SIRIS-Lab/unlabelled-sti-corpus huggingface dataset:
The threshold effect of exchange rate volatility on FDI determinant nexus-A panel smooth transition regression approach

This paper adopts a panel smooth transition model (PSTR) with lagged exchange rate risk (exchange rate volatility) as the transition variable to estimate the nonlinear process of China's FDI inflows and the threshold effect of exchange rate risk on the FDI inflows. Empirically, we use the data set of China's top ten FDI investment countries during 2000Q1–2011Q4. Empirical results show that China's FDI inflows displays a nonlinear process, depending on exchange rate risk in different regimes. China's FDI inflows are nonlinearly affected by GDP, exchange rate, openness and trade-weighted distance. If government's intervention policy or quantitative easing policy is to lead global currencies depreciation for improving a country's terms of trade, the related stable of RMB exchange rate will continuously attract FDI inflow to China.
REFRIGERANT FLUID FLOW CONTROL DEVICE AND METHOD

A subcool flow control valve useful in a refrigerant system includes an enclosure having a fluid flow pathway for a controlled fluid between an inlet and an outlet. A thermally conductive flexible wall forms a sealed cavity within the enclosure for carrying a controlling fluid. A metering orifice operable between the pathway and the outlet port controls an amount of metered fluid passing through the outlet port in response to movement of the flexible wall toward and away from the metering orifice in response to temperature changes of the controlled fluid transmitting temperature and thus pressure changes to the controlling fluid in the sealed cavity. Inverse thermal feedback means is formed as part of the valve for stabilizing valve operation thus providing means for transmitting a thermal signal from the metered controlled fluid back to the controlling fluid.
Unraveling the regulatory network of developmental programmed cell death in plants

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a fundamental biological process that actively terminates a cell’s vital functions by a well-ordered sequence of events. In both animals and plants, various types of PCD are crucial for development, health, and the responses to various stresses. Despite their importance, only little is known about PCD processes and their molecular control in plants. Still, an intricate regulatory network must exist that renders specific plant cell types competent to initiate and execute PCD at precisely determined developmental stages. I recently established a powerful developmental PCD model system in Arabidopsis thaliana, based on a PCD process occurring during root cap development. This root cap model has the potential to revolutionize existing concepts of plant PCD, as it combines a precisely predictable PCD process in easily accessible cells on the root periphery with the abundance of resources available for Arabidopsis research. Exploiting the root cap system will enable me to tackle unresolved fundamental questions about the regulation of developmental PCD in plants: How do cells acquire PCD competency during differentiation? Which signals trigger PCD execution at just the right moment? What are the actual mechanisms that disrupt the vital functions of a plant cell? I will obtain answers to these questions through a comprehensive strategy combining complementary approaches, taking advantage of cell-type specific transcriptomics, forward and reverse genetics, advanced live-cell imaging, biochemistry, and computational modeling. Our unpublished data point to the existence of a common core mechanism controlling PCD not only in the root cap, but also in other vital organs including the vasculature, anthers, or developing seeds. Thus, this project will not only be significant to advance our knowledge on PCD as a general developmental mechanism in plants, but also to generate new leads to tap the so far underexploited potential of PCD in agriculture.
Algorithmic approaches to spatially-informed information visualization

We propose a fellowship that will propel an outstanding young researcher and provide him with the skills, experiences and contacts that will enable him to develop into a key contributor to international and interdisciplinary research in an important emerging field that has wide application in commerce, government and industry.
Computational Geometry is largely theoretical whilst Information Visualization is broadly applied. The proposal focuses on a talented computational geometer, who has already begun working with colleagues and commercial organizations across the world to develop his research in an applied context with some success. It embeds him in a renowned Information Visualization group at CITY University London—an institution that is uniquely positioned both academically and geographically, with its portfolio of professional education and proximity to one of the world’s leading centres of technology-fuelled creative industry. The fellowship will provide access to academic expertise in a complimentary discipline, experience and training in research and entrepreneurship, and close collaboration with partners in industry and government.
This interdisciplinary research and training will equip an experienced researcher with the skills, experience and contacts to move an important applied discipline forward in the future. With a programme that draws upon formal provisions within CITY and takes advantage of existing contacts with partners in London from the commercial sector, the fellowship will: (1) add algorithmic rigour to Information Visualization design; (2) inform algorithmic design through access to other disciplines and practitioners; (3) provide the researcher with experience of new fields and practices; (4) bring two complimentary fields together and change disciplinary mindsets; (5) develop the researcher through experience and training in research, teaching and entrepreneurship and by developing his international network across disciplines and sectors.
Case Study

The breaking up of the Bell System provides an informative case study on the importance of cost modeling and, more importantly, the choice of an appropriate specification. The motivation of this chapter stems from the recent surge to deregulate what were thought to be naturally monopolistic industries. The essence of natural monopoly is discussed; more specifically, the characteristics of and the tests for a market are examined. The chapter posits the idea that economies of vertical integration, which are mathematically equivalent to economies of scope, could be used to establish that a market is a natural monopoly and shows the parallels between telephony and electricity, which motivates the conclusions drawn and lessons learned in the final section. This chapter provides an overview of what transpired in the telecommunications industry in the latter part of the twentieth century.
BIOMASS POWER PLANT

The present invention relates to a biomass power plant (1). This plant (1) comprises a heat generator (2) comprising a burner (3) suitable for said biomass combustion, wherein to said combustion a flame and biomass combustion fumes are associated, a thermodynamic cycle electric energy production assembly (5), a main heat-exchanger (6) in communication with the burner (3) which puts the burner (3) and the electric energy production assembly (5) in a heat-transfer relationship. The main heat-exchanger (6) comprises a first plurality of pipes (21) which develop as a helix, delimiting a heat-transfer chamber (23) in the main heat-exchanger (6), and a second plurality of pipes (22) in fluid communication with the first plurality of pipes (21) which develop as a helix, externally at least partially encircling the first plurality of pipes (21). These first (21) and second (22) pluralities of pipes are adapted to carry a working fluid and are in fluid communication with the electric energy production assembly (5) such as to transfer to it, through said working fluid, part of the heat developed in the burner (3) during the biomasses combustion for implementing said thermodynamic cycle. The burner (3) is configured and arranged in respect to the heat-transfer chamber (23) such that, during the biomasses combustion, the flame develops at least partially within said heat-transfer chamber (23), so that the working fluid in the first plurality of pipes (21) is heated by convection by the fumes and by radiation by the combustion flame.
Thinking about LIPs: A brief history of ideas in Large igneous province research

Abstract Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are extraordinary igneous and tectonic events that have influenced the planet in profound ways, including the major turnovers in the history of life. The LIP concept, definitions, and terminology first nucleated in a 1990 workshop jointly arranged by Joint Oceanographic Institutions and U.S. Science Support Program, subsequently presented in a series of seminal papers by Millard F. Coffin and Olav Eldholm in the early 1990's. They combined existing data and information from continental flood basalts with the emerging geophysical understanding of oceanic plateaus and rifted continental margins. The new terminology had major implications within the geosciences and beyond. However, when investigating how geoscientists described and interpreted these vast provinces prior to the 1990's, we are left with a series of questions. Who first realized that LIPs represent extraordinary events in the history of the Earth, what terminology was used, and why were geologists interested in this type of events? Here we discuss some of the key developments in LIP research, including mapping projects, expeditions, international programs, correlations across continents, and the history of the terminology. We focus our discussion on four cases, the Karoo LIP, the Siberian Traps, the North Atlantic Igneous Province, and the Ontong Java Plateau, comprising key examples of LIPs with long histories of study and exploration. We conclude that the past 150 years of LIP-related research and endeavor was largely driven by a need to understand fundamental aspects of Earth evolution, including continental drift, plate tectonic reconstructions, the origin of basalt, mantle processes and plumes, and the role of volcanism in driving mass extinctions and climatic changes.
A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A LIQUID CRYSTALLINE EXTENDED CHAIN POLYMER COMPOSITION

Novel liquid crystalline extended chain polymer compositions comprising a high concentration of one or more extended chain homopolymers, copolymers or block polymers and certain strong acids are prepared by admixing a high concentration of one or more selected monomers with or without oxidation protecting moieties and one or more of substantially non-oxidizing strong acid(s) containing P2O5. Such compositions, which are prepared by polymerization in a reaction vessel maximizing surface-to-volume ratio, are capable of exhibiting high cohesive strength, and are especially suited to the production of high molecular weight ordered polymer fibers. Fibers, films and other articles formed from these liquid crystalline compositions exhibit exceptionally high physical and heat resistant properties.
A new integrative evaluation method for candidate reservoirs of hydrocarbon gas drive

Before implementing hydrocarbon gas drive, an applicable evaluation of reservoirs for hydrocarbon gas drive can improve the success rate and economic benefit. On the basis of a large amount of literature research, 11 factors affecting the hydrocarbon gas injection development have been screened out. These 11 factors constitute the suitability evaluation indexes of candidate reservoirs for hydrocarbon gas drive. Meantime, the classification of 11 evaluation indexes has also been set up, and fuzzy statistical method, analytic hierarchy process, and expert assessment method have been adopted to obtain the weight value of each evaluation index. Three candidate reservoirs have been taken for example; using multi-level fuzzy comprehensive evaluation to optimize the most suitable candidate reservoir, the potential size of three candidate reservoirs for hydrocarbon gas drive is provided. By comparing the evaluation results with the numerical reservoir simulation results, the evaluation method not only gives a cor...
A dynamic model of open source vs proprietary R&D

Abstract We propose a dynamic model in which firms compete to produce sequential and cumulative innovations, and in which the more firms do research in one sector the more likely it is that one of them innovates. Firms choose research effort and whether to patent innovations or to use an Open Source license like the General Public License. We show that ( i ) patents generate a larger stationary reward but foreclose research within a sector, and that ( ii ) Open Source generates a smaller stationary reward but allows everyone to use the technology, and therefore, by attracting firms to the sector, it induces a faster pace of innovation. We characterize all the equilibria of the model and show that in equilibrium an Open Source sector appears only after a proprietary sector. We also find conditions under which the model has a unique equilibrium, in which a proprietary and an Open Source sector coexist and compete in the short run, but the Open Source sector dominates the industry in the long run. We use our model to study whether patents are inefficient, and to explain firms’ behavior in the software and the biomedical industry.
Characterisation of permissive and non-permissive phagosome environments during salmonella systemic infection

Infectious diseases represent a major threat to global human health today. Antibiotic misuse has induced rapid emergence of resistant bacteria and it is becoming increasingly challenging to identify new, efficient drugs. Novel control strategies are urgently required. This project intends to uncover key host immune factors determining the outcome of a bacterial infection with the aim to identify strategies to synergise with the immune system. Emerging evidence suggests that heterogeneous host-pathogen encounters play a key role in disease outcome. To investigate the role of distinct tissue microenvironments during infection, I will use Salmonella enterica to study the immune properties of neutrophils and resident tissue macrophages, previously shown to be non-permissive and permissive environments, respectively. Specifically, I will use a novel approach of phagosome isolation by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and will combine it with sensitive high-resolution mass spectrometry. With this state-of-the-art technology, I will identify key host factors required for phagosome formation by proteomics, which will provide relevant insights into the biology of two key professional phagocytes with important applications in infection biology and immunology. Secondly, I will analyse Salmonella responses to these host determinants using proteomics and stress-inducible promoter fusions to reporter genes. This will highlight key bacterial strategies for intracellular survival and thus novel antimicrobial targets. Finally, I will confirm the in vivo role of identified key factors using a murine infection model. This integrated approach, investigating the host and the pathogen, will be broadly applicable to study other important infectious diseases. This project will highlight specific host and pathogen responses with the aim to close permissive niches where suboptimal antimicrobial exposure allows pathogens to survive and spread.
Elements of yogic practice: Perceptions of students in healthcare programs

The practice of yoga has a long history as an integrated lifestyle science. Those who have practiced yoga in its full form (including all eight traditional aspects) find that it touches almost every aspect of their inter- and intra-personal lives. Despite this rich history, the West has adopted limited aspects of yoga practice. When understood narrowly as a physical fitness practice, healthful benefits of yoga may be lost, possibly promoting body-consciousness and injury instead.To understand whether students in healthcare programs view yoga from a physical fitness versus holistic perspective, we explored perceptions of what constitute yoga's essential practices.We assessed endorsement of the eight limbs of yoga via the acceptability of yoga survey. The sample (n = 498) was recruited from programs in 10 healthcare professions at a Northwestern university. Participants were categorized as nonyogis, contemplators, yogis, and superyogis.Across all groups, findings confirmed a narrow definition of yoga as portrayed in popular media and gym-based yoga classes. Breathing and posture practices were the most commonly endorsed practices, even among the sample's most seasoned yoga practitioners. Ethical practices and daily commitments of introspection, disciplined practice, or living with purity were least commonly associated with yoga despite their foundational nature in yoga philosophy. Concentration and meditation practices were only moderately endorsed as essential practices. Super-yogis endorsed a wider variety of limbs than nonyogis, contemplators, and yogis.We offer a rationale for these findings along with recommendations that may help augment the definition of yoga and hence maximize its benefits.
Hub/router for communication between cores using cartesian coordinates

A method and structure for an integrated circuit is disclosed. The invention includes a plurality of logic cores, a plurality of local hubs connected to said logic cores, and a plurality of global hubs connected to said local hubs. The local hubs and the global hubs transfer data between the logic cores.
The fate of landslide debris after large earthquakes, Wenchuan, China

Large earthquakes are significant geomorphic events in mountain ranges;they can cause uplift while also triggering huge volumes of bedrock landsliding. Constraining theerosion of coseismic landslide deposits is important forunderstandingthe long-term impact of earthquakes on landscape evolution and natural hazards. The 2008 Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake provides an excellent opportunity to constrain the processes and rates that erode landslide deposits within and out of mountain catchments. I constructed a large multitemporal landslide inventory of the epicentral regionof the earthquaketo map the erosion of landslide deposits in the 10 years after the earthquake. In these 10 years less than 13% of the sediment hadbeen deposited into the stores associated with the main trunk of the orogen draining river leaving up to 88% stored on the hillslope. Debris flows were the key remobilising process, transporting over 50% of all the sediment that is mobilised. Using slope stability modelling and analysis of the landslide inventory I identified most of the debris flows were triggered on the hill slope and their frequency decreased rapidly through time. Initially debris flows were triggered in small deposits with low drainage areasbut through time the landslides closer to channel network become more likely to be the source of debris flow activity, a pattern that highlights a change in the physical properties of the deposits. I evaluate several theories that may explain this pattern and highlight strategies to identify the stabilising processes. Finally, I present a 0-Dimensional model investigatingthe impact of storage of coseismic sediment on landscape evolution. This model suggests coseismic sediment can remain in the mountain range for timescales greater than the recurrence time of large earthquakes causing a decrease in exhumation ratesas sediment is remobilised. The long storage time of sediment in orogens reduces the impact of earthquakes on long term (>1000 years) exhumation records so that single earthquakes are only recorded in the most local or highest resolution records.
Multiple dental handpiece control system

The specification discloses a multiple dental handpiece control system in which lifting one handpiece out of its hanger blocks supply of power and coolants to all other handpieces. Each handpiece has an individual control unit and a blockout unit. When a handpiece is lifted from its hanger, it actuates a valve to cause a piston in its control unit to shift to a condition causing supply of power and coolant fluid to that handpiece and cutting off power to the corresponding pistons in the other control units thereby preventing supply of power and coolant fluids to the other handpiece.
Wideband fast wave amplifiers

Summary form only given. In a number of applications, wideband amplifiers provide significant advantages over oscillators of similar output power. For instance, in spherical tokamak fusion plasma heating, frequency agility allows targeted heating of specific plasma layers, possibly providing an additional plasma stabilization technique. Experimental and theoretical investigations of wideband amplifiers at MW power levels in the centimeter to millimeter wavelength range have shown that devices with greater than 20% bandwidth, suitable for long pulse to CW operation are a practical proposition. In cases where the ultimate in amplifier bandwidth is required, reversed guide magnetic field Free Electron Maser (FEM) amplifiers have demonstrated tunability over 70% of center frequency with 40% instantaneous bandwidth. Gyro-amplifiers using helically corrugated waveguides have shown exceptional gain, power, bandwidth and efficiency performance at cm and mm wavelengths. In all cases, the performance of a long pulse (and therefore high vacuum) system is strongly influenced by factors other than the intrinsic bandwidth of the interaction. For example, the stability of all of these devices can be greatly enhanced by appropriate control of the radiation polarization. However, polarization converters work optimally at only one frequency with declining efficiency at frequencies far from the center frequency. Also low reflection windows with 40% bandwidth for circularly polarized radiation require innovative design solutions. When the design must also be compatible with 500°C bakeout it becomes even more difficult.
Additive dispersing filter and method

A method and apparatus for dispersing an additive from an additive cartridge disposed in a housing of an oil filter is provided. The method including the steps of: using stagnation pressure to disperse the additive from the additive cartridge; and regulating a flow rate of the additive from the additive cartridge by restricting an inlet opening of an outlet path of the additive cartridge, wherein a portion of the outlet path is formed in a surface of a first piece of a two piece connector providing fluid communication between and an interior and an exterior of the additive cartridge.
Treatment of re-refining effluent from lubricating oils by combining electrocoagulation and coagulation-flocculation processes

A combination of electrocoagulation and coagulation-flocculation processes was used for re-refining effluent from lubricating oils. The efficiency of the process was evaluated based on the chemical oxygen demand (COD), color, and turbidity of the refined effluent. Electrocoagulation (EC) and coagulation-flocculation parameters, such as the initial pH (3.00, 4.41, and 9.00), and current density (4, 9, and 16 A/m2), and the use of aluminum polychloride coagulant and superfloc A300 flocculant were studied. EC performed at pH 9, with a current density of 16 A/m2 and 7 V, resulted in removal efficiencies of 85.14%, 99.81%, and 99.85%, for COD, color, and turbidity, respectively. The removal efficiencies increased to 96%, 99.87%, and 99.94% for COD, color, and turbidity, respectively, by the further coagulation-flocculation treatment in the presence of 13.8 mg/L aluminum polychloride coagulant and 80 mg/L Superfloc A300 flocculant.