Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in the mycorrhizal status of some mountain spruce forests

In the present study, the defoliation status of spruce stands is related to mycorrhizal conditions and presence of mycorrhizal macromycetes fungi in two localities at the highest sites of the Krkonoše Mts. In the longterm view, the defoliation and the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi have improved but the number of active as well as nonactive mycorrhizae has decreased while their ratio has not changed. Statistically significant is the correlation between the total number of mycorrhizae and pH. The results within last years of observations as well as in comparison to the conditions in the last decade show that mountain spruce stands growing at non-exposed sites are tolerant to a degradation of mycorrhizal conditions resulting from the long-term air pollution impact. The studied parameters of mycorrhizal symbiosis have not shown a clear trend; their results however indicate the stabilized mycorrhizal state. Positive changes can be seen in the total increase of macromycetes diversity as well as in the apparent increase of percentage of macromycetes in the studied localities, which correlates to the moderately improving defoliation.
Genetic parameters of fertility and production traits in Murrah buffaloes

Data of 522 Murrah buffaloes sired by 72 bulls scattered over a period of 19 years (1993 to 2011) maintained at National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal were edited to records of 404 buffaloes upto fourth lactation for estimating the genetic parameters of fertility and production traits. Fertility was defined in terms of pregnancy rate (PR), while production traits included Test Day Five Milk Yield (TD 5MY), 305 Days or less Milk Yield (MY) and 305 days or less Wet Average (WA). The heritability of PR, TD 5 MY, MY and WA were estimated as 0.02 ± 0.005, 0.12 ± 0.04, 0.17± 0.04 and 0.15 ± 0.03. The repeatability of PR, TD 5 MY, MY and WA were estimated as 0.09 ± 0.04, 0.18 ± 0.05, 0.27 ± 0.04 and 0.26 ± 0.04. The pregnancy rate had low negative phenotypic correlations with TD 5 MY (-0.09 ± 0.03), MY (-0.08 ± 0.04) and WA (-0.12 ± 0.02). The magnitudes of phenotypic correlation indicated that Murrah buffaloes have good fertility and is not declining sharply with the increasing of milk production in the herd. Better breeding management should be maintained for sustaining reproduction and production efficiency.
Health Perception and Feeling of Health Efficacy among Deprived Adolescents in Jordan

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The mass distribution of coarse particulate organic matter exported from an Alpine headwater stream

Abstract. Coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) particles span sizes from 1 mm, with a dry mass less than 1 mg, to large logs and entire trees, which can have a dry mass of several hundred kilograms. Pieces of different size and mass play different roles in stream environments, from being the prime source of energy in stream ecosystems to macroscopically determining channel morphology and local hydraulics. We show that a single scaling exponent can describe the mass distribution of CPOM heavier than 0.1 g transported in the Erlenbach, a steep mountain stream in the Swiss pre-Alps. This exponent takes an average value of −1.8, is independent of discharge and valid for particle masses spanning almost seven orders of magnitude. Similarly, the mass distribution of in-stream large woody debris (LWD) in several Swiss streams can be described by power law scaling distributions, with exponents varying between −1.8 and −2.0, if all in-stream LWD is considered, and between −1.3 and −1.8 for material locked in log jams. We found similar values for in-stream and transported material in the literature. We had expected that scaling exponents are determined by stream type, vegetation, climate, substrate properties, and the connectivity between channels and hillslopes. However, none of the descriptor variables tested here, including drainage area, channel bed slope and the percentage of forested area, show a strong control on exponent value. Together with a rating curve of CPOM transport rates with discharge, the scaling exponents can be used in the design of measuring strategies and in natural hazard mitigation.
Distress Risk and Stock Returns in An Emerging Market

This study examines the link between financial distress and market performance of firm in the form of share performance by using Z-Score bankruptcy prediction model as the proxy of distress risk and the subsequent realized stock returns of the distress-listed companies as a proxy of systematic risk. The sample is drawn from Karachi Stock Exchange listed companies. We found that distress risk is not significant enough to explain the expected stock returns in the case of the Pakistani distress listed-firms. Altman’s (1968) measure of distress is operationalized to test the financial health of firms. The results show that distressed firms outperform as compare to healthy firms. This study deduces that distress risk is a systematic risk in relation to the Pakistani stock market to some extent. Key w ords : Financial distress, Share returns, KSE, Distressed companies, Bankruptcy risk, systematic risk
Shut the fridge door! HRM alignment, job redesign and energy performance

Anchored within the strategic HRM and alignment literature, and drawing on efficiency and legitimacy perspectives of organisational behaviour, we investigated a Human Resource Management (HRM) intervention targeted at energy reduction goals in a large multinational retailer. The HRM intervention was focused on embedding the environmental and economic performance goals of the firm within the workplace through redesigning the job so that energy tasks were aligned with training and performance management systems, as well as organisational performance goals. Using a randomised control trial design, we tracked changes in energy behaviours and energy consumption in 769 retail stores (685 in the intervention condition, 84 in the control condition). The findings provide evidence that changing the alignment of HRM practices can influence both worker behaviour and organisational outcomes, including environmental outcomes. This work contributes to debates concerning the impact of HRM alignment to both the work and organisational performance context.
Effect of antiretroviral therapy on some liver enzymes in HIV/AIDS breast fed and non breast fed children

The relationship and effect of antiretroviral therapy with associated hepatotoxicity were investigated in different paediatric age groups using serum alanine and aspartate transaminases (ALT and AST) and alkaline phosphates (ALP) biomarkers. The study consisted of a total of one hundred and twenty (120) participants; fifteen (15) each from different age groups of HIV infected children at baseline and three (3) months after initiation of therapy as well as a control group. Ninety three percent (93%) of the children studied acquired HIV infection through vertical transmission with seventy percent (70%) having mixed feeding as their feeding pattern. Before treatment initiation, total serum ALT and AST values (mean±S.E.M.) (25.7±4.8 and 69.6±3.6 U/L) were significantly higher (p<0.05) among the baseline than the control groups (21.1±1.9 and 17.9±3.6 U/L). After treatment, total serum transaminases and ALP values were found to be significantly lower (p<0.05) among the treated (24.4±3.6, 38.4±5.4 and 255.5±77.5 U/L) than the baseline (25.7±4.8, 69.6±3.6 and 262.1±114.8 U/L) groups, except for the children in the least age group. This study concluded that antiretroviral drugs have effect on liver enzymes and are risk factors for developing hepatotoxicity especially in children at lower age groups. Children therefore require frequent evaluation during antiretroviral therapy even in the absence of signs and symptoms of metabolic complications. Keywords : Antiretroviral therapy, hepatotoxicity, transaminases, paediatric.
Gaining Visitor Consent for Research: Testing the Posted-Sign Method

One method for studying visitors in museums is to audiotape their conversations while videotaping their behavior. Many researchers inform visitors of the recordings by posting signs in the areas under scrutiny. This study tests the assumptions underlying that method—that visitors notice, read, and understand such signs. Signs were posted at the entrance to an Exploratorium exhibit which was being audio- and videotaped. Researchers interviewed 213 adult visitors as they exited the exhibit. The interviews revealed that 75 percent of the visitors had read and understood the sign. Of the 52 visitors who had not, 8 reported that they felt bothered to some degree by the recordings being made. The implications of these results are discussed.
Prognostic simulation of the world ocean circulation and its comparison with diagnostic simulation.

Four prognostic numerical simulations are carried out to examine the effect of changing model parameters on water mass configuration. The parameters considered are horizontal and vertical diffusivities, and saline water outflow from the Mediterranean Sea. The resulting circulations are compared with each other and with that derived in a robust diagnostic model; the water masses are discussed from the viewpoint of to what extent the model can reproduce observed features such as minimum or maximum layers. None of the experiments considered here could force North Atlantic Deep Water to penetrate deeply as in the diagnostic model. The increase of vertical diffusivity in the deep ocean leads to a worse result, because it activates underlying overturning of Antarctic Bottom Water. The decrease of horizontal diffusivity improves the Antarctic Intermediate Water, but has no significant effect on the deep water. The outflow of saline Mediterranean water slightly enhances and deepens the overturning associated with the North Atlantic Deep Water. Too homogeneous salinity in the deep Pacific Ocean is improved to some extent by the decreased horizontal diffusivity. However, it is still homogeneous to such a degree that it is difficult to judge the model results from temperature and/or salinity alone. Water age works as a good measure there, because observation suggests that the oldest water should appear at mid-depth in the North Pacific. Two experiments, with large vertical diffusivity and with small horizontal diffusivity, reproduce such an maximum, but the actual maximum ages are very different.
Characteristics of wet dissolved carbon deposition in a semi-arid catchment at the Loess Plateau, China

Abstract. Wet dissolved carbon deposition is a critical node of the global carbon cycle, but little is known about dissolved organic and inorganic carbon (DOC and DIC) concentrations and fluxes in the semi-arid areas of the Loess Plateau Region (LPR). In this study, we measured variations in DOC and DIC concentrations in rainfalls at Yangjuangou Ecological Restoration and Soil and Water Observatory. Rainwater samples were collected in 16 rainfall events from July to September and the event-based, monthly concentrations and fluxes of DOC and DIC were quantified. The results showed that the event-based concentrations and fluxes of DOC and DIC were highly variable, ranging from 0.56 to 28.71 mg C L−1 and from 3.47 to 17.49 mg C L−1, respectively. The corresponding event-based fluxes ranged from 0.21–258.36 mg C m−2 and from 4.12 to 42.32 mg C m−2. The monthly concentrations of DOC and DIC were 24.62 and 4.30 (July), 3.58 and 10.52 (August), and 1.01 and 5.89 (September) mg C L−1, respectively. Thus, the monthly deposition fluxes of DOC and DIC were 541.64/94.60, 131.03/385.03, and 44.44/259.16 mg C m−2 for July, August, and September, respectively. In addition, the concentrations of DOC and DIC for the concentrated rainfall season (July–September) in the studied catchment were 7.06 and 7.00 mg C L−1, respectively. The estimated annual wet dissolved carbon depositions were 1.91 and 1.89 g C m−2 yr−1 for DOC and DIC, respectively. The results of this study suggest the variation in concentrations and fluxes of DOC and DIC and explore that these variation may be related to the dissolved carbon source and the rainfall characteristics during the concentrated rainfall season in the semi-arid catchment of the LPR. Furthermore, these results also suggest that dissolved carbon may be an important external input of carbon into terrestrial ecosystems.
Licensing Uncertain Patents: Per-Unit Royalty vs Up-Front Fee

In this paper we examine the implications of uncertainty over patent validity on patentholders' licensing strategies. Two licensing mechanisms are examined: per-unit royalty and up-front fee.We provide conditions under which uncertain patents are licensed in order to avoid patent litigation. It is shown that while it is possible for the patentholder to reap som e "extra profit" by selling an uncertain patent under the pure per-unit royalty regime, the opportunity to do so does not exist under a pure up-front fee regime. We also establish that the relatively high bargaining power the licensor has even when its patent is weak can be reduced if the patentholder cannot refuse to license an unsucessful challenger or if collective challenges are allowed for. Furthermore we show that the patentee may prefer to license through the per-unit royalty mechanism rather than the fixed fee mechanism, especially if its patent is weak. This finding contradicts the traditional theoretical result that fixed fee licensing dominates royalty rate licensing from the patentholder's perspective.
Liming and postharvest quality of carambola fruits

ABSTRACT To determine the effects of lime application on the postharvest quality of carambola fruit, an experiment withcarambola trees cultivated on an acid soil was conducted at the Bebedouro, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The trees weretreated with increasing doses of lime during the pre-planting period. Liming led to a increase in calciumconcentration of carambola leaves and fruits. Adequate nutrition of the plant with calcium improved post-harvestfruit quality, permitting a longer (~ 2 days) period of storage under ambient conditions.Key words: Ca, lime, storage, Carambola averrhoa, fruit quality * Auth or f c responde nce INTRODUCTION Improvement in fruit quality has economicalimplications in the value of the product, as well asin strengthening or expanding of consumermarkets. The storage of fruits at low temperaturesis one option to preserve their post-harvest qualityand to increase the shelf life. However, ice crystalsare formed inside the cells during the freezingprocess, leading to an increased loss of juice and,consequently, nutrients during thawing due toexudation, thus further reducing the content ofsoluble solids (Bernhardt et al.,1979). In addition,the freezing process requires energy, which affectsthe final value of the fruit. Another efficient andlow- cost technique is the direct application ofnutrients to the fruits, with calcium being the mostpromising and most extensively studied element.Nutrition-related factors are among those affectingthe quality of fruits. Use of fertilizers, inch asnitrogen and potassium fertilizers, might affect theabsorption of other nutrients such as calcium,reducing its content in the plant and consequentlyin the fruits, and thus compromising fruit quality.In this respect, researchers studying plant nutritionare facing a great challenge, i.e., to balanceproduction and quality.About 60% of the total cell calcium is found inthe cell wall (middle lamella) where it exerts astabilizing function (Tobias et al., 1993),influencing the texture, firmness and maturationof fruits (Hanson et al., 1993), and reducingvitamin C degradation, ethylene and CO
Start-up subsidies for the unemployed: Opportunities and limitations

Turning unemployment into self-employment is a suitable alternative to traditional active labor market policies in many developed countries. Start-up subsidies can assist unemployed workers in setting up their own business. This option can be especially interesting for people whose work is undervalued in paid employment or in situations where job offers are limited because of group-specific labor market constraints or structural changes. Furthermore, start-up subsidies are potentially associated with a “double dividend” if the subsidized businesses prosper, strengthen the economy, and create additional jobs in the future.
Nurse’s knowledge and attitude regarding cervical cancer screening at a tertiary care hospital

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the commonest cancers among women which cause morbidity and mortality worldwide. Though, it is a preventable disease, most of the women with cervical cancer present in advanced stage due to lack of knowledge about the disease and screening among general population. The objective was to assess the level of knowledge and explore attitude towards cervical cancer screening among female nursing staff. Methods: A cross sectional, questionnaire based study was conducted on 34 female nursing staff in a tertiary care hospital of Uttarakhand, India in the month of January 2015. With the help of predesigned questionnaire, information was collected regarding demographic profile, knowledge about cervical cancer and attitude towards screening techniques. Results: In this study, 79% of the respondents had knowledge about screening methods for cervical cancer and 91% had knowledge about HPV vaccine. Though 82% of them were aware of pap smear and 89% had good attitude towards it, 85.29% respondent knew about colposcopy as one of the screening technique for cervical cancer. None of the respondent had undergone a pap smear themselves. Conclusions: The study showed that, female nursing staff had average knowledge and positive attitude towards cervical cancer screening. They were not aware of the routine screening guidelines and had limited understanding of different types of cervical cancer screening techniques. Hence, it is recommended that routine training should be given on regular basis to all the health care providers.
The role of Neuropilin 2 in hepatocellular carcinoma: from meta-analysis to target characterization

Die epithelial zu mesenchymale Transition (EMT) ist ein wichtiger Prozess in der Tumorprogression und Metastasierung. Mehrere Studien untersuchten die Mechanismen der EMT in verschiedenen Modellsystemen mit unterschiedlichen Induktionen. Es wurde jedoch noch kein Versuch unternommen die Studien zu kombinieren und die Effektoren der EMT in einer zusammenfassenden Metaanalyse zu untersuchen. Dafur sammelten wir 24 offentlich verfugbare und publizierte EMT Datensatze, um ihre Relationen zueinander zu untersuchen und eine Liste von EMT-Genen zu extrahieren, die in der Mehrheit der Studien vorkamen. Diese Metaanalyse wurde mit dem hepatozellularen Karzinom (HCC) Modell 3p und 3sp verglichen. Diese Zellen stammen von einem HCC Patienten, dessen Hepatomzellen eine EMT gezeigt haben. Ein Gen von speziellem Interesse war Neuropilin 2 (NRP2). Dieses Gen zeigte, im Vergleich zu ihren epithelialen 3p Pendant, eine erhohte Regulation in der Metaanalyse sowie in EMT-transformierten 3sp Zellen. NRP2 wurde mit Modulation und Verstarkung verschiedener Signalwege, wie den Signalwegen des vaskularen endothelialen Wachstumsfaktor (VEGF) und dem transformierenden Wachstumsfaktor (TGF-β) in Verbindung gesetzt. Es ergab sich daraus die Frage, ob NRP2 einen funktionellen Einfluss auf den EMT Prozess oder in mesenchymalen Zellen, die bereits die EMT durchlaufen hatten, besitzt. Wir konnten zeigen, dass der „Knockdown“ von NRP2 zur Verringerung der Zellmigration, Zellinvasion, Proliferation und Adhasion in 3sp Zellen fuhrt. Es war weiters moglich, signifikante Korrelationen zwischen der NRP2 Expression und der HCC Differenzierung in Patienten sowohl auf mRNA als auch auf Proteinebene zu finden. Neben diesen funktionellen Implikationen von NRP2 untersuchten wir ebenfalls die Signalwege von NRP2 in HCC Zelllinien und fanden eine reduzierte Phosphorylierung von FAK, Smad2 und JNK/SAPK nach „Knockdown“ von NRP2. Zudem wurden mehrere Zelllinien mit einer konstitutiven Uberexpression beziehungsweise mit einem stabilen „Knockdown“ von NRP2 generiert, um die positive und negative Modulation der NRP2 Expression in vitro und in vivo zu untersuchen. Zusammenfassend lasst sich anhand der Meta-analyse, der in vitro Charakterisierung und in den klinischen Daten sagen, dass NRP2 eine wichtige Rolle in der EMT und HCC Entwicklung innehaben konnte.
Ionization-induced azimuthal oscillation in Hall Effect Thrusters

In this paper recent results based on a local linear stability analysis of the ionization region a Hall Thruster are presented. A one dimensional azimuthal framework is used including three species: neutrals, singly-charged ions and electrons. A simplified linear model is developed with the aim of deriving analytical expressions that characterize the instability. The results indicate the existence of an instability that gives rise to an azimuthal oscillation with a mode number m = 1. According to the model, the instability seems to appear only in regions where the ionization and the electric field make it possible to have positive gradients of plasma density and ion velocity at the same time. A more complex model is also solved numerically to validate the analytical results. Moreover, parametric analyses are carried out with respect to the main parameters of the complex model. As the temperature increases and the neutral-to-plasma density ratio decreases, the growth rate of the instability decreases down to a limit where azimuthal perturbations are no longer unstable. The computation of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the linear stability problem shows a correlation between the plasma density and electron axial velocity perturbations. Consequently, a net axial electron current is generated by this oscillation and thus it is possibly linked to anomalous diffusion.
On Supersymmetry and the Origin of Dark Matter

Dark matter was first suspected in clusters of galaxies when these galaxies were found to move with too high a speed to be retained in the cluster by their gravitational influence on each other. Some current theories favor cold dark matter models where particles are created with low velocity dispersions and thus would become trapped in baryonic gravitational potentials. According to the standard Big-Bang model, dark matter is of nonbaryonic origin, otherwise the observed abundance of helium in the Universe would be violated. In this work, recent theoretical and observational developments are used to form a consistent picture of the events in the early Universe that gave rise to dark matter. According to the model that will be presented in this paper, supersymmetry plays a major role. In addition, the possibility that dark matter evolves in a spacetime manifold different from that of the observed Universe is discussed.