Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trace Elements Content of Colostrum Milk in Brazil

Abstract The study of the composition of human milk has attracted a lot of interest, since it represents the most suitable pattern of nutrients for the younger infant. In the present study, the concentration of iron, copper and zinc was measured in the colostrum of 50 Brazilian mothers. The samples were collected from the day of birth to the fourth day postpartum. The levels of trace elements were determined by total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis (TXRF) with synchrotron radiation. The accuracy of the measurements was calculated by determining the concentration of the elements in a standard solution (ICP-multielement standard solution) resulting in values ranging from 3.7 to 6.1% for the elements to be considered. We obtained the following values (mean± s.d. ): 1.72±1.01 mg/L Fe; 0.54±0.29 mg/L Cu; 6.97±2.82 mg/L Zn. The concentrations of the determined elements were comparable with previously reported colostrum values. We concluded that TXRF is an adequate technique for evaluating trace elements in colostrum, providing multielement analysis in a single measurement, and requiring no pre-concentration of the sample. The technique can be optimized in further studies in order to evaluate a wide range of trace elements in the human milk, in a greater number of colostrum samples.
Rights of Minors and Constitutional Politics in the German Länder. Legal Framework, Party Strategies, and Constitutional Amendments

Abstract The article analyses constitutional politics in the German Länder in the field of minors’ rights. Since this issue seems a purely legal matter dealt with at the federal, European and international level, we should expect similar, almost identically shaped policies at the Länder level. However, the analysis brings considerable variations of constitutional activities in this field to the fore: time, frequency, and contents of respective initiatives vary significantly in the period from 1999 to 2014. These variations were due to different party strategies, diverging party platforms and majority constellations in the Länder. The analysis also shows that the public arguments brought forward in favour of constitutional amendments refer only weakly and randomly to legal provisions and processes at other levels. The political debate supporting extended children's rights rather refers to general observations, to the specific regional context, and constitutional provisions in other Länder. At least with regard to this issue, the multi-level system did not systematically impact on constitutional politics in the Länder. It rather can be understood as an opportunity structure providing parties with multiple realms in which they can pursue their goals. Thus the study shows that federal and regional party strategies are key factors in explaining policy diffusion in multilevel systems.
Series Working Paper No . 1502 Trade , finance and endogenous firm heterogeneity

We study how financial frictions affect firm-level heterogeneity and trade. We build a model in which productivity differences across monopolistically competitive firms are endogenous and depend on investment decisions at the entry stage. By increasing entry costs, financial frictions lower the exit cutoff and hence the value of investing in bigger projects with more dispersed outcomes. As a result, financial frictions make firms smaller and more homogeneous, and hinder the volume of exports. Export opportunities, instead, shift expected profits to the tail and increase the value of technological heterogeneity. We test these predictions using comparable measures of sales dispersion within 365 manufacturing industries in 119 countries, built from highly disaggregated US import data. Consistent with the model, financial development increases sales dispersion, especially in more financially vulnerable industries; sales dispersion is also increasing in measures of comparative advantage. These results help explaining the effect of financial development and factor endowments on export sales. JEL Classification: F12, F14.
Diversity and structure of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (Insecta) assemblages from riffles in mountain streams of Central Brazil

The diversity and structure of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) assemblages in streams of Central Brazil (Serra dos Pireneus, Pirenopolis, State of Goias) was investigated. Abundance data of EPT were obtained in Central-West Brazilian streams in order to evaluate the effect of spatial variability, including the effect of size of the stream and anthropic action, and seasonality (dry and rainy seasons) on faunal diversity and structure. The immatures were collected with circular sieves (0. 5 mm mesh) during one hour at five collection stations over 14 months. From a spatial point of view, the data showed that anthropic action determined the patterns of diversity whereas the size of streams (1st and 3rd-4th orders) determined the faunistic composition. In addition, environmental seasonality was an important factor for structuring the EPT fauna.
Carleson measures for analytic Besov spaces

We characterize Carleson measures for the analytic Besov spaces. The problem is first reduced to a discrete question involving measures on trees which is then solved. Applications are given to multipliers for the Besov spaces and to the determination of interpolating sequences. The discrete theorem is also applied to analysis of function space on trees.
Consumers of flowers and ornamental plants: an exploratory survey in the Italian " Mezzogiorno " regions

This paper aims to provide further knowledge of purchase and consumption behaviours with regard to flowers and ornamental plants in the regions of Italian «Mezzogiorno», as an acknowledgement of the centrality of final demand in the chain process. The knowledge of consumption process is fundamental either to the firm – in order to improve commercial strategies – or to competition authorities – with the purpose of implementing more effective policies. From the analysis carried out it emerges that flowers and ornamental plants consumption in the «Mezzogiorno» regions is characterised by a high penetration index and – just with regard to some commodities – by a low purchase frequency. Purchase – mainly in specialized flower shops – is made both to satisfy personal requirements and as a present for special occasions. With the only exception of flowers, consumption is not tied to specific occasions. In the «Mezzogiorno» regions this sector is actually showing a good growth potential in both productive and consumption terms. It is of primary importance to carry out actions consisting in an improvement of information and awareness among consumers about flowers and ornamentals, and a more diversified supply of products in order to get into the modern distribution chains.
Assessing monetary policy in the euro area: a factor-augmented VAR approach

In order to overcome the omitted information problem of small-scale Vector Autoregression (VAR) models, this study combines the VAR methodology with dynamic factor analysis and assesses the effects of monetary policy shocks in the euro area in the period during which there is a single monetary policy. Using the Factor-Augmented Vector Autoregressive (FAVAR) approach of Bernanke et al. (2005), we summarize the information contained in a large set of macroeconomic time series with a small number of estimated factors and use them as regressors in recursive VARs to evaluate the impact of the nonsystematic component of the European Central Bank's (ECB's) actions. Overall, our results suggest that the inclusion of factors in the VAR allows us to obtain a more coherent picture of the effects of monetary policy innovations, both by achieving responses easier to understand from the theoretical point of view and by increasing the precision of such responses. Moreover, this framework allows us to compute impulse-response functions for all the variables included in the panel, thereby providing a more complete depiction of the effects of policy disturbances. However, the extra information generated by the FAVAR also delivers some puzzling responses, in particular those relating to exchange rates.
Molecular Characterization, cDNA Cloning and Phylogenetic Analysis of Cecropin Gene Isolated from Bacterial-challenged Cotton Leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis

Experiments were designed and conducted to isolate and characterize the full length cDNA of cecropin gene from the cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis. In addition, sequence and phylogenetic analyses of this gene were studied. Using differential display technique, a typical cationic insect cecropin gene (SpliCec) was isolated from bacterial-challenged S. littoralis haemolymph. Five differentially displayed bands were sequenced. Based on sequence analyses of the data, specific primers for the full length of cecropin were designed and successfully amplified 388 bp amplicon. The integration of the results revealed that the 388 bp-PCR product has one open reading frame (orf) of 186 bp long, including both start codon (AUG) and stop codon (UGA). The deduced amino acid sequence of SpliCec indicated that the full length prepropeptide consists of a 22-residue signal peptide, a dipeptide prosequence and a 38-residue mature peptide. The SpliCec sequence created significant similarity with many insect cecropin sequences, especially those of M. sexta and A. convolvuli.
Unusual symbiotic relationships between microendolithic phototrophic organisms and azooxanthellate cold-water corals from Chilean fjords

Mutualistic relationships of corals from warm, oligotrophic waters are best known with endocytic and scarcely with endolithic phototrophic organisms. We describe relationships of the microboring phototrophic green alga Ostreobium queckettii and the cyanobacterium Plectonema terebrans with 2 species of strictly azooxanthellate corals from nutrient-rich cold waters. Desmophyl- lum dianthus was originally described from lightless bathyal habitats and has only recently been dis- covered to form vast and dense shallow-water populations in the Chilean fjord region where it is associated with Caryophyllia huinayensis. The filamentous phototrophic endoliths were found to live on the surface and bore into the uppermost layer of the corallites. They are markedly denser on por- tions of the corallites which are covered by polyp tissue. The infestation of corals appears in the form of yellowish, greenish or brownish staining in the case of O. queckettii, and pinkish to violet staining in the case of P. terebrans. These characteristics suggest a putative facultative and mutualistic ectosymbiosis. Similar relationships between phototrophic endoliths and D. dianthus are indicated in specimens from New Zealand.
An estimate of the stratospheric contribution to springtime tropospheric ozone maxima using TOPSE measurements and beryllium-7 simulations

[1] Measurements of tropospheric ozone (O3) between 30°N and 70°N show springtime maxima at remote locations. The contribution of seasonal changes in stratosphere–troposphere exchange (STE) to these maxima was investigated using measurements from the Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox Experiment (TOPSE) campaign and the beryllium-7 (7Be) distribution from a calculation driven by fields from the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System (GEOS DAS). Comparison with TOPSE measurements revealed that upper tropospheric model-calculated 7Be mixing ratios were reasonable (a change from previous calculations) but that lower tropospheric mixing ratios were too low most likely due to an overestimation of scavenging. Temporal fluctuations were well captured although their amplitudes were often underestimated. Analysis of O3 measurements indicated that O3 mixing ratios increased by 5–10% month−1 for θ 300 K (the tropospheric middleworld). 7Be mixing ratios decreased with time for θ 300 K. Model-calculated middleworld increases of 7Be were a factor of 2 less than measured increases. 7Be with a stratospheric source (strat-7Be) increased by 4.6–8.8% month−1 along TOPSE flight paths within the tropospheric middleworld. Increases in strat-7Be were not seen along TOPSE flight paths in the underworld. Assuming changes in tropospheric O3 with a stratospheric source are the same as changes in strat-7Be and that 50% of O3 in the region of interest is produced in the stratosphere, changes in STE explain 20–60% of O3 increases in the tropospheric middleworld and less than 33% of O3 increases in the underworld.
Constructing a data-driven receptor model for organic and inorganic aerosol – a synthesis analysis of eight mass spectrometric data sets from a boreal forest site

Abstract. The interactions between organic and inorganic aerosol chemical components are integral to understanding and modelling climate and health-relevant aerosol physicochemical properties, such as volatility, hygroscopicity, light scattering and toxicity. This study presents a synthesis analysis for eight data sets, of non-refractory aerosol composition, measured at a boreal forest site. The measurements, performed with an aerosol mass spectrometer, cover in total around 9 months over the course of 3 years. In our statistical analysis, we use the complete organic and inorganic unit-resolution mass spectra, as opposed to the more common approach of only including the organic fraction. The analysis is based on iterative, combined use of (1) data reduction, (2) classification and (3) scaling tools, producing a data-driven chemical mass balance type of model capable of describing site-specific aerosol composition. The receptor model we constructed was able to explain 83±8 % of variation in data, which increased to 96±3 % when signals from low signal-to-noise variables were not considered. The resulting interpretation of an extensive set of aerosol mass spectrometric data infers seven distinct aerosol chemical components for a rural boreal forest site: ammonium sulfate (35±7 % of mass), low and semi-volatile oxidised organic aerosols (27±8 % and 12±7 %), biomass burning organic aerosol (11±7 %), a nitrate-containing organic aerosol type (7±2 %), ammonium nitrate (5±2 %), and hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (3±1 %). Some of the additionally observed, rare outlier aerosol types likely emerge due to surface ionisation effects and likely represent amine compounds from an unknown source and alkaline metals from emissions of a nearby district heating plant. Compared to traditional, ion-balance-based inorganics apportionment schemes for aerosol mass spectrometer data, our statistics-based method provides an improved, more robust approach, yielding readily useful information for the modelling of submicron atmospheric aerosols physical and chemical properties. The results also shed light on the division between organic and inorganic aerosol types and dynamics of salt formation in aerosol. Equally importantly, the combined methodology exemplifies an iterative analysis, using consequent analysis steps by a combination of statistical methods. Such an approach offers new ways to home in on physicochemically sensible solutions with minimal need for a priori information or analyst interference. We therefore suggest that similar statistics-based approaches offer significant potential for un- or semi-supervised machine-learning applications in future analyses of aerosol mass spectrometric data.
Usage of Learning Management System (Moodle) among Postgraduate Students: UTAUT Model

The application of a learning management system (LMS) Moodle is learning and teaching platform in Universiti Utara Malaysia. To examine the level of acceptance of this technology, the UTAUT (Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology) Model is used to infer individual students’ technology acceptance by explaining the variants in Behavior Intention (BI). This study is conducted on 65 postgraduate students pursuing their study at UUM. The students are all studying the same course and they are exposed to the application of LMS known as ‘Moodle UUM Learning Zone’. A set of questionnaire, in the UTAUT Model which is developed by Venkatesh et al. (2003), is used to collect data which is then descriptively analyzed by using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20 and SmartPLS 2.0. The findings of the study found that Performance Expectancy (PE) (? =0.418, p<0.01), Social Influence (SI) (? =0.238, p<0.01) and Facilitating Conditions (FC) (? =0.120, p<0.01) have positive influence towards ‘Behavioral Intention’ (BI). The value R2 = 0.520 showed that 52.0% of the variants in the application of Learning zone can be explained by Behavioral Intention (BI). Consequently, the result related to moderator influence in terms of gender showed that all the four UTAUT Model constructs failed to reject HO5. The results also showed that moderator influence in terms of gender with PE, EE, SI and FC does not have significant positive influence towards BI. The findings of this study which are hoped to help encourage instructors and students to use this technology in their learning and teaching processes, have proven that LMS ‘Moodle’ is beneficial and effective for learning and teaching processes.
Citizenship in the Workplace: Examining Work Attitudes as Predictors among French Employee

Organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) has been a subject of continually increasing interest in academic managerial literature. While most current research comes from the United States, several scholars have argued for the need for global data. As Podsakoff, MacKensie, Paine and Bachrach (2000, p. 556) insist, “cultural context may affect a) the forms of citizenship behaviour observed in organizations and b) the strengths of relationships between citizenship behaviour and its antecedents and consequences. ” New targets of commitment (commitment to the supervisor and to the workgroup) have appeared. New forms of citizenship (civic virtue and sportsmanship) may be added to these. Empirical relations between various targets of commitment and these new forms of citizenship remain to be clarified in the French context. This paper proposes explore empirical links between foci of commitment, job satisfaction, and job involvement and OCB to determine which attitude explains which forms of citizenship.
Tetrahydrobiopterin Attenuates Microvascular Reperfusion Injury Following Murine Pancreas Transplantation

In this study we investigated the effect of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), an essential cofactor for nitric oxide synthases, on ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) following murine pancreas transplantation. Pancreatic grafts were exposed to prolonged cold ischemia times (CIT) and different treatment regimens: normal saline (S), S + 16 h CIT, BH4 50 mg/kg + 16 h CIT. Nontransplanted animals served as controls. Graft microcirculation was analyzed by means of functional capillary density (FCD) and capillary diameters (CD) after 2 h reperfusion using intravital microscopy. Quantification of inflammatory responses (mononuclear infiltration) and endothelial disintegration (edema formation) was done by histology (hematoxylin and eosin), and peroxynitrite formation assessed by nitrotyrosine immunostaining. FCD was significantly reduced after prolonged CIT, paralleled by increased peroxynitrite formation as compared with controls (all p < 0.05). Microcirculatory changes correlated significantly with intragraft peroxynitrite generation (Spearman: r = −0.56; p < 0.01). Pancreatic grafts treated with BH4 displayed markedly higher FCD values (p < 0.01) and abrogated nitrotyrosine staining (p = 0.03). CD were not significantly different in any group. Histology showed increased inflammation, interstitial edema, hemorrhage, acinar vacuolization and focal areas of necrosis after 16 h CIT, which was diminished by BH4 administration (p < 0.01). BH4 treatment significantly reduces postischemic deterioration of microcirculation as well as histologic damage and might be a promising novel strategy in attenuating IRI following pancreas transplantation.
Mechanisms of peer interactions between native and non-native students: rejection or integration?

This paper focuses on mechanisms of “peer interactions” among native and non-native students. We present a theoretical framework based on Lazear (2001) education production model and on the “sub-cultural” sociological theory and we test the theoretical predictions exploiting a dataset of Italian junior high school. Results show that non-native school share has small and negative impacts on Language test scores of natives’ peers, while it does not significantly affect Math test scores. The negative effects to natives’ attainment are concentrated in schools characterized by low levels of non-natives’ isolation or where non-natives’ school share is above 10%.
The Relationship between Organization Strategy, Fixed-Assets Investment and Earnings Quality

One of the important sources for investors to evaluate is the information provided in the financial statements disclosed by firms. Past researches consider that worse financial statement quality has higher information risks from the aspect of information risks but they ignore the investors’ degree of tolerance and aversion towards risks. Furthermore, the accounting signals hidden behind financial statements can be considered as important information for investors to evaluate the futurity of enterprises. Thus, it is our main research topic as how to apply accounting signals on investment risks. This study uses data of the U.S. during 1991-2008 to review the influence of accounting signals on investment risks. Result finds that in the investment management essentials in firm-wise, the accounting signals for capital expenditure ratio per person can lower the investment risks no matter in cost leadership firms or differentiation strategy firms. For the investment management essentials in industry-wise, we have the below findings: In cost leadership strategy samples, there is competitive convergence if enterprises over-pursue the fixed asset turnover ratio. In the samples that adopt differentiation strategy, increasing the ixed asset turnover ratio can enhance organization’s competitiveness and reduce investment risks. This is the first study that applies capability index of accrual quality (investors’ degree of tolerance and aversion towards risks) on researches of accounting signals and discovers that competitive convergence exists in organizations that adopt cost leadership strategy.