Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Climate forcings in Goddard Institute for Space Studies SI2000 simulations

[1] We define the radiative forcings used in climate simulations with the SI2000 version of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) global climate model. These include temporal variations of well-mixed greenhouse gases, stratospheric aerosols, solar irradiance, ozone, stratospheric water vapor, and tropospheric aerosols. Our illustrations focus on the period 1951–2050, but we make the full data sets available for those forcings for which we have earlier data. We illustrate the global response to these forcings for the SI2000 model with specified sea surface temperature and with a simple Q-flux ocean, thus helping to characterize the efficacy of each forcing. The model yields good agreement with observed global temperature change and heat storage in the ocean. This agreement does not yield an improved assessment of climate sensitivity or a confirmation of the net climate forcing because of possible compensations with opposite changes of these quantities. Nevertheless, the results imply that observed global temperature change during the past 50 years is primarily a response to radiative forcings. It is also inferred that the planet is now out of radiation balance by 0.5 to 1 W/m 2 and that additional global warming of about 0.5� C is already ‘‘in the pipeline. ’’ INDEX TERMS: 1620 Global Change: Climate dynamics (3309); 1635 Global Change: Oceans (4203); 1650 Global Change: Solar variability;
The role of industry-specific, occupation-specific, and location-specific knowledge in the growth and survival of new firms

How do regions acquire the knowledge they need to diversify their economic activities? How does the migration of workers among firms and industries contribute to the diffusion of that knowledge? Here we measure the industry-, occupation-, and location-specific knowledge carried by workers from one establishment to the next, using a dataset summarizing the individual work history for an entire country. We study pioneer firms—firms operating in an industry that was not present in a region—because the success of pioneers is the basic unit of regional economic diversification. We find that the growth and survival of pioneers increase significantly when their first hires are workers with experience in a related industry and with work experience in the same location, but not with past experience in a related occupation. We compare these results with new firms that are not pioneers and find that industry-specific knowledge is significantly more important for pioneer than for nonpioneer firms. To address endogeneity we use Bartik instruments, which leverage national fluctuations in the demand for an activity as shocks for local labor supply. The instrumental variable estimates support the finding that industry-specific knowledge is a predictor of the survival and growth of pioneer firms. These findings expand our understanding of the micromechanisms underlying regional economic diversification.
Salt application as an effective measure to control ruderal invaders threatening endangered halophytic plant species

Questions How does salinity affect germination, seedling performance and survival of the critically endangered Limonium barceloi, compared to ruderal species invading its salt marsh habitat? Is salt application an effective management tool for controlling invaders and favouring endangered halophytes? Location Ses Fontanelles, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain. Methods The germination of seeds of L. barceloi and nine ruderal species was tested in five salinity levels (0–37 g·L−1), and also in freshwater after a pre-treatment with seawater. The ruderal study species were: Asphodelus fistulosus, Avena barbata, Geranium molle, Hypochoeris achyrophorus, Oryzopsis miliacea, Plantago coronopus, Reichardia picroides, Sonchus asper and Sonchus tenerrimus. Two salt concentration levels (18 and 37 g·L−1) were applied twice monthly, weekly or twice weekly to examine the effect of salt irrigation schemes on the performance and seedling survival of L. barceloi compared to two of the principal species invading these salt marshes, S. tenerrimus and A. fistulosus. Results Germination of L. barceloi and most ruderal species was highest at low salinity (0–8 g·L−1). Seeds of L. barceloi, A. fistulosus and S. tenerrimus were also able to germinate at the highest salinity level, in contrast to the other species. Germination in freshwater after seawater pre-treatment was highest in L. barceloi (72 ± 6%). Seedling performance and survival of A. fistulosus and S. tenerrimus decreased with frequency and concentration of the salt treatment. An application of 37 g·L−1 salt twice a week reduced seedling survival of A. fistulosus and S. tenerrimus by 83.3 and 91.6%, respectively. In contrast, 100% of the L. barceloi seedlings survived and showed similar performance among treatments. Conclusions Limonium barceloi had higher seedling growth and survival than ruderal invaders when salinity levels were high (37 g·L−1). Nevertheless, at lower salinity, ruderal species may germinate and grow better and thus salinity level changes may represent a threat to the survival of this critically endangered species. Although further field testing is required, our experiments suggest that salt application could be an effective measure to protect L. barceloi and other endangered halophytic plant species from less salt-tolerant invaders.
POLLEN ANALYSIS OF ROYAL JELLY: CONTRIBUTION TO ANALYTICAL METHODS AND CHARACTERIZATION (1)

Royal jelly (RJ) contains pollen grains derived from the foraging activity of honeybees that reflect the environmental location of the beehives. Microscopic analysis of the pollen in RJ can be used to determine its geographical origin. This paper describes a new simplified method for determining the total amount of pollen grains and the relative frequencies of the pollen from various plant types in RJ, including an estimation of the precision of the method. As a first application of these methods, the pollen content of 37 commercial RJ samples (imported and domestic) was studied. In addition, an experiment was conducted to study the influence of pollen supplements on RJ sediment.
Isolation, Purification and Characterization of Arbutin from Cleidion nitidum (Muell. – Arg.) Thw. ex Kurz. (Euphorbiaceae)

The methanolic leaf extract of Cleidion nitidum (Muell. – Arg.) Thw. ex Kurz. (Family: Euphorbiaceae) was subjected to compound isolation and characterization.The extract was purified and isolated by column chromatography and thin layer chromatography (TLC). The isolated compound was then subjected to UV spectrum, FTIR for identification of functional groups and H-NMR and C-NMR for identification of protons and carbon atoms. ESI-MS was done to identify the molecular weight of the isolated compound. From the spectra obtained from FT-IR, H-NMR, C-NMR and ESI-MS, the isolated compound was found to be Arbutin (Hydroquinone β-D-glucopyranoside) with the molecular weight of 272.25
The impacts of green infrastructure on air quality and temperature

The temperatures and the amounts of air pollution experienced in urban environments are typically larger than in surrounding rural environments. Urban air pollution is associated with increased cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, some cancers, and increased temperatures with discomfort and in the vulnerable and elderly increased mortality. Managing urban air quality by reducing pollution exposure and maintaining equitable urban temperatures are priorities towards enhancing the health and well-being of the urban population. This chapter explores how, and to what extent, urban vegetation can influence the amounts of air pollutants and regulate urban air temperature. Urban vegetation generally has a positive influence, and under some circumstances, the capacity to make substantial gains in urban air quality and temperature regulation. Different species and forms of urban vegetation had different influences, as did the location of planting, but under some circumstances vegetation could negatively influence air-pollution and temperature. Approaches to maximise the benefits from planting urban vegetation are presented and it is acknowledged that more research is needed in order to optimise these benefits.
The Importance of “Place” in Japanese Politeness: Implications for Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Analyses

Abstract It has long been the contention of various scholars that Brown and Levinson's notion of face, in particular the concept of personal autonomy associated with negative face, is not appropriate for explaining politeness in Japanese. However, there has been little work on what might constitute a suitable alternative. In this paper, it is proposed that the concept of “place,” which has long occupied an important position in Japanese philosophy and language studies, is fundamental to instances of politeness in Japanese. It is suggested that Japanese politeness involves concern about both the “place one belongs” (inclusion) and the “place one stands” (distinction). Examples are then given to show how the concept of place can be useful in understanding politeness phenomena both cross-culturally and interculturally.
In Search of a Negativity Bias in Expectancy Violation

Negative information tends to dominate positive information across many domains. However, previous research did not find any evidence for valence asymmetries in the violation of expectancies. The current research tested whether negativity bias in expectancy violation depends on the amount of prior information that is available about a target. Drawing on extant theories of the negativity bias in impression formation, new negative and new positive information were hypothesized to result in equal expectancy violations when the new information conflicts with large amounts of target-specific information. In contrast, new negative information was hypothesized to result in greater expectancy violations than new positive information when the new information conflicts with small amounts of target-specific information. Three experiments (N = 972) disconfirmed the latter hypothesis, showing that new negative and new positive information resulted in equal expectancy violations regardless of the amount of prior information. Implications for the negativity bias, impression formation, and cognitive consistency are discussed.
How Domestic is the Fama and French Three-Factor Model? An Application to the Euro Area

The euro area has faced a high number of monetary and policy changes in the recent past as a consequence of the European integration process and, naturally, these developments have important implications for portfolio diversification and asset pricing. Therefore, this paper concentrates on the performance of a specific asset pricing model: the Fama and French three-factor model. Griffin (2002) shows that the Fama and French factors are country specific for the U.S., the U.K, Canada, and Japan. We apply the same methodology to the euro area countries and find that even in this very integrated area the domestic three-factor model outperforms the euro area three-factor model. However, the relative performance of the euro area wide model is increasing, especially for countries with a high number of listed stocks. This could be interpreted as evidence of a higher level of equity market integration caused by lower investment barriers and a changing point of view of institutional investors. Furthermore, we extend the methodology and also test an industry-specific three-factor model. Our findings suggest that lower pricing can be acquired using an industry-specific model relative to the euro area three-factor model.
Psychosocial Stress and Low Resilience: a Risk Factor for Hypertension

Full Member of Sociedad Argentina de Cardiología Winning work of the Braun Menéndez Prize – Clinical Cardiology – at the XXXV Argentine Congress of Cardiology CEDIE Center for Endocrinology Researches, Hospital de Niños. Clínica Privada del Carmen. Zárate, Province of Buenos Aires 1 Cardiology Consultant 2 CONICET Researcher 3 Chief of Non-Invasive Laboratory of the Hospital Universitario Austral 4 Cardiologist 5 Biochemist. Chief of Laboratory Background Chronic psychosocial stress (CPS) was proposed as a cardiovascular risk factor (CRF); however, the complexity and the lack of objective measures to evaluate it, together with the fact that not all individuals react in the same way, determined the lack of conclusive studies.
Hematopoietic effects of recombinant human interleukin-3 and interleukin-6

Purpose. Bone marrow suppression, especially thrombocytopenia is a major impediment to chemotherapy dose-intensity. Both recombinant human interleukin-6 (rhIL-6) and to a lesser extent recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) have shown to stimulate thrombopoiesis. In this study the effects of a combination of rhIL-6 and rhGM-CSF were evaluated before and after chemotherapy. Methods. Non-small cell lung cancer-and breast cancer patients were eligible. RhIL-6 was initially given in a dose of 2.5 (n=3) and escalated to 5.0 m g/kg/day (n=4), rhGM-CSF at a dose of 5.0 m g/kg/day in all patients. Two weeks before chemotherapy rhIL-6 + rhGM-CSF were started and administered for 1 week, then, 4 days after chemotherapy (mitoxantrone 10 mg/m 2 and thiotepa 40 mg/m 2 ) rhIL-6 + rhGM-CSF were simultaneously given for 10 days. Chemotherapy was repeated every 3 weeks. These patients were compared with a historical group (n=7) treated with rhIL-6 as the only hematopoietic growth factor but otherwise identically. Results. Flu-like symptoms, consisting of fever, headache and myalgia were reported frequently and appeared to be dose-limiting for the combination. Nausea and vomiting occurred in the pre-chemotherapy period and were associated with rhIL-6 administration. Before chemotherapy, both rhIL-6 alone and rhIL-6 + rhGM-CSF resulted in a similar increase in platelet numbers. RhIL-6 + rhGM-CSF lead to an increase in leukocytes, whereas rhIL-6 alone did not affect leukocyte numbers. After chemotherapy, the administration of rhIL-6 alone or rhIL-6 + rhGM-CSF did not result in differences with regard to the nadir or recovery of either leukocytes or platelets. Conclusions.
Differential Effects of Sucrose, Fructose, and Glucose on Postprandial Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism in Young Japanese Women

Differential effects of sugars, namely sucrose, fructose, and glucose on postprandial carbohydrate and lipid metabolism were investigated in young women. Young Japanese women with normal body mass (BMI ≥18.5−<25 kg/m2) and apolipoprotein E phenotype 3/3 were enrolled. In the experiment (Exp) 1, subjects (n = 10) ingested one of the beverages containing (1) glucose (0.5 g/kg body mass), (2) fructose (0.5 g/kg), (3) sucrose (0.5 g/kg), or (4) glucose (0.25 g/kg) + fructose (0.25 g/kg) in a randomized crossover design. In Exp 2, subjects (n = 10) ingested fat cream (fat content: 0.35 g/kg) alone or along with either beverage (1), (2), or (3). Blood samples were collected at baseline and 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 6 h after ingestion and then analyzed. In Exp 1, the ingestion of fructose non-significantly increased postprandial serum triglyceride (TG), hepatic TG-rich lipoprotein-TG, and remnant cholesterol levels. In Exp 2, coingestion of fructose or sucrose with fat delayed postprandial lipidemia compared with the ingestion of fat alone. The extent of postprandial lipid response after coingestion of sucrose with fat was intermediate between that observed after coingestion of fructose with fat and that observed after coingestion of glucose with fat. In conclusion, ingestion of fructose may increase endogenous TG-rich lipoprotein concentration, but the effect of sucrose was weaker. Coingestion of fructose and fat delayed postprandial lipidemia compared with the ingestion of fat alone. The extent of postprandial lipid response by sucrose coingestion with fat was intermediate between fructose and glucose.
The Growth Of Balanus Balanoides (L.) and B. Crenatus Brug. Under Varying Conditions Of Submersion

The length, breadth, and in part the height, of individual Balanus balanoides and B. crenatus have been measured over several seasons, and the mean specific growth-rates calculated. The B. balanoides had settled at various known intertidal levels, and both species under conditions of permanent submersion. Under all conditions, except on the highest intertidal panels, length increases rapidly subsequent to settlement and during the early summer. B. crenatus can reach its virtual maximum size (20–25 nun. rostro-carinal length) in a single growing season, under the conditions studied. Late-settled B. crenatus continue to grow further into the autumn, and begin to grow again early in the spring of the second season at the end of which the virtual maximum size is reached. The seasonal growth of both intertidal and submerged B. balanoides is similar, but the growth-rate is a function of submersion, which is, of course, dependent upon the tidal level. However, maximum growth is not reached in the first season and there is consequently relatively more growth in the second season than in B. crenatus. The mean specific growth-rates in both species decrease with increasing size and, with permanently submerged B. crenatus, there is no suggestion that during the first spring and early summer any change in the environmental factors was effective. On the intertidal panels, the mean specific growth-rates at a given size vary with the tidal level, and this effect is most marked in the smaller barnacles.
Pattern of musculoskeletal injuries among soccer and basketball players in a Nigerian university

Involvement in sports is recognized as a potential source of musculoskeletal injuries with variable patterns and severity. This study was conducted to investigate the occurrence, pattern of musculoskeletal injuries and treatment intervention used among soccer and basketball players of the University of Ibadan. A retrospective study was carried out through the administration of a self-administered questionnaire. Information on occurrence of injury, location and types of injury, causes of injury and treatment received were obtained. Sixty four (80%) players out of a total of 80 players that participated in the study reported to have sustained injury over the period covered by the study. Players within the age range of 21 to 24 years have the highest occurrence of injury across both sports. Soccer players suffered injury most to their lower limb constituting over 50% of total injury sustained. Basketball players suffered most injury to their finger (n=8, 21.6%) and ankle (n=8, 21.6%). Strain is reported as most common type of injury among soccer players (n=15, 46.9%) while sprain was reported to be predominant among basketball players (n=20, 62.5%). Tackling from opposing players was reported as the major cause of injury among soccer players (n=13, 40.6%) while the major cause of injury among the basketball players was attributed to stumbling/fall. First aid was the most utilized form of treatment by the injured players across the two sports. It was concluded that injuries are common in both sports, predominant cause of injuries among soccer players are due to contact while the predominant causes of injuries among basketball players are due to non-contact incidents. The pattern and location of injuries relate closely to the part of the body mostly involved with the giving sports.
Adaptive Multi-Scale Entropy Fusion De-Hazing Based on Fractional Order

This paper describes a proposed fractional filter-based multi-scale underwater and hazy image enhancement algorithm. The proposed system combines a modified global contrast operator with fractional order-based multi-scale filters used to generate several images, which are fused based on entropy and standard deviation. The multi-scale-global enhancement technique enables fully adaptive and controlled color correction and contrast enhancement without over exposure of highlights when processing hazy and underwater images. This in addition to the illumination/reflectance estimation coupled with global and local contrast enhancement. The proposed algorithm is also compared with the most recent available state-of-the-art multi-scale fusion de-hazing algorithm. Experimental comparisons indicate that the proposed approach yields a better edge and contrast enhancement results without a halo effect, without color degradation, and is faster and more adaptive than all other algorithms from the literature.
Comparison of Dried Blood Spot Collection Techniques in Nigeria

prevalence rates for HIV among various groups such as women attending antenatal clinics, blood donors, transport workers and patients attending sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics in the country. Such surveys are essential for providing evidence of the impact of HIV interventions, tracking trends of HIV prevalence and maintaining the efficacy of antiretroviral drug regimens within the population in areas where individualized patient monitoring is not available. A key aspect of these surveillance activities is the collection of bio-repository samples for use in secondary analysis as a means of quality control.
of Behavioural Interventions Promoting Healthy Eating among Older

Because eating habits are inseparably linked with people’s physical health, effective behaviour interventions are highly demanded to promote healthy eating among older people. The aim of this systematic review was to identify effective diet interventions for older people and provide useful evidence and direction for further research. Three electronic bibliographic databases—PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection were used to conduct a systematic literature search based on fixed inclusion and exclusion criteria. English language peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2011 and 2016 were selected for data extraction and quality assessment. Finally, a total of 16 studies were identified. The studies’ duration ranged from three weeks to seven years. The majority of studies were carried out in European countries. Seven studies had a moderate quality while the remaining studies were at a less than moderate level. Three dietary educational interventions and all meal service related interventions reported improvements in older people’s dietary variety, nutrition status, or other health-related eating behaviours. Multicomponent dietary interventions mainly contributed to the reduction of risk of chronic disease. The results supported that older people could achieve a better dietary quality if they make diet-related changes by receiving either dietary education or healthier meal service. Further high-quality studies are required to promote healthy eating among older people by taking regional diet patterns, advanced information technology, and nudging strategies into account.