed for the first time. The proposed approach is adaptive and can be regarded as fully-distributed, as it does not require the central knowledge of graph properties. Further, results are extended for nonlinear systems undergoing disturbances and ultimate boundedness of sign-consensus error is guaranteed. Numerical simulations on groups of Chua’s circuits and mechanical oscillators are presented to validate the results.
In Situ Passivation of PbBr64– Octahedra toward Blue Luminescent CsPbBr3 Nanoplatelets with Near 100% Absolute Quantum Yield

Recently, the pursuit of high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) for blue emission in perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) has attracted increased attention because the QY of blue NCs lags behind those of green and red ones severely, which is fatal for three-primary-color displays. Here, we propose an in situ PbBr64– octahedra passivation strategy to achieve a 96% absolute QY for the ultrapure (line width = 12 nm) blue emission from CsPbBr3 nanoplatelets (NPLs), and both values rank first among perovskite NCs with blue emission. From the aspect of constructing intact PbBr64– octahedra, additional Br– was introduced to drive the ionic equilibrium to form intact Pb–Br octahedra. The reduced Br vacancy and inhibited nonradiative recombination processes are well proved by reduced Urbach energy, increased Pb–Br bonds, and slower transient absorption delay. Blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using NPLs were fabricated, and a high external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.124% with an emission line width of ∼12 nm wa.
The Impact of Scandalous News in the Automobile Manufacture on Companies from the Same Industry: A Comparative Study on the Chinese and European Markets

This paper examines the effect of scandalous news on corporate reputation of rival firms from the same industry and investigates the effects’ differences in China and in Europe, providing evidence that scandalous news influences not only the target company itself, but also other companies from the industry. For this purpose, the paper uses the 2015 Volkswagen emissions scandal as a natural experiment. Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Porsche were selected as sample companies. To measure reputational spillover effects, cumulative abnormal stock returns and sales growth of the sample companies are calculated and compared before and after the announcement of the scandal. The methodology adopted for estimating stock returns is the event study method, which measures the impact of a specific event on the value of a firm. Stock price data is collected from Bloomberg and used to calculate cumulative abnormal returns of the sample companies. Furthermore, difference-in-differences estimation is used to compare the sample companies’ sales growth before and after the scandal. Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are included in the treatment group, whereas 29 non-German car manufacturers were selected as the control group. The results show that overall rival companies were affected by the scandal, cumulative abnormal returns declined by 6% and 10% for BMW and Mercedes-Benz respectively, showing the contagion effect. However, the sales growths of these two manufacturers greatly increased, specifically on the Chinese market for Mercedes-Benz and on the European market for BMW, proving dominance of the competitive effect and differences of the reputational spillover effects across countries.
Soil nitrous oxide emissions from grassland: Potential inhibitor effect of hippuric acid

In grassland systems, cattle and sheep urine patches are recognized as nitrous oxide (N2O) emission hot spots due to the high urinary nitrogen (N) concentrations. Hippuric acid (HA) is one of the constituents of ruminant urine that has been reported as a natural inhibitor of soil N2O emissions. The aim of this study was to examine the potential for elevated ruminant urine HA concentrations to reduce N2O emissions, in situ, on an acidic heavy clay soil under poorly drained conditions (WFPS > 85%). A randomized complete block design experiment with three replications and four treatments was conducted using the closed-static-flux chamber methodology. The four treatments were applied inside the chambers: control with no artificial urine application (C), control artificial urine (U), and enriched artificial urine containing two rates of HA (55.8 and 90 mM, U+HA1, U+HA2). Soil inorganic-N, soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC), soil pH as well as N2O and methane (CH4) fluxes were monitored over a 79-day period. Although N2O emissions were not affected by the HA enriched urine treatments, U+HA2 positively affected the retention of N as NH4+ until day 3, when the soil pH dropped to values <5. Subsequently, as a consequence of rainfall events and soil acidification, it is likely that leaching or sorption onto clay reduced the efficacy of HA, masking any treatment differential effect on N2O emissions. Moreover, CH4 fluxes as well as DOC results reflected the soil anaerobic conditions which did not favour nitrification processes. Further research is needed to determine the fate of HA into the soil which might clarify the lack of an in situ effect of this compound
Thermal Behaviour of a Cylindrical Li-Ion Battery

This paper presents an experimental evaluation of thermal and electrical performances of a 26650 cylindrical Lithium Iron Phosphate/graphite battery cell. Thermal management of Lithium batteries is a fundamental issue of electric mobility, where batteries are subjected to severe operating conditions. Therefore, battery heat generation is a very important characteristic to be studied. In this work cell performances were assessed during battery discharge at ambient temperature over a wide range of discharge rates. The cell surface temperature was measured both with thermocouples and infrared thermography. Furthermore, also the open circuit potential and entropic heat coefficient were experimentally measured. Based on this experimental data, a simplified battery thermal model was used to evaluate the battery heat generation. The results show a substantial increase of battery surface temperature especially at high discharge rates. During discharge, the heat generated is greater at low battery state of charge due to the sudden decrease of cell potential. The contributions to heat generation are also carefully evaluated.
Effect of Nanoclay Addition on the Morphology, Fiber Size Distribution and Pore Size of Electrospun Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) Composite Fibers for Air Filter Applications

The fabrication of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) electrospun layers for air filter applications is the target of this study. Solutions of 10% PVP containing 0, 3, 10 and 25 wt% nanoclay were used to fabricate electrospun fibers. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the fibers’ roughness increased by increasing the nanoclay content, and it was maximum at the nanoclay concentration of 25 wt%. Concurrently, nanoclay decreased the pore size considerably and increased the range of the fibers’ size distribution up to 100%. In addition, as the nanoclay concentration increased, the frequency distribution decreased abruptly for the larger fiber sizes and increased dramatically for the small fiber sizes. This phenomenon was correlated to the effect of nanoclay concentration on the conductivity of the solution. The solution’s conductivity increased from 1.7 ± 0.05 µS/cm for the PVP solution without nanoclay to 62.7 ± 0.19 µS/cm for the solution containing 25 wt% nanoclay and destabilized the electrospun jet, increasing the range of fiber size distribution. Therefore, the PVP solution containing 25 wt% nanoclay has potential characteristics suitable for air-filter applications, owing to its rougher fibers and combination of fine and thicker fibers.
Gastric and Esophageal Cancers: Guidelines Updates

For the treatment of gastric and esophageal cancers, several pivotal trials—especially those evaluating immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs)—have altered the treatment landscape and led to changes in the NCCN Guidelines. In addition to pembrolizumab and nivolumab, new treatment options include trastuzumab-deruxtecan (T-DXd), ramucirumab, and trifluridine/tipiracil. These agents convey varying degrees of benefit depending on treatment line, PD-L1 expression, HER2 expression, and tumor histology. Recently, ICIs have been incorporated into the first-line treatment of HER2-negative advanced esophageal, gastroesophageal junction (GEJ), and gastric cancers, in addition to second-line treatment of advanced esophageal and GEJ cancer of squamous histology. T-DXd is another new second-line option for HER2-positive esophageal, GEJ, and gastric adenocarcinomas. ICIs are now moving into the adjuvant setting as well, and a new recommendation is nivolumab use after preoperative chemoradiation and surgery in patients who have residual disease identified at the time of their R0 resections.
Crosstalk between Nutrient Signalling Pathways and Immune Responses in Rice

Rice is a staple food for more than half of the global population. Rice production is, however, severely affected by biotic and abiotic stresses. Fertilisers and pesticides are widely used in rice farming to maintain optimal yield and to prevent losses caused by environmental stress. However, the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals has adverse effects on the environment and human health. Stress caused by nutrient excess or deficiency has an impact on plant disease resistance. The interference of plant responses induced by nutrient stress can result in a positive or negative impact on resistance to pathogen infection. In this review, we explore the effects of combined stresses in rice, focusing on nutrient stress, such as nitrogen and phosphorous supply, and infection by fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast disease. Crosstalk between nutrient stress-induced and pathogen-induced signalling pathways in rice is discussed, as well, with particular emphasis on regulatory microRNAs. Understanding the interconnected regulations between nutrient stress and disease resistance will lay a foundation for rationally optimising fertiliser and pesticide use in rice production.
Thermal/optical reflectance equivalent organic and elemental carbon determined from federal reference and equivalent method fine particulate matter samples using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry

Abstract A fine particulate matter (PM2.5) monitoring network of filter-based federal reference methods and federal equivalent methods (FRM/FEMs) is used to assess local ambient air quality by comparison to National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) at about 750 sites across the continental United States. Currently, FRM samplers utilize polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filters to gravimetrically determine PM2.5 mass concentrations. At most of these sites, sample composition is unavailable. In this study, we present the proof-of-principle estimation of the carbonaceous fraction of fine aerosols on FRM filters using a nondestructive Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) method. Previously, a quantitative FT-IR method accurately determined thermal/optical reflectance equivalent organic and elemental carbon (a.k.a., FT-IR organic carbon [OC] and elemental carbon [EC]) on filters collected from the chemical speciation network (CSN). Given the similar configuration of FRM and CSN aerosol samplers, OC and EC were directly determined on FRM filters on a mass-per-filter-area basis using CSN calibrations developed from nine sites during 2013 that have collocated CSN and FRM samplers. FRM OC and EC predictions were found to be comparable to those of the CSN on most figures of merit (e.g., R2) when the type of PTFE filter used for aerosol collection was the same in both networks. Although prediction accuracy remained unaffected, FT-IR OC and EC determined on filters produced by a different manufacturer show marginally increased prediction errors suggesting that PTFE filter type influences extending CSN calibrations to FRM samples. Overall, these findings suggest that quantifying FT-IR OC and EC on FRM samples appears feasible. © 2018 American Association for Aerosol Research
Analysis and Modeling of Mueller–Muller Clock and Data Recovery Circuits

In this paper, an accurate linear model of the Mueller–Muller phase detector (MMPD)-based clock and data recovery circuit (MM-CDR) is proposed, which analyzes several critical points of the MM-CDR including the linearization of the MMPD and the gain of the voter. Using our technique, the jitter between the recovery clock and the input data can be estimated with a sub-picosecond accuracy, as demonstrated in the simulation results of a 56 Gb/s quarter-rate MM-CDR implemented in 28 nm CMOS.
Building a Deep Learning Model to Generate Human Readable Text Using Recurrent Neural Networks and LSTM

Machine learning (ML) is a large field of study that overlaps with and inherits ideas from many related fields such as artificial intelligence (AI). The main focus of the field is learning from previous experiences. Classification in ML is a supervised learning method, in which the computer program learns from the data given to it and make new classifications. There are many different types of classification tasks in ML and dedicated approaches to modeling that may be used for each. For example, classification predictive modeling involves assigning a class label to input samples, binary classification refers to predicting one of two classes and multi-class classification involves predicting one of more than two categories. Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) are very powerful sequence models for classification problems, however, in this paper, we will use RNNs as generative models, which means they can learn the sequences of a problem and then generate entirely a new sequence for the problem domain, with the hope to better control the output of the generated text, because it is not always possible to learn the exact distribution of the data either implicitly or explicitly.
The Usage of Influenza Vaccine to Prevent Seasonal Influenza during Pandemic COVID-19

Influenza is an acute respiratory disease caused by influenza virus. Influenza can affect million people in every year and causing morbidity. Some of cases can be severe and need hospitalized, especially in elderly people. Influenza is an airborne disease and can spread rapidly. Every seasonal flu can be different because Influenza virus do mutation. Influenza vaccine can reduce morbidity and mortality. There are two types of influenza vaccine; live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV) and inactivated influenza virus (IIV). The newest type of influenza vaccine consists four types of virus (quadrivalent), therefore it gives more protection compared to the older one. Influeza vaccine is still recommended during pandemic COVID-19 because it can prevent co-infection between Influenza and COVID-19. In addition, it can reduce the morbidity and mortality during pandemic COVID-19.