Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Light and productivity of phytoplankton in polar marine ecosystems: a physiological view

This study deals with the modeling of photosynthesis and growth of polar phytoplankton and variations in relevant parameters. Polar regions are characterised by low sun elevations (< 40? 50°), extreme seasonal variations in irradiance and day length, and low sea temperatures (? 1.8 to 6°C). Due to the latter, maximum phytoplankton growth rates arc low (< 0.6d? 1). Light absorption by phytoplankton is strongly dependent on spectral composition (blue oceanic versus green coastal waters), but absorption characteristics (and thus chlorophyll a-normalized photosynthetic efficiency ? B) do not differ appreciably between polar and other phytoplankton. The maximum chlorophyll-normalised photosynthetic rate PBm, is, however, lower and dependent on the irradiance to which the cells are adapted. Chla:C ratios vary widely, but within ranges known for other phytoplankton. The carbon-normalised coefficient PCm varies little with irradiance, but is clearly dependent on day length and nutrient supply. The corresponding coefficient ? C is somewhat higher in shade-adapted than in light-adapted cells. Polar species exhibit a high tolerance for strong light and long days in combination with low temperature relative to other species. The interpretation of P-I functions is discussed, and an empirical formulation is suggested that does not need the Chla:C ratio for predicting the light-limited gross growth rate of polar phytoplankton. Mathematical simulations of the spring bloom indicate that the depth of the mixed layer and the attenuation of light are the most important variables for determining the photosynthetic rate. The spectral composition of light is of particular importance in low light, e.g. in deeply mixed layers. Generally, the deeper the mixing, the more sensitive the development of a spring bloom becomes to any algal or environmental variable.
Ball Possession Strategies in Elite Soccer According to the Evolution of the Match-Score: the Influence of Situational Variables

Ball Possession Strategies in Elite Soccer According to the Evolution of the Match-Score: the Influence of Situational Variables In soccer, the ability to retain possession of the ball for prolonged periods of time has been suggested to be linked to success. The accuracy of this assertion was investigated by examining 380 matches involving Spanish League First Division teams during the 2008-2009 season. Possession of the ball, according to the status of the match (winning, drawing and losing), was recorded during the different matches using a multiple-camera match analysis system (Gecasport®). The results suggest that the best classified teams maintained a higher percentage of ball possession and that their pattern of play was more stable. The coefficient of variation, with respect to ball possession per match, was smaller for the best placed teams. Indeed, first placed F.C. Barcelona had the smallest coefficient of variation for possession time (8.4%), while bottom placed Recreativo showed the highest values with 17.1%. Linear regression analysis showed that possession strategies were influenced by situation variables. Team possession was greater when losing than when winning (p<0.01) or drawing (p<0.01), home teams enjoyed greater possession than visiting teams (p<0.01), and playing against strong opposition was associated with a reduction in time spent in possession (p<0.01). The findings indicate that strategies in soccer are influenced by situational variables and that teams alter their playing style accordingly during the match.
Construction of Drug Screening Cell Model and Application to New Compounds Interfering Production and Accumulation of Beta-Amyloid by Inhibiting Gamma-Secretase

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a tenacious neurodegenerative dementia, characterized clinically by progressive loss of memory, cognitive dysfunction, and behavioral abnormalities, accompanied by the accumulation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), neuropil threads, as well as extracellular amyloid-beta containing senile plaques, cerebrovascular amyloid-beta deposits, and selective nerve cell and synapse loss (Kelliher et al, 1999; Tanzi, 1999; Solertea et al, 2000). The last two decades have witnessed an expanding body of research that elucidated the central role of amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing and amyloid beta (Abeta) production in the risk, onset, and progression of AD (Findeis, 2007). The accumulation of insoluble aggregates of Abeta peptide 1–42 (Abeta42) derived from APP is believed to play an important role in AD (Hardy, 1997; Kelliher et al, 1999). The generation of Abeta peptides requires two sequential proteolytical cleavages of APP by beta-secretase (BACE1) (Rosner et al, 2006) and gamma-secretase, composed of four integral membrane proteins, presenilins (PS1/2), APH-1 (anterior pharynx-defective 1), PEN-2 (presenilin enhancer 2) and nicastrin (NCT) (Kaether et al, 2006; Zhang & Koo, 2006). Previous evidence points to the involvement of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in AD pathogenesis owing to the fact that it is an important site for generating Abeta42 in neurons (Hartmann et al, 1998) and that presenilins are predominantly localized in this cellular compartment (Kovacs et al, 1996; Cook et al, 1996). Cleavage of the APP ectodomain by beta-secretase at the amino-terminus of Abeta is followed by cleavage of the beta-secretasegenerated carboxyl-terminal fragment (beta-CTF, C99) at the carboxyl terminus of Abeta  by gamma-secretase. A third activity, referred to as alpha-secretase, cleaves otherwise the APP ectodomain within the Abeta sequence, and subsequent cleavage of the alpha-secretasederived APP CTF (alpha-CTF, C83) by gamma-secretase results in production of P3
Explaining Households’ Investment Behavior

Building on a framework of heterogeneous uncertainty across the population, this paper provides a unified theoretical explanation for several salient features of household investment behavior: First, a fraction of households will choose not to participate in the stock market, with poorer households less likely to participate. Second, among the part of the population that does choose to invest, wealthier households choose to invest a larger share of their wealth into risky assets than less wealthy households. The model suggests that as aggregate wealth rises, we should see higher levels of stock market participation. We build on a CARA-normal framework with uncertainty-averse investors and link the level of uncertainty to investor wealth, given the empirical evidence that wealthier investors tend to acquire more costly information. The model is able to reconcile previous conflicting findings: our model shows that the intuition of models with exogenous participation restrictions - limited stock market participation leads to a higher equity premium - can indeed be retained when the participation decision is endogenized.
Endophytic Fungi in Meadow Fescue and Other Forage Grasses

Many cool-season forage grasses associate with an endophytic fungus of the genus Epichloe. In Sweden one of the most important forage grasses is meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.), which is known to associate with Epichloe uncinata, previously named Neotyphodium uncinatum. Since the 1970's extensive research has been done on grass/endophyte symbioses, with focus on tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and their fungal symbionts, due to their production of toxic alkaloids. Given the importance of meadow fescue in Sweden and the Nordic countries the aim of this thesis was to study the symbiosis between meadow fescue and E. uncinata and to evaluate effects that E. uncinata may have on meadow fescue grown in Sweden. The studies focused on differences in seed germination, winter survival and plant growth between endophyte-infected and uninfected plants, as well as effects of nitrogen fertilization on loline alkaloid production. Knowledge about optimal seed storage conditions and uniform germination behavior can generate economic profit in seed production and for farmers. Meadow fescue seed that started to germinate early had higher frequency of viable endophytes than seed starting germination later, and heavy seed had higher germination rate and germination frequency than lighter seed. During seed storage for 3.4 years in different packaging materials and environments, seed stored in paper bags in freezer (-20 °C) had the highest seed germination and endophyte viability. In a field cultivation of meadow fescue the effect of endophyte infection on meadow fescue during two growing seasons was studied. Plants were given either a nitrogen fertilization that is normal for the area or half that amount of nitrogen. Plants fertilized with normal amount of nitrogen produced more tillers per plant. Endophyte-infected plants produced more tillers per plant than uninfected plants, but there was no difference in total biomass production or winter survival between endophyte-infected and uninfected plants. Lolines were produced by infected plants, but the production did not differ between nitrogen fertilization levels. Lolines are known to be deterrent to some insects but are not toxic to larger mammals.
Form of Government Still Matters

Using data on the adoption of e-government, reinventing government, and strategic practices, and the Nelson and Svara (2010) typology of municipal government form, the authors investigate the characteristics of municipal governments that are related to the implementation of innovative practices. The authors find that higher innovation rates are associated with council-manager governments—both with and without an elected mayor, higher population, greater growth, lower unemployment, sunbelt location, and higher population density. Controlling for all other variables, form of government (and variations within form) account for the greatest explanation of the adoption of innovative practices in municipalities. The authors conclude that form of government remains an important variable to consider when investigating local government management and performance.
The Impact of Industrial Supplier-Manufacturer Relationship on Strategic Outsourcing Success

Outsourcing is generally recognized as a strategy for producing cost savings; however, by simply following a traditional cost-focused approach, industries may be missing opportunities to gain further competitive advantage. Similarly, poor outsourcing performance of manufacturing industry could be improved through relational-oriented exchanges and its antecedents. Researches that examine the link among relational-oriented exchanges and their antecedents; and outsourcing performances in the manufacturing industry is still in its early development stage. Owing to high competition and risks in a manufacturing environment, the present study aims at investigating the link between relational-oriented exchanges, the antecedent of relational-oriented exchanges and outsourcing performances. Data was collected from 224 electrical and electronic industries in Malaysia via a postal survey and analyzed by using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 19. The result of the findings of the investigation revealed that dependence and communication behavior are significantly related to relational-oriented exchanges while trust is insignificant. And also, relational-oriented exchange is directly significant to outsourcing performances.
Motivation and Language Learning Strategies Used by Moroccan University EFL Science Students: A Correlatioal Study

This study aims to investigate the overall use of language learning strategies (LLSs) and its relationship with English learning motivation by Moroccan non-English major students. The sample consists of 228 students enrolled in their second year at the Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University – Rabat – Morocco. To collect the data, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) developed by Oxford (1989) was adopted and adapted to the Moroccan EFL context. The motivation questionnaire was developed based on different sources including Gardner’s Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) (2004); Pintrich et al.’s Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) (1991); and Schmidt & Wattanabe (2001). The two questionnaires were tested for reliability and validity. Descriptive statistics and Pearson Correlation were selected to analyze the data. The results demonstrate that Moroccan university EFL Science students use LLSs at a medium level and exhibit a high level of motivation, and that their motivation to learn English and use of LLSs are strongly and positively correlated. This study yields a number of implications both for pedagogical purposes and for further research
Negligible isotopic fractionation of nitrogen within temperate Zostera spp. meadows

Abstract. Seagrass meadows form an ecologically important ecosystem in the coastal zone. The 15N∕14N ratio of seagrass is commonly used to assess the extent to which sewage-derived nitrogen may be influencing seagrass beds. There have, however, been few studies comparing the 15N∕14N ratios of seagrass beds, their associated sediments and, of critical importance, the porewater NH4+ pool, which is most bioavailable. Here, we undertook a study of the 15N∕14N ratios of seagrass tissue, sediment porewater NH4+ pool and the bulk sediment to elucidate the extent of any fractionating processes taking place during organic matter mineralisation and nitrogen assimilation. The study was undertaken within two coastal embayments known to receive nitrogen from a range of sources including marine, urban and sewage sources. There was close agreement between the bulk sediment δ15N and seagrass δ15N (r2 of 0.92 and mean offset of 0.9 ‰), illustrating a close coupling between the plant and sediment pools. The δ15N of porewater NH4+ was strongly correlated with the δ15N of both the sediment and the seagrass tissue. For both of these relationships, however, the intercept of the line was not significantly different from 0 and the slopes were not 1:1, reflecting an enrichment of the porewater NH4+ δ15N pool relative to seagrass tissue and bulk sediment δ15N at high δ15N values. We suggest that nitrogen fixation is the most likely explanation for the observation that the δ15N of seagrass tissue is lower than porewater NH4+. Conversely, we suggest that the most likely explanation for the enrichment of porewater NH4+ above bulk sediment was through the preferential mineralisation of isotopically enriched algal material (nitrogen derived from sewage sources) within the sediment as δ15N increased in the vicinity of a sewage treatment plant.
Soil organic carbon concentrations and storage in irrigated cotton cropping systems sown on permanent beds in a Vertosol with restricted subsoil drainage

Abstract. Long-term studies of soil organic carbon dynamics in two- and three-crop rotations in irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) based cropping systems under varying stubble management practices in Australian Vertosols are relatively few. Our objective was to quantify soil organic carbon dynamics during a 9-year period in four irrigated, cotton-based cropping systems sown on permanent beds in a Vertosol with restricted subsoil drainage near Narrabri in north-western New South Wales, Australia. The experimental treatments were: cotton–cotton (CC); cotton–vetch (Vicia villosa Roth. in 2002–06, Vicia benghalensis L. in 2007–11) (CV); cotton–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), where wheat stubble was incorporated (CW); and cotton–wheat–vetch, where wheat stubble was retained as in-situ mulch (CWV). Vetch was terminated during or just before flowering by a combination of mowing and contact herbicides, and the residues were retained as in situ mulch. Estimates of carbon sequestered by above- and below-ground biomass inputs were in the order CWV >> CW = CV > CC. Carbon concentrations in the 0–1.2 m depth and carbon storage in the 0–0.3 and 0–1.2 m depths were similar among all cropping systems. Net carbon sequestration rates did not differ among cropping systems and did not change significantly with time in the 0–0.3 m depth, but net losses occurred in the 0–1.2 m depth. The discrepancy between measured and estimated values of sequestered carbon suggests that either the value of 5% used to estimate carbon sequestration from biomass inputs was an overestimate for this site, or post-sequestration losses may have been high. The latter has not been investigated in Australian Vertosols. Future research efforts should identify the cause and quantify the magnitude of these losses of organic carbon from soil.
Investigating the Effects of Privatization on the Economic Growth in Developing Countries: A Fixed Effects Approach

Considering that the economic adjustment policies have been proposed by international institutions for achieving a sustainable economic growth in the developing countries, the latter adopted privatization trend in economy following the application of economic adjustment policies. In this study, we investigated the effects of privatization on the economic growth of developing countries in 2000-2008. We selected a suitable model based on the past experimental studies, use of qualitative and institutional variables in economy as well as use of controlling variables for different regions. Results of estimation in different areas show that privatization in the MENA region, Latin America and Caribbean region, and sub-Saharan Africa had not significant effects on economic growth (Similar results of previous research) but for west Asia and Pacific areas, Central Asia and Western Europe, and South Asia had significant positive effects on economic growth. Keywords: Privatization, Economic Growth, Developing Countries, Fixed effects
Discourses, actors and instruments in international forest governance

Politics are not only about interests and institutions but discourses as well. Discourses are (dominant) ideas, concepts and categorisations in a society that give meaning to reality and that shape the identities, interests and preferences of individuals and groups. The assumption of this chapter is that forest discourses are constitutive to global forest politics. Three forest-related types of discourses are distinguished: meta discourses that relate to global economics, politics and culture; regulatory discourses that deal with the regulation and instrumentation of policy issues; and forest discourses that shape forest issues and policies in specific ways. On the basis of a scientific literature review, the main discourses within these three categories (meta, regulatory and forest discourses) as well as three regional forest discourses (Africa, Asia and Latin-America) are analysed. This analysis leads to a number of policy messages: (1) policy makers should try to understand and embrace discursive complexity (instead of artificially reducing it); (2) awareness of this discursive complexity improves global forest negotiations; (3) orchestrated collective action might lead to discursive change; and (4) there is a need for new, open, discursive arenas to improve global forest policymaking. (Less)
Diet of Chinook Salmon in Eastern Lake Michigan, 1991-93

–In recent years, a decline in chinook salmon Oncorhyncus tshawytscha abundance in Lake Michigan has been attributed to declining forage availability, increased incidence of bacterial kidney disease (BKD), as well as an interaction between these factors. Concern has also been expressed about the alewife Alosa pseudoharengus population's ability to support higher stocking levels of salmonines in the lake. Given these concerns, and the potential biases involved in evaluating chinook salmon diet using sport-caught fish, we conducted a study to evaluate the diet of chinook salmon in eastern Lake Michigan. Graded-mesh nylon gill nets were used to sample chinook salmon. Sampling was designed to determine the influence of chinook salmon size, season, and water depth on diet composition, and to evaluate the relationship between bacterial kidney disease and chinook salmon foraging. Small chinook salmon (≤ 37 cm total length) consumed a higher percentage of insects and other invertebrate food items (up to 26% of stomachs examined) than larger fish (maximum=8% of stomachs examined), but the majority of the diet of small chinook salmon was still fish (29-56% of stomachs). Large chinook salmon (≥58 cm) had a fish diet similar to that of small chinook salmon, while medium chinook salmon (38-57 cm) consumed more bloater Coregonus hoyi (58% of the diet by weight) than either of the other size groups. Size of prey fish consumed by chinook salmon was strongly dependent on predator size. Seasonal and year-to-year variation in diet was most pronounced for small and medium chinook salmon; diet diversity for these groups generally was highest in summer and increased from 1991 to 1993. Chinook salmon less than 58 cm in length also exhibited significant differences in the relative amounts of three forage fish they consumed, depending upon whether they were collected in water less than or greater than 45 m deep. Small and medium chinook salmon collected in water ≤ 45 m deep consumed more smelt and bloater, while fish collected in deeper water ate primarily alewife. Large chinook salmon in both shallow and deep water fed primarily on alewife. We observed an interaction among chinook salmon stomach fullness, BKD incidence, and season. BKD incidence was highest in May (24%) and declined to 6% by September. On average, BKD-infected fish had twice the percentage of empty stomachs when compared with healthy chinook salmon. Future diet studies of Great Lakes salmonines need to consider temporal and spatial variables, and should focus on the impacts of a shift in diet on growth and angler harvest of chinook salmon, as well as on the potential effects of changes in chinook salmon foraging on other Great Lakes species.
Increased Risk of Attempted and Completed Suicide in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Systematic Review of Follow-up Studies

Abstract Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe, often long-term mental disorder. It may be independent from, or comorbid with other mental disorders, especially depression and anxiety disorders. Suicidal thoughts, ideations and ruminations are prevalent in subjects with OCD, but it is not yet clear if the incidences of attempted and completed suicides have increased in comparison with the general population and with other psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a systematic literature search on the incidence of suicide attempts and completed suicides in subjects with OCD. Search terms for Pubmed and Medline were OCD and suicide. We selected papers providing follow-up data on the incidence of attempted and completed suicide in OCD. Results 404 papers were initially identified. Only 8 papers covering six studies provided prospective data on attempted or completed suicide over a defined period in subjects with OCD, four studies included control subjects. Two studies providing follow-up data were limited to high-risk samples and did not provide enough data on the incidence of suicide in comparison with the general population. The conclusion that there is an increased risk of attempted and completed suicides in OCD can only be based on one large Swedish National Registry sample with an up to 44 year follow up. Psychiatric comorbidity is the most relevant risk factor for suicide. Conclusions Even though some studies report an increased incidence of attempted and completed suicides in OCD patients from selected high risk samples, the evidence from population based studies is mostly based on one large Swedish study. More long-term studies in the general population with a reduced risk of subject attrition are needed. Using a clear definition and assessment of suicidal behaviour and a common time-frame would improve the comparability of future studies.