Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Centreline and cross-glacier air temperature variability on an Alpine glacier: assessing temperature distribution methods and their influence on melt model calculations

ABSTRACT The spatio-temporal distribution of air temperature over mountain glaciers can demonstrate complex patterns, yet it is often represented simplistically using linear vertical temperature gradients (VTGs) extrapolated from off-glacier locations. We analyse a network of centreline and lateral air temperature observations at Tsanteleina Glacier, Italy, during summer 2015. On average, VTGs are steep (<−0.0065 °C m−1), but they are shallow under warm ambient conditions when the correlation between air temperature and elevation becomes weaker. Published along-flowline temperature distribution methods explain centreline observations well, including warming on the lower glacier tongue, but cannot estimate lateral temperature variability. Application of temperature distribution methods improves simulation of melt rates (RMSE) in an energy-balance model by up to 36% compared to the environmental lapse rate extrapolated from an off-glacier station. However, results suggest that model parameters are not easily transferable to glaciers with a small fetch without recalibration. Such methods have potential to improve estimates of temperature across a glacier, but their parameter transferability should be further linked to the glacier and atmospheric characteristics. Furthermore, ‘cold spots’, which can be >2°C cooler than expected for their elevation, whose occurrence is not predicted by the temperature distribution models, are identified at one-quarter of the measurement sites.
Role of Courts in Economic Development: A Case of Prewar Japan

In this paper, we explore the role of courts in the Japanese economic development, using prefecture-level litigation statistics. Since the late nineteenth century, the Japanese people brought many cases before the courts. The dominant part of the cases dealt with monetary issues, which implies that the court played a substantial role in arbitrating disputes related to economic transactions. Through regression analyses of prefecture-level panel data, it was found that frequency of law suits was positively correlated with the scale of economic activities, but that it was only in case economic development was accompanied by urbanization or decline of local communities. At the same time, it is found that increase of the capacity of the legal system enhanced financial development. In this case also, the importance of the capacity of legal system was conditional on the function of local communities. * This paper is prepared for the workshop on “Law and Economic Development: A historical perspective,” at Utrecht University in September, 2007. ** Department of Economics, Osaka University (masaki@econ.osaka-u.ac.jp) *** Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo (okazaki@e.u-tokyo.ac.jp)
Further results on skew monoid rings of a certain free monoid (I)

Abstract Let R be a ring with an endomorphism , F be a free monoid and S be a factor of such that for some positive integer . The second author and Moussavi [Annihilator properties of skew monoid rings, Comm. Algebra, 42 (2) (2014), 842–852] started studying the skew monoid ring . In this paper, we continue the study of these rings.
Toxoplasmosis in Small Ruminants from Varied Habitats

Background: Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease found all over the world in all the mammalian and avian species. We conceived the hypothesis that the infection might be affected by the various factor differing in various habitats. The present study was conducted to evaluate our hypothesis by investigating the rates if infections different flocks of small ruminants populated in various localities with varied ecological conditions in southernmost part of Punjab, Pakistan. Materials and Method: The blood samples collected from mixed farms of sheep and goats were examined by Latex Agglutination Test to detect rates of seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies. Statistical analyses were applied to ascertain the correlation between habitat variations and rates of toxoplasmosis in three distinct regions of study area including sand dunes of Cholistan desert, Agricultural Region and Marshy areas. Results: The total infection rates collectively found in small ruminants were 31.41%. The incidence rates of Toxoplasma infection in small ruminants were 38.1%, 32.1% and 14.5% in animals reared in Agricultural Region, Riverside region and Sand Dunes region of Cholistan correspondingly. Conclusions: The results showed the varied rates of toxoplasmosis in small ruminants in various habitats in the study area. Furthermore, the overall higher occurrence of toxoplasmosis in small ruminants underlined the threat of zoonotic transmission of infection to human.
Flux retrieval optimization with a nonscanner along‐track broadband radiometer

[1] The theoretical behavior of broadband flux retrieval is analyzed with the aid of a radiance field database. Several angular inversion models are developed for different viewing configurations, with special emphasis in a nonscanner along-track design concept. Results show that the performance of these angular models depends on the viewing zenith angle (VZA). When cloud cover is predominant within the observed scene, VZAs around 55° (shortwave) and 50° (longwave) minimize the error when deriving fluxes. These results might help in the design of future missions where the main idea is to obtain accurate instantaneous measurements of top of atmosphere reflected and emitted fluxes. Such measurements can be used as a constraint to derive atmospheric profiles from active instruments (lidar and cloud profiling radar), onboard the same platform. For this purpose, along-track configurations are very good candidates because the flux retrieval can be optimized by using different views of the same pixel almost simultaneously from the same platform.
Assessment of Blood Chemistry, Weight Gain and Linear Body Measurements of Pre-Puberal Buck Rabbits Fed Different Levels of Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) Leaf Meals

A 16 week feeding trial was carried out to investigate the effect of dietary Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) leaf meal (NLM) on body weight gain, linear body measurements and blood chemistry of pre-puberal buck rabbits. Four treatment diets were formulated to contain the NLM at inclusion levels of 0 (control), 5, 10 and 15%. Thirty six crossbred New Zealand white × Chinchilla pre-puberal buck rabbits aged 5 to 6 mo were divided into four groups of nine rabbits and each group was further replicated into three of three rabbits each. The rabbits were randomly assigned to the four dietary treatments. Lymphocyte count of rabbits fed control diet (8.32 × 109 mm-3) was significantly higher than the group fed 15% NLM (4.60 × 109 mm-3). The mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell volume (MCV) of the control bucks were significantly (p 0.05) among the treatment groups. The results suggest that buck rabbits could tolerate up to 15% dietary inclusion of NLM without deleterious effects on body weight gain, linear body measurements and some hematological parameters.
Ethnic heterogeneity, pluralism and government spending : global context and the case of Malaysia

This paper looks at the role of the State in ethnically diverse societies such as Malaysia, more specifically the relationship between the degree of ethnic fragmentation and the size and development of the public sector, an area that is rarely devoted to in the vast literature on public sector economics. Besides focusing on the statistical link between the degree of ethnic fragmentation and the level of public spending and other related variables, it also explores the complex relationship that tends to be obscured by the diverse socioeconomic experiences of individual nation states. The most prominent forces at work include, among others, the historical geography and numerical structure of ethnic composition, ethnoterritoriality, ethnic intensity and legitimacy and the particularities of public policy response towards exigencies engendered by ethnic diversity, from preferential policies to fiscal federalism to regional particularism. Finally, such a framework is further complicated by the existence of an inverse causal relationship that cannot be precluded. While State action, as reflected in the trend and development of public spending and other public policy variables, can be seen as a direct response to challenges from ethnic community organizations that seek to influence public policy, country experiences show that within an inverted and complementary paradigm, ethnic communities do take shape in response to public policy stimuli. Such stimuli induce a process of ethnogenesis or reethnicization which further influences public policy formulation, often resulting in a vicious cycle of ethnic resource contest and further State economic intervention, with political processes increasingly replacing market relations in a plural society. Ethnic Diversity and Public Expenditure While there have been abundant literature on the determinants of government size, interest on the impact of ethnic diversity is still relatively new since the early studies like Mueller and Murrell (1986) and McCarty (1993). Taking ethnic fractionalization as the explanatory variable, its possible effect on the size of the public sector is determined by the way it influences the process of public decision making. From a theoretical perspective, the degree of ethnic fractionalization has been thought to have an inverse relationship with the scale of government. Mueller and Murrell (1986) hypothesized that the greater the ethnic fractionalization, the smaller the expected size of government due to the greater difficulty of reaching collective decisions (the higher the transaction costs involved). Ethnic fractionalization is one of the independent * Dr Émile Kok-Kheng Yeoh is a lecturer at the Department of Analytical Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya. Email: emileyeo@terra.es, emileyeo@correo.nu An earlier version of this paper was presented at the "New Zealand-Malaysia Symposium: The State, Economic Development and Ethnic Co-Existence", University of Wellington, February 7-8, 2002. 1 See Yeoh (2001b), Table 1.
Finite approximations of $p$-local compact groups

We show that the classifying space of a $p$-local compact group is approximated by a telescope of classifying spaces of $p$-local finite groups. This result has numerous implications, like a Stable Elements Theorem for $p$-local compact groups, or the description of the homotopy type of certain mapping spaces.
The Essential Knowledge and Skills of Teacher Leaders: A Search for a Conceptual Framework.

This paper describes a framework which captures the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of teacher leaders who demonstrate the ability to work effectively with students and peers in their own classrooms and beyond. Data come from 10 in-depth studies of recognized, urban, middle-school teachers. During the study, participants came together twice for 3-day conferences to facilitate reflection on their leadership qualities and how they acquired them. The process revealed some early themes about teacher leadership: the importance of subject matter knowledge, the commitment of teachers to working collaboratively, and the unique challenges of teaching other teachers versus students. Through interviews and portfolio reviews, other themes emerged: the role of reflection in teacher growth, the sense of empowerment they shared, and their enthusiasm for continually innovating in the classroom. Using teachers' feedback, a framework was developed that captured leadership qualities in four dimensions: expertise, collaboration, reflection, and empowerment. By following the teachers' career paths, the study found that as the teachers developed high levels of skill in each of the four domains, they emerged as leaders. The importance of professional development experiences in cultivating participants' expertise, collaborative and reflective skills, and sense of empowerment is noted. (Contains 24 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. The Essential Knowledge and Skills of Teacher Leaders: A Search for a Conceptual Framework Jean Snell and Judy Swanson' Education Matters, Inc., West Coast Office Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA. April, 2000. 'The research reported in this paper was supported by a grant from OEM, U.S. Department of Education. Grant #R305F970040-99 0.
Magnitude do custo energético da ativação do sistema imune em morcegos: efeitos sazonais e da restrição alimentar

One of the innate immune response components is the APR, which can be activated by trauma, infection, stress and inflammation. The APR activation aims to restore homeostasis and health of an organism exposed to the before mentioned events, through several physiological modifications that may result in high energetic cost. Some modifications are increase in metabolic rate, fever and granulocytes in the blood (eosinophils, basophils and neutrophils). Animals may also show anorexia and body mass loss, reducing the energy expenditure during the APR activation. In situations where animals are exposed to increase energy demand and decrease caloric intake, they could experience a deficiency in energy reserves, which may hamper the effectiveness of an immune response. We induced the APR activation in the Short-tailed fruit bats (Carollia perspicillata) by LPS injection. We quantified the energetic cost of the APR and how it is affected by seasonality (winter and summer) and food availability (food restriction and fed ad libitum). Body mass loss during the APR activation was observed in both seasons, but only in bats in food restriction, probably due to the mobilization of energy reserves, while bats fed ad libitum covered part of the APR cost by the mobilization of carbohydrates from the recent ingested food. Bats did not show fever or leukocytosis, nevertheless, we found increase in N/L ratio when bats were in food restriction and during winter. This parameter is also a stress indicator, so probably the combination of limited food availability and increase in the energy demand for thermoregulation during winter, may be a stressful situation for this bat. It seems that bats from this group were able to activate the APR, nevertheless we could not measure if the effectiveness of the response was jeopardized. The energetic cost of the APR activation did not vary between experimental groups. Our results showed that for C. perspicillata, activating the APR entails low energy cost (1% of the daily energy budget). Thus, they seem to be capable of activating an immune response even in situations that demand more energy and when food availability is limited, and consequently preserve immunocompetence without compromising their energy budget. Key-words: Energetic cost, Immune response, Metabolic rate, Seasonality, Food restriction, Acute phase response.
The Impact of Concentration on Competition and Efficiency in the Lithuanian Banking Sector

European banking sectors have been subject to various forms of deregulation, liberalization, as well as dramatic improvements in information technology (IT). As the result of the creation of the European Union’s Single Market, the financial institutions are transforming themselves in response to fundamental changes in regulation and technology. Many of these changes have vast implications for competition, concentration and the efficiency of financial sectors. This paper examines the impact of increasing concentration and new technologies, linked with the mergers and acquisitions process, on the degree of competition and efficiency of the Lithuanian commercial banks. The goal of this paper is to check whether, during the analyzed period (2000-2006), the concentration of the commercial banks had a negative impact on the competition in the Lithuanian banking sector. This study estimates competitive behavior in the Lithuanian banking system by applying the method developed by Panzar and Rosse (1987). The research of concentration in Lithuanian banking sector is based on two most frequently used concentration measures: the Herfindahl-Hirschman index and the k bank concentration ratios, for k = 1, 3 and 5, based on market shares in terms of total assets, loans and deposits of banks. The research of efficiency in Lithuanian banking sector is based on two most frequently used efficiency indicators: ROA and ROE. The panel data for this analysis comprises all Lithuanian commercial banks covered by the National Bank of Lithuanian’s balance sheet as well as profit and loss accounts statistics. These statistics consist of annual data from all banks reporting to the National Bank of Lithuania and cover the period from 2000 to 2006.
Characteristics of Patients Admitted to Medical Ward of a Referral Hospital in a Developing Country

Communicable diseases are the main reasons of admission to medical ward of developing countries. In contrast, non-communicable diseases are the main reasons for hospital admission in the developed countries. However, there is a rise in the prevalence of the non- communicable diseases in the developing countries. Unfortunately, data on reasons for admission to the medical wards of low income countries are deficient. This study assessed the commonest causes of admission to medical ward, the socio-demographic profile and the length of stay of patients admitted to a referral hospital in Sudan. This research was a descriptive, hospital based study conducted in Al-ban Jadeed Teaching Hospital in the period between July 2009 and February 2010. All patients admitted to the medical ward by one unit from the 4 medical units during the study period were included. Patients' medical data were retrieved from the medical record department. Information about age, sex, common diagnosis, affected system and the duration of hospital stay were obtained. The data were then analyzed by using SPSS. A total of 438 patients were studied. 46.1 were males while 53.9% were females. The mean age of patients was 43.06 years. Below 50 years of age represents 61.4% of the study population. Of all patients, 63.2% were admitted for less than 5 days and 76.3% were discharged safely with a good health. Of total admission, 30.8% were due to gastrointestinal problems. Infections affecting different systems accounted for the most admissions (44.3%), mainly gastroenteritis (24.4%). Stroke was the commonest disease among male and gastroenteritis was the commonest among female. The results show that Infectious diseases remain a problem in Sudan. These diseases can be prevented by improving indoor pollution and awareness of people.
Lipid composition of tropical and subtropical copepod species of the genus Rhincalanus (Copepoda: Eucalanidae): a novel fatty acid and alcohol signature

Rhincalanus nasutus, R. rostrifrons, and R. cornutus are primarily found in subtropi- cal and tropical waters and accumulate large lipid stores, an uncommon feature in low-latitude copepods. While R. nasutus fatty acid and alcohol profiles have been examined previously, little is known about lipids in R. rostrifrons or R. cornutus. Lipid profiles for wax ester, triacylglycerol, phospholipid, free fatty acid, sterol, and free fatty alcohol fractions were determined for these 3 species collected from the eastern tropical north Pacific, Gulf of California, and Gulf of Mexico. Storage lipids, primarily wax esters, were the dominant component (>88%) of total lipid in all 3 Rhincalanus species. R. nasutus, however, had distinctly different storage lipid fatty acid and alcohol profiles, with primarily 16:1(n-7)/18:1(n-9) fatty acids and 14:0/16:0 fatty alcohols, while R. cornutus and R. rostrifrons accumulated 14:0/16:0 fatty acids and 16:1/18:1 fatty alcohols. Species differences also were observed in sterol profiles, with R. rostrifrons having a cholesterol content of 75 to 76% versus 85 to 90% in R. nasutus and R. cornutus. The remainder of the sterol fraction was largely composed of 22-dehydrocholesterol in all species. In all 3 species, phospholipid fractions were dominated by 22:6(n-3), 16:0, 18:0, 20:5(n-3), and 18:1(n-9) fatty acids. The results of the present study suggest that genetic predisposition significantly governs lipid profiles, particularly storage lipids, within this genus. The storage lipid profiles observed in R. cornutus and R. rostrifrons were unique from their congeners and have not been reported previously for other copepod species.
Stylet penetration behaviours of four Cicadulina leafhoppers on healthy and maize streak virus infected maize seedlings.

Cicadulina leafhoppers (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) are major pests of maize ( Zea mays L. (Poacea) as they transmit maize streak virus (MSV), the most important virus of maize in Africa. The stylet penetration behaviours of four species ( C. arachidis, C. dabrowskii, C. mbila and C. storeyi ) were studied with an alternating current (AC) electrical penetration graph (EPG) monitor to understanding how feeding differs among the species that have different transmission efficiencies on healthy and streak-infected maize seedlings. The stylet penetration behaviours were significantly affected by the infection status of the host plants in six out of eight measured response variables. The vectors preferred feeding on healthy plants, to streak-infected plants as the insects spent more time on non-probing behaviours like resting or walking when on streak-infected hosts than on healthy plants. There were more pathway activities (salivation and searching for phloem cells) and frequency of probing was higher when feeding on streak-infected seedlings. This might indicate the times that the virus is picked up from infective tissues. Feeding from phloem cells, overall probing and probe mean (the average time per probe) were higher on healthy than streak-infected seedlings. Preference to feed on healthy seedlings will encourage spread of MSV disease. The four vectors differed significantly in five out of eight stylet penetration behaviours studied. Cicadulina mbila , an efficient vector, spent significantly more time than others in non-probing activities, least time feeding from phloem and overall probing. This behaviour will enhance its spread of MSV disease. Time spent on feeding in mesophyll and penetrating phloem (X-wave) was also significantly different among the four vectors. The efficiencies of C. mbila and C. storeyi in transmitting MSV, as compared to the other two species, may also be linked to longer pathway activities and shorter probe mean although the effects were not statistically significant. Time spent on pathway activities followed expected ranking of the vectors’ transmission efficiencies. Longer time for active feeding, searching for phloem cells and salivation would encourage efficient acquisition and inoculation of the virus. Key Words: Cicadulina spp. , electrical penetration graph, MSV, Zea may s
CO2 Reforming Characteristics under Visible Light Response of Cr- or Ag-Doped TiO2 Prepared by Sol-Gel and Dip-Coating Process

A Cr- or Ag-doped TiO2 film was prepared by sol-gel and dip-coating process and used as the photocatalyst for CO2 reforming under the visible light. The ratio of amount of Cr or Ag added to amount of Ti in TiO2 sol solution (R) varied from 0 to 100 wt% or 0 to 50 wt%, respectively. The total layer number of Cr- or Ag-doped TiO2 film (N) coated was changed. The CO2 reforming performance with the Cr- or Ag-doped TiO2 film was tested under a Xe lamp with or without ultraviolet (UV) light. As a result, when N equals to 1, the concentration of CO which was a product from CO2 reforming was maximized in Cr doping case for R = 70 wt% and in Ag doping case for R = 1 wt%, respectively. The best result of concentration of CO = 8306 ppmV, concentration of CH4 = 1367 ppmV, concentration of C2H6 = 1712 ppmV is obtained when 𝑁top=7 with Cr doping in this study.