Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of a Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Model for Inland Surface Water Systems

This chapter introduces basic concepts, properties, and principles of different processes in inland surface water and analytical methodologies. The fundamentals of surface water hydrodynamics, including water properties, hydrodynamic processes, Cartesian coordinate- based governing equations, and boundary and initial conditions were reviewed. The fate and transport of contaminants in surface water were introduced. Based on aforemen- tioned theory and principles, two hydrodynamic-water quality models were developed for studying a lake and a river, respectively. A stratified 3D model was used to investigate the circulation and E. coli transport in the nearshore region of Lake Michigan. The modeling results show that stratified phenomenon exists in the near region, and a 3D model is necessary even though a previous 2D model works well for the shallow water environment. A 2D depth-averaged water quality model was developed to estimate the fate and transport of four contaminants in the San Joaquin River of California. The modeling results indicate that it took 20 days for these contaminants to transport from the upstream to the downstream in the research domain. These models can be effectively used for inland surface water restoration and management. 2D depth-averaged water quality model developed to estimate the fate and transport of four contaminants in the (SJR)
Politics and Economics of Second-Best Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: The Importance of Regulatory Credibility

Compared with economically ideal policies, actual limits on global warming gases are likely to be “second-best” in many ways. Most studies focus on “second-best” approaches such as delaying emission controls in developing countries, constraining international emission trading, or regulating gases piecemeal by sector rather than equally across the whole economy. We show that another second-best approach—lacking of regulatory credibility—imposes up to six times the extra costs on the economy when compared with all other “second-best” factors combined. When regulatory rules are not believable then firms and other agents become short-sighted and unable to make optimal investments in research and development as well as long-lived technologies. Although analysts have largely ignored this issue, low credibility is commonplace when governments tackle international problems because international institutions such as treaties are usually weak and fickle. Governments can help solve credibility problems with strategies such as “pre-committing” regulations into domestic law that is usually more credible than international commitments. We show that China, for example, can justify unilateral, emission controls because such pre-commitment would encourage Chinese firms to invest with a clearer eye to the future.
The drivers of social responsible stock index: The case of Dow Jones sustainability index world

This study intends to investigate the main drivers of socially responsible stock index returns. For this reason, Dow Jones Sustainability Index World (DJSIW) is employed to identify companies that incorporate socially responsible initiatives in their business operations. As far as explanatory drivers of DJSIW returns are concerned, four variables are considered namely, gold prices, dollar US value to major currencies, interest rate and air pollution, while oil prices is examined in relation to volatility of DJSIW returns. Furthermore, a GARCH method was applied to investigate the relationship between explanatory variables and DJSIW returns for the period August, 1999 to 31 May, 2016 using monthly data. It is revealed that all explanatory variables have a negative effect on DJSIW. In addition, the increase of oil prices has a stabilizing effect on volatility of DJSIW returns. The results are important to explain the investor’s behaviour to socially responsible stock index returns.
Halotolerant streptomycetes isolated from soil at Taif region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) I: Purification, salt tolerance range, biological and molecular identification

This study focuses on isolation and purification of some halotolerant streptomycetes from soil and sea water of western region, KSA as a source of salt tolerance gene(s). A few numbers (32) of streptomycetes-like colonies (SLC) were isolated and purified from two regions. From Jeddah, a number of 22 out of the 32 SLC were obtained, distributed between the sea water 12 (54.55%) and sea sediment soil 6 (27.27%). From Taif-soil, only 10 SLC were isolated. Results show that 31 SLC were grown on 3.5% salt, while, in the presence of 7.0% salt, 2, 3, 18, and 4 showed abundant (+++), moderate (++), weak (+), and in doubt (±) growth, respectively. Only five SLC were not able to grow at 7% salt. At the level of 10.5% salt, the number of SLC was decreased up to 4 (2 (+++), 1 (++) and 1(+)). In either 14% or 21% salt, four isolates were varied in their ability in growth as moderate or weak growth was recorded. These isolates were considered as halotolerant as they were able to grow in either the presence or normal growth medium. The four isolates which tolerate 14% salt (isolates 4 and 6) and 21% salt (isolates 2 and 8) were completely identified. The streptomycete isolate 2 appeared to be related to Streptomyces cirratus . Comparing the cultural, morphological and physiological characteristics of Streptomyces isolate 4 and 6, they were very likely to be strains of S. rishiriensis and S. alboflavus , respectively. Streptomyces isolate 8 was identified as a strain of S. luteogriseus . The nucleotide sequences of 16S rRNA gene was partially determined using the DNA template of the Streptomyces isolate 8. Results show that a final sequence of about 1462 nts was obtained and compared with eight universal Streptomyces and bacterial strains. This isolate could be classified as a new species of gray Streptomyces , and it was suggested to be named a new halotolerant Streptomyces sp. TSA-KSA strain (GenBank AB731746). Keywords : Streptomyces , halotolerant, identification, 16S rRNA, Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(19), pp. 2565-2574
Learning by Similarity in Coordination Problems

We study a learning process in which subjects extrapolate from their experience of similar past strategic situations to the current decision problem. When applied to coordination games, this learning process leads to contagion of behavior from problems with extreme payoffs and unique equilibria to very dissimilar problems. In the long-run, contagion results in unique behavior even though there are multiple equilibria when the games are analyzed in isolation. Characterization of the long-run state is based on a formal parallel to rational equilibria of games with subjective priors. The results of contagion due to learning share the qualitative features of those from contagion due to incomplete information, but quantitatively they differ.
rom knowledge sharing to knowledge creation : A blended nowledge-management model for improving niversity students ’ creativity

Creativity and knowledge management are both important competences that university students need to strive to develop. This study therefore developed and evaluated an instructional program for improving university students’ creativity based on a blended knowledge-management (KM) model that integrates e-learning and three core processes of KM: knowledge sharing, knowledge internalization, and knowledge creation. Moreover, this study investigated the underlying mechanisms that achieve the effectiveness of this model. A 17-week instructional program was conducted. The findings from both quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest the following. The blended KM model is effective in improving knowledge, dispositions, and abilities of creativity. The online sharing and evaluation of creative products, learning communities and discussions, and the practice of creativity strategies have substantial effects on all three aspects of creativity. The observation and peer evaluation of group assignments and creativity-related feedback enhance the learning of knowledge and dispositions. Finally, the creation of products and scaffolding of a teacher are critical to skill improvement. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Evolution of Galactic Outflows at Revealed with SDSS, DEEP2, and Keck Spectra

We conduct a systematic study of galactic outflows in star-forming galaxies at based on the absorption lines of optical spectra taken from SDSS DR7, DEEP2 DR4, and Keck (Erb et al.). We carefully make stacked spectra of homogeneous galaxy samples with similar stellar mass distributions at and perform the multicomponent fitting of model absorption lines and stellar continua to the stacked spectra. We obtain the maximum ( ) and central ( ) outflow velocities and estimate the mass loading factors (η), a ratio of the mass outflow rate to the star formation rate (SFR). Investigating the redshift evolution of the outflow velocities measured with the absorption lines whose depths and ionization energies are similar (Na i D and Mg i at ; Mg ii and C ii at ), we identify, for the first time, that the average value of ( ) significantly increases by 0.05–0.3 dex from to 2 at a given SFR. Moreover, we find that the value of η increases from to 2 by at a given halo circular velocity , albeit with a potential systematics caused by model parameter choices. The redshift evolution of ( ) and η is consistent with the galaxy-size evolution and the local velocity–SFR surface density relation and explained by high gas fractions in high-redshift massive galaxies, which is supported by recent radio observations. We obtain a scaling relation of for in our galaxies that agrees with the momentum-driven outflow model ( ) within the uncertainties.
Location of R&D and High-Tech Production by Vertically Integrated Multinationals

We develop a two-country general equilibrium model where firms make separate choices about the location of R&D and high-tech production. There are two agglomeration forces: R&D spillovers and backward linkages associated with high-tech production. The latter tends to attract production to the larger economy. We show that, for relatively weak R&D spillovers and intermediate trade costs, the smaller economy tends to specialize in R&D. For certain parameterizations, both concentration and dispersion of R&D activities are possible outcomes. Hosting an agglomeration of R&D activities does not necessarily lead to welfare gains. Keywords: Monopolistic competition, R&D, high-tech production, agglomeration economies
A Text Retrieval Approach to Recover Links among E-Mails and Source Code Classes

During software development and evolution, the communication among stakeholders is one of the most important activities. Stakeholders communicate to discuss various topics, ranging from low-level concerns (e.g., refactoring) to high-level resolutions (e.g., design rationale). To support such a communication, e-mails are widely used in both commercial and open source software projects. Although several approaches have been proposed to recover links among software artifacts, very few are concerned with e-mails. Recovering links between e-mails and software artifacts discussed in these e-mails is a non trivial task. The main issue is related to the nature of the communication that is scarcely structured and mostly informal. Many of the proposed approaches are based on text search or text retrieval and reformulate the link recovery as a document retrieval problem. We refine and improve such solutions by leveraging the parts of which an e-mail is composed of: header, current message, and previous messages. The relevance of these parts is weighted by a probabilistic approach based on text retrieval. The results of an empirical study conducted on a public benchmark indicate that the new approach in many cases outperforms the baselines: text retrieval and lightweight text search approaches. This paper is built on [1]. Keywords-Information retrieval, software maintenance; traceability recovery; BM25F
SWAT model application to assess the impact of intensive corn-farming on runoff, sediments and phosphorous loss from an agricultural watershed in Wisconsin.

The potential future increase in corn-based biofuel may be expected to have a negative impact on water quality in streams and lakes of the Midwestern US due to increased agricultural chemicals usage. This study used the SWAT model to assess the impact of continuous-corn farming on sediment and phosphorus loading in Upper Rock River watershed in Wisconsin. It was assumed that farmers in the area where corn was rotated with soybean would progressively skip soybean for continuous corn as corn became more profitable. Simulations using SWAT indicated that conversion of corn-soybean to corn-corn-soybean would cause 11% and 2% increase in sediment yield and TP loss, respectively. The conversion of corn-soybean to continuous corn caused 55% and 35% increase in sediment yield and TP loss, respectively. However, this increase could be mitigated by applying various BMPs and/or conservation practices such as conservation tillage, fertilizer management and vegetative buffer strips. The conversion to continuous corn tilled with conservation tillage reduced sediment yield by 2% and did not change TP loss. Increase in P fertilizer amount was roughly proportional to increase in TP loss and 11% more TP was lost when fertilizer was applied four months before planting. Vegetative buffer strips, 15 to 30 m wide, around corn farms reduced sediment yield by 51 to 70% and TP loss by 41 to 63%.
The response of the invasive weed Mikania micrantha to infection density of the obligate parasite Cuscuta campestris and its implications for biological control of M. micrantha

The efficacy of a biological control agent depends upon the impact it has on the target species. We investigate the use of the obligate parasitic plant, Cuscuta campestris Yuncker as a biological control for the invasive weed Mikania micrantha H.B. K. In this experiment we test whether the impacts of the parasite on host growth, biomass allocation, photosynthesis, chlorophyll content, and soluble protein are affected by the density of the parasite. We examined the response of M. micrantha to infection densities of 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8 C. campestris seedlings per host plant. By day 30 after parasitization, C. campestris infection had significantly reduced M. micrantha biomass and the net photosynthetic rate of the 8th fully expanded leaf. These negative effects were greater as the number of parasites increased from 1 to 4 per host, but not from 4 to 8. Mikania micrantha stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were significantly reduced by C. campestris infection, but among 2, 4, 8 parasites per host there were no significant effects of infection densities on the host plants. Water use efficiency remained stable. The aerial parts of the infected M. micrantha plants at densities of 1, 2, 4 and 8 parasites per host died 83, 62, 50 and 46 d after parasitization on average, respectively. All infection densities decreased host chlorophyll content (a and b), and the infection by more than 1 parasite also significantly lowered soluble protein concentration. The results indicated that the effects of C. campestris infection on M. micrantha are density dependent, which provides a basis for refining the use of the parasite for biological control of M. micrantha. The optimal cost-effective number of parasites to control M. micrantha is 4 per host plant in the field.
Growth response of Spirulina platensis in papaya skin extract and antimicrobial activities of Spirulina extracts in different culture media

Growth response of Spirulina platensis in papaya skin extract media and their antimicrobial activity were studied. Five different concentrations e.g. 10gm/L, 8gm/L, 6 gm/L, 4 gm/L and 2gm/L of Papaya ( Carica papaya ) skin extract media and BD1 (control) medium were used in this study. After 8 days of cultivation, the optical density (0.33) was recorded in BD1 medium and among the five different concentrations of papaya skin extract media the maximum was found (0.31) in 6gm/L. Antimicrobial activity of Spirulina platensis grown in three media namely Zarrouk, BD1 media and media made from papaya skin extract was also studied. Only freeze dried Spirulina platensis powder extract showed inhibitory effect against bacteria and no antifungal activity was observed. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjsir.v47i2. 11445 Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 47(2) , 147-152, 2012
Departmental Identification Through Perceived Prestige:Peering through different lenses

This study examined the relationship between identification and perceived prestige at the department level. By shifting the focus of the image from the organization itself to that of the departments within it and focusing on identification with the department, this study distinguished three different perception foci: department colleagues, organization members outside the department, and other peers who were not part of the organization. The study was carried out at Concordia University using professors as the research population. To study the identification process, sustainability research served as a behavioral indicator of identity. Research professors were sampled from six separate departments with varying levels of interest in sustainability research to ensure that each department had a distinct identity. The research professors were asked what they thought others believed was the emphasis of sustainability research in their department. These “others” were placed into the three different groups to calculate the perceived prestige coming from each group. The three perceptions were then tested for correlations with the Departmental Identification. Results supported the hypothesis that a positive correlation existed between each of the prestige perceptions and Departmental Identification. However, the hypothesis that the correlations between perceived prestige and Departmental Identification would become stronger as social proximity increased was not supported.
DOES EXCESSIVE ABSENCE FROM CLASS LEAD TO LOWER LEVELS OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

There is a general agreement among researchers that being chronically absent places students at risk for negative academic consequences. However, some studies have failed to find a significant correlation between attendance and academic performance. Studies examining this relationship are lacking at the field of Nursing. The purpose of this study was to check the effect of absenteeism rate on the academic achievement of graduate and undergraduate nursing students at a private university in Amman, Jordan. A cross-sectional correlational design was used with a sample of 130 BSN and 40 Master students. Results showed that students who have higher absenteeism rates have lower Grand Point Average (GPA) regardless to academic level. Moreover, Male students have higher absenteeism rates and lower GPAs than females. In conclusion, the present study has reported a negative correlation between absenteeism and academic achievement. Application of attendance polices might help in improving students’ attendance and their academic achievement.
Enhancing Women's Political Participation: Legislative Recruitment and Electoral Systems

The following two chapters examine some of the strategies that can be used to overcome the obstacles to political participation outlined in the previous chapter. In this chapter, we focus our attention on two issues. First, we examine the principle steps involved in the legislative recruitment process in order to elucidate how women can increase their chances of getting nominated and elected. Second, we look at one particular mechanism proven effective in increasing women's representation: a country's electoral system. Which electoral systems are best suited to elect women and why? How have electoral systems affected women's representation in different countries? What specific factors should women be concerned about in the actual design of electoral systems? By addressing these questions, we hope to provide some insight on one effective and practical strategy that women can use to increase their parliamentary representation.
Propolis extract from different botanical sources in postharvest conservation of papaya

This study evaluated the physical and chemical characteristics of the papaya ‘Solo’ cv. ‘Golden’ ( Carica papaya L . ) coated with propolis extract drawn from various botanical sources, during storage at room temperature. Papayas underwent three types of dip coating propolis extract, in 2.5% (w v -1 ) concentration (‘aqueous extract’ and ‘hydroalcoholic extract of propolis wild type’, ‘hydroalcoholic extract of the propolis green rosemary’), at ambient temperature and two controls (without coating, one at ‘ambient temperature’ and the other ‘refrigerated’). The variables weight loss, firmness, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), maturation index ratio (SS/TA) and hydrogen potential (pH) were evaluated, at three day intervals for twelve storage days. Sensory analyses of the papayas were performed on days three and six of storage, by acceptance testing. Coatings with hydroalcoholic extract of propolis wild type and green rosemary controlled weight loss and firmness in papayas. The coatings showed no effect on the variable SS. Fruit coated with hydroalcoholic extract of rosemary green propolis showed satisfactory results evaluating AT, SS/TA and pH, as well as sensory analysis. Thus, the coating formulated with propolis extract can be used as an alternative to extend the shelf life of papaya fruits.
Forest Inventory Data Reveal Stand History from 115 Years Ago

The relationship between the present distribution of some vascular plants in managed forests and forest history was investigated in western Poland. A forest inventory report was used as the source of data for plant distribution in the 211 subcompartments of the forest, and archive maps for the stand history assessment. The “history” of a sub-compartment (ancient vs. recent) increases the parsimony of the models, as assessed with AIC, explaining understory plant species occurrence. Occurrences of Vaccinium myrtillus and Pteridium aquilinum appeared to be most reliable predictors of forest history. Among the 110 sub-compartments where the two species were recorded, 103 were covered by ancient forest. The two plant species selected as reliable predictors of ancient forest continuity also appeared to be significant predictors of forest history in the nearby control area. The use of indicator species described in the reports may be an attractive source of knowledge on the ecosystem.
The Influence of Background Objects on Unpleasantness Evoked by Lotus-seed-pods-on-the-living-body Images (“Hasu-colla”)

The photomontage of lotus seedpods on human skin has been called “Hasu-colla” in Japan, and this can elicit strong aversion in viewers. Previous studies have reported that lotus seedpods evoke core disgust, and that Hasu-colla relates to animal reminder disgust. However, the relationship between unpleasantness evoked by lotus seedpods and that by Hasu-colla has not been demonstrated. The present study investigated whether Hasu-colla evokes stronger disgust than lotus seedpods presented alone as well as differences between background objects (from animal to stone) in evoking aversion. Hasu-colla induced stronger unpleasantness than did lotus seedpods and background objects presented alone (Exp. 1 and 2). The amplification of unpleasantness was weakest in stones and strongest in dogs among animals (Exp. 2). Lotus seedpods, which are related to disgust for clusters, evoke strong feelings of contamination, supporting the possibility that such clusters are associated with scars and sores.