Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
To frac or not to frac: assessing potential damage as related to hydraulic fracture induced seismicity

Concerns about seismic hazards during hydraulic fracturing, and other stimulation and injection practices in the petroleum industry has reached a crossroads in the last few years. Incidents in Blackpool, England, Fox Creek, Alberta, the general increase in seismicity in areas such as Oklahoma and Kansas, to name a few, have shined a light on the potential of hydrocarbon field operations to generate seismicity at levels that are of public concern. In general, to address these concerns, a number of jurisdictions have instituted various ‘traffic-light’ systems to govern the response of the industry to the potential occurrence of significant magnitude events. Generally, these protocols dictate that below a certain magnitude threshold, no response is necessary; once an event is in the ‘amber’ magnitude range, reporting to the regulator may entail more frequency and/or injections that need to be moderated. Finally, once an event is in the ‘red’ magnitude range, the injection in some jurisdictions could be halted. The exact application of these protocols, due to the nature of this approach, varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Further, there has been poor time correlation between injection periods and the occurrence of induced seismic events with many occurring outside time periods we would commonly associate with fluid injection. Magnitude is the most ubiquitously reported parameter about an earthquake. The Richter Scale is probably seismology’s biggest contribution to the public consciousness motivated by a desire to quickly describe how an earthquake ranks with size with respect to others. However, reducing the nuances of an earthquake to a single magnitude number ignores many of the factors that control how the earthquake is perceived. For the example of seismic hazard, the effect of a potential earthquake is not quantified in terms of magnitudes but in probabilities in exceeding certain ground motion thresholds. The utility of this quantification is that it immediately can be related to building codes and the designs for different structures, which are all built to withstand shaking to various thresholds. Determining the magnitude is only part of the equation. Numerous other parameters impact the shaking felt on the surface, including (but not limited to) the depth of the event, the radiation patterns of the seismicity, and the stress release of the events. Considering an approach based on measured ground motion potentially removes the vagueness and ambiguity associated with the traffic light system often suggested by regulatory agents.
Communities of practice for contemporary leadership development and knowledge exchange through work-based learning

ABSTRACT This study explores the experiences of leaders who have led organisations and teams through an extended period of crisis management whilst completing a UK work-based master’s programme. This paper examines contemporary approaches to work-based learning and explores the effect of organisational and workforce demands in a volatile era of global economic uncertainty. Theoretical and conceptual foundations relating to experiential learning, digital education and communities of learning are analysed and discussed. Taking an inductive qualitative approach, the study analyses semi-structured questionnaire data from senior leaders. The widespread adoption of technology exposes challenges to facilitation and the academic-employer interface, impacting upon learning communities and knowledge exchange opportunities. The findings also suggest enhanced leaders’ adaptive traits, including confidence and self-reliance. This study illuminates critical issues associated with contemporary work-based learning, specifically relating to prolonged macro uncertainty and the effect upon workplaces as sites of knowledge and learning, and risks to dynamic relationships between the psychosocial work environment, genuine opportunities to learn and learner well-being. This work seeks to inform the design of future programs, specifically in terms developing inter and intra-organisational communities of learning and knowledge exchange to enhance best practice and inculcate crucial leadership skills.
Vitamin D: The Challenge of Bridging the Gap and the Rationale for Supplementation

Vitamin D is classified amongst nutrients as a fat-soluble vitamin, which is consumed from food, including fortified food or supplements. It can also be synthesized by exposure of the skin to sunlight. Vitamin D facilitates absorption and retention of calcium and phosphorus both of which are critical for bone and teeth formation. Many organs and tissues have vitamin D receptors, which suggest important roles in the body beyond bone and research has shown that vitamin D regulates inflammation and immune function with potentially beneficial effects on the health of the brain, the cardiovascular system, the endocrine system, and other metabolic pathways. Few foods contain vitamin D. Oily fish, butter, liver, eggs, milk, and fortified foods including some breakfast cereals and spreads are the main dietary sources. Whilst most of the requirement for vitamin D is considered to come from casual exposure to sunlight, there is considerable debate on the sufficiency of sunlight to achieve acceptable blood levels of vitamin D because a significant proportion of the population does not achieve adequate skin exposure. Studies from many countries, including those in sunnier regions, such as Southern Europe, the Middle East and Australia demonstrate low vitamin D levels in a high proportion of the populations. Because so few foods contain vitamin D, supplementation with vitamin D should be recommended to bridge this gap.
A game of persuasion: influencing persuasive game appraisals through presentation frames and recommendation sources

Introduction As games made with the explicit or implicit purpose of influencing players’ attitudes, persuasive games afford a new way for individuals to reflect and elaborate on real-world issues or topics. While research points to effects of these games on their players, little is known about their practical impact. The current study focuses on the decision-making process that takes place between first hearing about a game and deciding to play it. Three elements in a game’s presentation to potential players were explored: (1) the way it is framed as an entertaining experience, (2) the way it is framed as intending to persuade its players, and (3) whether it comes recommended by automated systems or through electronic word-of-mouth. These factors were chosen in line with theoretical arguments around framing, eudaimonia, and source credibility. Methods A two (entertainment frame: hedonic versus eudaimonic) by two (persuasive intent frame: obfuscated versus explicit) by two (source of recommendation: system- versus peer-based) between-subjects experimental design was performed across (N = 310) randomly distributed participants. Measures were adapted from previous research and included selection and play behavior, attitudes, and obtrusiveness of persuasive intent, among others. Results and Discussion Results show that frames need to be congruent to be effective, with the most effective stimuli being those where persuasive intent was clear and players could expect to engage meaningfully. Peer recommendations led to greater play intention than system-based varieties. While intention to play positively related to actual play behavior, this relationship was likely the result of avid game players displaying more interest in the game regardless of the study’s manipulations. Implications are drawn from the advantages of being open about persuasive intent and the composition and drivers of a persuasive game’s target audience.
Development Features of Ixodes ricinus × I. persulcatus Hybrids under Laboratory Conditions

Widely distributed Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks transmit many pathogens of both medical and veterinary significance. The ranges of these tick species overlap and form large sympatric areas in the East European Plain and Baltic countries. It has previously been shown that crossing I. ricinus and I. persulcatus is possible, resulting in the appearance of sterile hybrids. In the present study, we analyzed the features of this hybrid’s life cycle under laboratory conditions. For this purpose, virgin females of I. ricinus and I. persulcatus ticks were obtained in the laboratory, and hybrid generations of ticks were bred from the reciprocal crossings of these two tick species. According to our data, mating the females of I. ricinus and I. persulcatus with the males of another species leads to a decrease in the engorgement success of the females, a decrease in the number of hatched larvae, and the appearance of a hybrid generation in which both females and males are sterile. Under laboratory conditions at a constant room temperature and under natural daylight, the morphogenetic diapause of the engorged I. persulcatus larvae began in September. For I. persulcatus nymphs, it occurred earlier than for I. ricinus, in October and November, respectively. The hybrids generally repeated the features of the life cycle of the mother species.
Isolating the effect of biomass burning aerosol emissions on 20th century hydroclimate in South America and Southeast Asia

Biomass burning is a significant source of aerosol emissions in some regions and has a considerable impact on regional climate. Earth system model simulations indicate that increased biomass burning aerosol emissions contributed to statistically significant decreases in tropical precipitation over the 20th century. In this study, we use the Community Earth System Model version 1 Large Ensemble (CESM1-LENS) experiment to evaluate the mechanisms by which biomass burning aerosol contributed to decreased tropical precipitation, with a focus on South America and Southeast Asia. We analyze the all-but-one forcing simulations in which biomass burning aerosol emissions are held constant while other forcings (e.g., greenhouse gas concentrations) vary throughout the 20th century. This allows us to isolate the influence of biomass burning aerosol on processes that contribute to decreasing precipitation, including cloud microphysics, the radiative effects of absorbing aerosol particles, and alterations in regional circulation. We also show that the 20th century reduction in precipitation identified in the CESM1-LENS historical and biomass burning experiments is consistent across Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models with interactive aerosol schemes and the CESM2 single-forcing experiment. Our results demonstrate that higher concentrations of biomass burning aerosol increases the quantity of cloud condensation nuclei and cloud droplets, limiting cloud droplet size and precipitation formation. Additionally, absorbing aerosols (e.g., black carbon) contribute to a warmer cloud layer, which promotes cloud evaporation, increases atmospheric stability, and alters regional circulation patterns. Corresponding convectively coupled circulation responses, particularly over the tropical Andes, contribute to further reducing the flow of moisture and moisture convergence over tropical land. These results elucidate the processes that affect the water cycle in regions prone to biomass burning and inform our understanding of how future changes in aerosol emissions may impact tropical precipitation over the 21st century.
Systemic Insights into the Management of Ecosystem Services in the Marine Environment

This paper centres on the application of The Ecosystem Approach in the management of the marine environment, involving the identification of multi-stakeholder needs and uses of ecosystem services. The Ecosystem Approach provides ‘a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way’, while ecosystem services are ‘the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up, sustain and fulfil human life’. Ever increasing and diverse use of the marine environment is leading to human-induced changes in marine-life, making necessary the development of a marine policy formation process that recognises and takes into consideration the full range of stakeholders and results in policy that addresses current, multiple, interacting uses (e.g. the EU’s Maritime Policy and Marine Strategy Framework Directive). Taking a systemic approach, incorporating an understanding of marine ecosystem structure and functioning, we identify the diversity of stakeholders and their uses of the marine environment within the framework of ecosystem services (production, regulation, cultural and over-arching support services). Informed by the DPSIR (Drivers – Pressures - State Change – Impact - Response) approach - a framework for assessing the causes, consequences and responses to change – we assess the outcomes of competing human uses and emerging pressures on the marine environment, the complexity of decision making in this area, and provide a process for informing choices in conflict resolution involving a diversity of stakeholders. Case studies include the management of (i) marine aggregates extraction in UK waters and (ii) coastal biodiversity at Flamborough Head, UK.
A mmW Receiver Exploiting Complementary Current Reuse and Power Efficient Bias Point

This work explores the trade-offs of using transistor bias point scaling for power reduction in millimeter wave (mmW) circuits. Transistor bias point scaling through current reuse and moderate inversion biasing are common techniques at sub-6 GHz frequencies for power reduction. Very high transistor <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$F_{\text {Max}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and symmetric n-channel MOSFET (nMOS) and p-channel MOSFET (pMOS) devices in modern CMOS nodes enable the use of these techniques in the mmW regime. These techniques at mmW frequencies provide the same benefits found in lower frequency bands and also enable efficient and compact frequency doubler topologies. Using these techniques on a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band receiver enables a low power consumption of 23 mW from a 1 V supply while operating at 67 GHz. This receiver performs excellently with an average noise figure of 4.4 dB with 15 GHz RF bandwidth (BW), 27 dB conversion gain, and −21.5 dB Input referred 1 dB compression point (P1dB). The receiver is implemented in a 45 nm RF CMOS process and consumes <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.47 \text {mm}^{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The receiver’s low power consumption and excellent RF performance make it an ideal candidate for integration in large-scale analog or digital phased arrays.
Assessment of antioxidant activity in Vaucheria sessilis extracts and their efficacy against isolated Candida spp. from diabetic foot ulcers

This study was carried out in order to assess the biological efficacy of separated extracts of V. sessilis as an Antioxidant and antifungal against isolated candida spp. from diabetic foot ulcers. Several tests were used to identify the presence of active chemical compounds in V. sessilis and we note that the V. sessilis is rich in active substances. showed phytochemical results were found for the extracted ethanol 70% contain carbohydrates, flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids, glycosides, triterpenoid and saponin, and negative detection for Tannin, Steroid, and Amino acid. The antioxidant activity of V. sessilis extracts was assessed by decreasing the radical scavenging activity of (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Results exhibited that all extracts have antioxidant activity with different concentrations, showed the superiority of the polyphenol 86.02 % inhibition ratio at (1000 μg/ ml), flavonoid 84.05 % at (1000 μg/), and hexane extract 68.5 % at (1000 μg / ml) compared to ascorbic acid, which recorded 81.17% at a concentration of 1000 μg/ml. Whereas, the hexane extract recorded the lowest inhibition rate at (50 μg /ml). Efficacy showed of separated extracts from V. sessilis as antifungal activity using well diffusion plate method. The polyphenol extract (VP) was the highest activity against all isolated candida spp . from foot ulcers of diabetic patients, while the other extracts showed varying activity against different candida spp.at P. value < 0.01. The results that a high Zone rate of inhibition/mm 2 was (26.7 ± 0.6) against C. albicanis , while no inhibition/mm 2 (9.8± 0.8) for hexane extract against the same candida . HPLC analysis indicated the presence of 7 compounds in separated polyphenol extract of V.sessilis (Chlorogenic acid, Ferulic acid, Gallic acid, Rutin, Qurcetine, Kaempferol and Apigenin) with specific retention times. The detected compounds possess antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. These results suggested that separated extracts from V. sessilis have high antioxidant and antifungal activities. In the future, V. sessilis extracts could become one of the important alternatives in infection treatment, even if in a limited way due to the spread of candida spp . that are resistant to antifungals.
Investigation of Entrepreneurial Leadership and Digital Transformation: Achieving Business Success in Uncertain Economic Conditions

In an uncertain economic situation marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic growth is difficult to predict, people’s purchasing power is falling, and many companies have collapsed. However, some small business actors can survive and thrive. They carry out various innovations, strategies, and actions according to the situation, including digital transformation. This study investigates the role of culinary sector entrepreneurial leaders in digital transformation and their impact on business success. The research uses a confirmatory survey method. Research objects are the leaders of small businesses in the culinary field in Bandung, Indonesia. The number of samples is 168 culinary entrepreneurs, and the samples are collected through snowball sampling. The results of the study show that entrepreneurial leadership has a positive effect on business success and corporate digital transformation. Digital transformation also has a positive influence on business success. Simultaneously, entrepreneurial leadership and digital transformation positively affect business success. The role of entrepreneurial leaders is not only in business success but also in dominant changes in company operations, such as the use of digital technology.
CUT homeobox genes: transcriptional regulation of neuronal specification and beyond

CUT homeobox genes represent a captivating gene class fulfilling critical functions in the development and maintenance of multiple cell types across a wide range of organisms. They belong to the larger group of homeobox genes, which encode transcription factors responsible for regulating gene expression patterns during development. CUT homeobox genes exhibit two distinct and conserved DNA binding domains, a homeodomain accompanied by one or more CUT domains. Numerous studies have shown the involvement of CUT homeobox genes in diverse developmental processes such as body axis formation, organogenesis, tissue patterning and neuronal specification. They govern these processes by exerting control over gene expression through their transcriptional regulatory activities, which they accomplish by a combination of classic and unconventional interactions with the DNA. Intriguingly, apart from their roles as transcriptional regulators, they also serve as accessory factors in DNA repair pathways through protein–protein interactions. They are highly conserved across species, highlighting their fundamental importance in developmental biology. Remarkably, evolutionary analysis has revealed that CUT homeobox genes have experienced an extraordinary degree of rearrangements and diversification compared to other classes of homeobox genes, including the emergence of a novel gene family in vertebrates. Investigating the functions and regulatory networks of CUT homeobox genes provides significant understanding into the molecular mechanisms underlying embryonic development and tissue homeostasis. Furthermore, aberrant expression or mutations in CUT homeobox genes have been associated with various human diseases, highlighting their relevance beyond developmental processes. This review will overview the well known roles of CUT homeobox genes in nervous system development, as well as their functions in other tissues across phylogeny.
Mission accomplished?: HTTPS security after diginotar

Driven by CA compromises and the risk of man-in-the-middle attacks, new security features have been added to TLS, HTTPS, and the web PKI over the past five years. These include Certificate Transparency (CT), for making the CA system auditable; HSTS and HPKP headers, to harden the HTTPS posture of a domain; the DNS-based extensions CAA and TLSA, for control over certificate issuance and pinning; and SCSV, for protocol downgrade protection. This paper presents the first large scale investigation of these improvements to the HTTPS ecosystem, explicitly accounting for their combined usage. In addition to collecting passive measurements at the Internet uplinks of large University networks on three continents, we perform the largest domain-based active Internet scan to date, covering 193M domains. Furthermore, we track the long-term deployment history of new TLS security features by leveraging passive observations dating back to 2012. We find that while deployment of new security features has picked up in general, only SCSV (49M domains) and CT (7M domains) have gained enough momentum to improve the overall security of HTTPS. Features with higher complexity, such as HPKP, are deployed scarcely and often incorrectly. Our empirical findings are placed in the context of risk, deployment effort, and benefit of these new technologies, and actionable steps for improvement are proposed. We cross-correlate use of features and find some techniques with significant correlation in deployment. We support reproducible research and publicly release data and code.