Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Political and Economie Impacts of Refugees:Some Observations on Mozambican Refugees in Malawi

In recent years, numbers of refugees and migrants have reached crisis levels as the causes of flight have multiplied: wars, infringements of civil liberties, economic problems, environmental catastrophes, and increasing population pressures, to name a few. Whatwer the cause of flight, the hosting of large influxes of refugees by a country of first asylum raises deep-rooted political and economical issues related to the obligations and the capacities of poor asylum countries. This paper attempts to examine some of the issues that emerge as both positive and negative impacts in a host country based on the experience of Malawi-a country that has managed to host nearly a million Mozambican refugees over the past six years or so. The refugee phenomenon is an enormous international problem. Since the end of the second world war, the world has never seen a single day of peace. Wars, human rights violations, civil conflicts, tribal and religious repression, frontier disputes, interstate conflicts, and economic crises, to name a few, are viewed as some of the causes of flight from homeland (Meier-Braun 1992). The International Labour Organisation estimates that, worldwide, more than 100 million individuals have left their native land and now earn a living in a foreign country. About 35 million Africans no longer live in the country of their birth.
Comparison of PM2.5 Chemical Components over East Asia Simulated by the WRF-Chem and WRF/CMAQ Models: On the Models’ Prediction Inconsistency

High levels of atmospheric concentration of PM2.5 (particulate matters less than 2.5 μm in size) are one of the most urgent societal issues over the East Asian countries. Air quality models have been used as an essential tool to predict spatial and temporal distribution of the PM2.5 and to support relevant policy making. This study aims to investigate the performance of high-fidelity air quality models in simulating surface PM2.5 chemical composition over the East Asia region in terms of a prediction consistency, which is a prerequisite for accurate air quality forecasts and reliable policy decision. The WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecasting-Chemistry) and WRF/CMAQ (Weather Research and Forecasting/Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system) models were selected and uniquely configured for a one-month simulation by controlling surface emissions and meteorological processes (model options) to investigate the prediction consistency focusing the analyses on the effects of meteorological and chemical processes. The results showed that the surface PM2.5 chemical components simulated by both the models had significant inconsistencies over East Asia ranging fractional differences of 53% ± 30% despite the differences in emissions and meteorological fields were minimal. The models’ large inconsistencies in the surface PM2.5 concentration were attributed to the significant differences in each model’s chemical responses to the meteorological variables, which were identified from the multiple linear regression analyses. Our findings suggest that the significant models’ prediction inconsistencies should be considered with a great caution in the PM2.5 forecasts and policy support over the East Asian region.
Genotype and temperature influence pea aphid resistance to a fungal entomopathogen

Abstract. The influence of temperature on life history traits of four Acyrthosiphon pisum clones was investigated, together with their resistance to one genotype of the fungal entomopathogen Erynia neoaphidis. There was no difference among aphid clones in development rate, but they did differ in fecundity. Both development rate and fecundity were influenced by temperature, but all clones showed similar responses to the changes in temperature (i.e. the interaction term was nonsignificant). However, there were significant differences among clones in susceptibility to the pathogen, and this was influenced by temperature. Furthermore, the clones differed in how temperature influenced susceptibility, with susceptibility rankings changing with temperature. Two clones showed changes in susceptibility which mirrored changes in the in vitro vegetative growth rate of E. neoaphidis at different temperatures, whereas two other clones differed considerably from this expected response. Such interactions between genotype and temperature may help maintain heritable variation in aphid susceptibility to fungal pathogen attack and have implications for our understanding of disease dynamics in natural populations. This study also highlights the difficulties of drawing conclusions about the efficacy of a biological control agent when only a restricted range of pest genotypes or environmental conditions are considered.
Perceptions of Climate Change and Adaptation of Climate Smart Technology by the Tea Smallholders: A Case Study of Ratnapura District in Sri Lanka

Climate change impacts such as rainfall variability, rise in ambient temperature, extreme dry spells and excessive wet periods cause low productivity and quality of tea. Ratnapura District in Sri Lanka, having the largest number of tea smallholders, is highly vulnerable to natural disasters and other negative impacts of climate change. This study was conducted to assess the status of climate change using long term meteorological data, to determine the perception of tea smallholders on short term changes in the climate and to assess the level of adaptation of climate-smart technologies by tea smallholders. Four Divisional Secretariat Divisions were selected for the study. Using multistage sampling, a hundred farmers were selected for the social survey. Meteorological data for 42 years was collected from the Department of Agriculture Sri Lanka. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis. Results showed that there was a significant (p<.05) increasing trend in daily maximum temperature. A slightly increasing trend in consecutive wet days was also observed. The perception of the majority of smallholders about changes in daytime temperature, number of wet days and rainfall distribution was in line with actual changes. Further, the overall level of adaptation to climate-smart technologies was at a moderate level. Shade management practices were at a higher level while moisture conservation practices were at a lower level. It was pivotal to make people aware of the severity of the impacts of climate change on their livelihoods and introduce climate-smart technologies to manage the consequences of extreme weather events.
Feedback effects of boundary-layer meteorological factors on cumulative explosive growth of PM 2.5 during winter heavy pollution episodes in Beijing from 2013 to 2016

Abstract. In January 2013, February 2014, December 2015 and December 2016 to 10 January 2017, 12 persistent heavy aerosol pollution episodes (HPEs) occurred in Beijing, which received special attention from the public. During the HPEs, the precise cause of PM 2.5 explosive growth (mass concentration at least doubled in several hours to 10 h) is uncertain. Here, we analyzed and estimated relative contributions of boundary-layer meteorological factors to such growth, using ground and vertical meteorological data. Beijing HPEs are generally characterized by the transport stage (TS), whose aerosol pollution formation is primarily caused by pollutants transported from the south of Beijing, and the cumulative stage (CS), in which the cumulative explosive growth of PM 2.5 mass is dominated by stable atmospheric stratification characteristics of southerly slight or calm winds, near-ground anomalous inversion, and moisture accumulation. During the CSs, observed southerly weak winds facilitate local pollutant accumulation by minimizing horizontal pollutant diffusion. Established by TSs, elevated PM 2.5 levels scatter more solar radiation back to space to reduce near-ground temperature, which very likely causes anomalous inversion. This surface cooling by PM 2.5 decreases near-ground saturation vapor pressure and increases relative humidity significantly; the inversion subsequently reduces vertical turbulent diffusion and boundary-layer height to trap pollutants and accumulate water vapor. Appreciable near-ground moisture accumulation (relative humidity> 80 %) would further enhance aerosol hygroscopic growth and accelerate liquid-phase and heterogeneous reactions, in which incompletely quantified chemical mechanisms need more investigation. The positive meteorological feedback noted on PM 2.5 mass explains over 70 % of cumulative explosive growth.
Metadiscourse in Academic Writing: An Investigation of Saudi EFL Students' Research Articles

This study investigated the type and frequency of metadiscourse markers used in fifty research articles written by Saudi EFL college students. In analyzing the data, Hyland's (2005) model of metadiscourse was adopted. The findings showed that there are significant differences in the frequency of interactive and interactional metadiscourse. The students employed more interactive metadiscourse markers than interactional ones. The analysis further revealed that transitions occurred most often in the research articles, followed by hedges. The least used metadiscourse markers were endophoric markers and attitude markers. To conclude, some pedagogical implications for teaching English writing to Saudi EFL college students were drawn from these findings. It can be noted that Saudi EFL college students need more training in using interactional metadiscourse to be able to convince the reader of their ideas and arguments in a text. In addition, they must be more aware of the importance of using metadiscourse in improving their writing skills in general.
Syddansk Universitet Probe-Dependent Negative Allosteric Modulators of the Long-Chain Free Fatty Acid Receptor FFA 4

High-affinity and selective antagonists that are able to block the actions of both endogenous and synthetic agonists of G protein– coupled receptors are integral to analysis of receptor function and to support suggestions of therapeutic potential. Although there is great interest in the potential of free fatty acid receptor 4 (FFA4) as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of type II diabetes, the broad distribution pattern of this receptor suggests it may play a range of roles beyond glucose homeostasis in different cells and tissues. To date, a single molecule, 4-methylN-9H-xanthen-9-yl-benzenesulfonamide (AH-7614), has been described as an FFA4 antagonist; however, its mechanism of antagonism remains unknown. We synthesized AH-7614 and a chemical derivative and demonstrated these to be negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) of FFA4. Although these NAMs did inhibit FFA4 signaling induced by a range of endogenous and synthetic agonists, clear agonist probe dependence in the nature of allostericmodulation was apparent. Although AH-7614 did not antagonize the second long-chain free fatty acid receptor, free fatty acid receptor 1, the simple chemical structure of AH-7614 containing features found in many anticancer drugs suggests that a novel close chemical analog of AH-7614 devoid of FFA4 activity, 4-methyl-N-(9H-xanthen-9-yl)benzamide (TUG-1387), will also provide a useful control compound for future studies assessing FFA4 function. Using TUG-1387 alongside AH-7614, we show that endogenous activation of FFA4 expressed by murine C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cells is required for induced differentiation of these cells toward a more mature, adipocyte-like phenotype.
Stochastic models for species formation in evolving populations

We introduce a simple model for sexual reproduction in a Rat fitness landscape, the species formation model, which leads to a spontaneous division of a population into species. In this model mating between individuals is permitted only if their separation in genome space is less than a given value. This model shows non-self-averaging effects in the overlap distribution similar to what is observed in a one parent model representing asexual reproduction, and in contrast to a simpler model for scxud reproduction, the homogeneous population model, in which random pairing of individuals is permitted.
EFFECT OF NANO TITANIUM SPRAYING ON GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY OF ONION (Allium cepa L.)

The field work was carried out at the Experimental Farm of the Desert Research Center, Balosa region, North Sinai Governorate, during winter season of 2014/2015. The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of nano-TiO2 at the rate of 1, 2 and 3 gm /L on growth, yield and chemical composition of onion variety Giza Red grown in sandy soil. Result revealed that growth parameters, chlorophyll contents, chemical contents, yield and its components increased with increasing nano-TiO2 rate. No significant differences between nano-TiO2 at the rates of 2 and 3 gm/L on bulb dry matter (%), total yield and nitrogen content.
OSL dating in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. A discussion from a user’s perspective

Four studies with series of OSL dated aeolian sediments are outlined and used for a discussion of the reliability of this dating method in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The OSL ages form series controlled by interfingering radiocarbon ages, historical records or relative position of the samples. A locality dated by a thermoluminescence method is also included. The examples range from subrecent to more than 200 kyr. It is suggested that in most cases the precision and accuracy of the OSL method are insufficient for the establishment of detailed, late Quaternary stratigraphies and associated palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. It is suggested to start a discussion on the potentials and limitations of luminescence dating.
Impacts of land use changes and climate variability on transboundary Hirmand River using SWAT

Many river basins are facing a reduction of flows which might be attributed to changes in climate and human activities. This issue is very important in transboundary river basins, where already existing conflicts about shared water resources between riparian countries can easily escalate. The decrease of streamflow in the transboundary Hirmand (Helmand) River is one of the main challenges for water resources management in Iran and Afghanistan. This research aims to quantify the causes of this problem which has a direct impact on the dryness of the Hamoun wetlands being an international Ramsar site. To achieve this, the land use changes in the Middle Helmand Basin (MHB) in Afghanistan were evaluated for three time periods between 1990 and 2011 using remote sensing data and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Model for understanding watershed response to environmental changes. It was concluded that the total irrigated area in the region has increased from 103,000 ha in 1990 to 122,000 ha in 2001 and 167,000 ha in 2011 (62% increase). According to the results, the average annual discharge when adapting the land use during the simulations was 4,787 million cubic meters (MCM)/year and while employing the land use of 1990 from the beginning of the simulations, the average annual discharge was 5,133 MCM/year. Therefore, the agricultural developments in the Helmand basin decreased the discharge with about 346 MCM/year accompanying an increase of 64,000 ha in an irrigated area in MHB after 1990. Notably, the impact of land use change increases significantly for more recent periods and causes a reduction of 810 MCM in annual streamflow for the MHB. The amount of water depletion (i.e. actual evapotranspiration) per hectare has increased from 5,690 in 1985 to 7,320 m3 in 2012. The applied methodology of this study is useful to cope with such a data scarcity region. It can help quantify the impact of land use change on the region and formulates strategies that can improve the situation between Iran and Afghanistan.
Profile Of Self-Identity Amongst Adolescents: A Study In Johor

Adolescents are synonymous with the era of self-identity confusion. The effect of self-identity disorder among adolescents can be described through misconduct on school discipline. Various efforts have been made to help adolescence to achieve a positive self-identity. The situation became more challenging when adolescents known as generation Y are easily allured by the current trend. Considering this, the study was conducted to identify the profile of self-identity among adolescents of generation Y. This study was conducted in 22 secondary schools around Johor involving a sample of 807 students. Data were collected through questionnaires EOMEIS-2, which adapted and modified. Descriptive analysis showed that adolescents give a high-level perception of the identity achievement (mean=3.84) and identity moratorium (mean=3.78), and moderate level to identity foreclosure (mean=3.32) and diffusion (mean=3.43). Cluster analysis showed that a total of 276 adolescents comprise identity foreclosure, identity diffusion followed 220 students, 187 students of identity achievement and 124 students of identity moratorium. MANOVA analysis showed that adolescent identity differs significantly by gender and age. The study's findings have implications as additional information to the various parties, particularly parents and teachers as a guide in guiding adolescents to achieve positive self-identity.
Private tax collection—remnant of the past or a way forward? Evidence from rural Uganda

SUMMARY This article examines the growing role and impacts of private tax collection under fiscal decentralisation in Uganda. Based on evidence from six rural councils, three aspects of privatised tax collection are examined: (i) the impact on the nature of fiscal corruption; (ii) the problem of overzealous collection; and (iii) the challenge of assessing revenue potentials. While possibly meeting short-term demands for local revenue growth and stability, the present form of private tax collection appears to transform the nature of fiscal corruption by reducing corruption at collection point and transferring the problem into the district administration. Moreover, while the charge of overzealousness permeates historical and theoretical work on privatised tax collection, the Ugandan experience casts doubt on its general validity. Instead, perverse distributional effects are the most likely cause of deteriorating state-citizen relations in rural Uganda. Finally, the article considers the merit of the prediction of private collection as a preferred contractual choice for certain indirect taxes, suggesting that problems of asymmetric information in assessing the revenue yields of most rural markets are exaggerated. Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rhetorical Strategies of Legitimacy

This paper describes the role of rhetoric in legitimating profound institutional change. In 1997, a Big Five accounting firm purchased a law firm, triggering a jurisdictional struggle within accounting and law over a new organizational form, multidisciplinary partnerships. We analyze the discursive struggle that ensued between proponents and opponents of the new organizational form. We observe that such rhetorical strategies contain two elements. First are institutional vocabularies, or the use of identifying words and referential texts to expose contradictory institutional logics embedded in historical understandings of professionalism, one based on a trustee model and the other based on a model of expertise. A second element of rhetorical strategies is theorizations of change by which actors contest a proposed innovation against broad templates or scenarios of change. We identify five such theorizations of change (teleological, historical, cosmological, ontological, and value-based) and describe their characteristics.
Self-assessment of Undergraduate Nursing Students about Their Knowledge, Behavior, and Attitude in Relation to Evidence Based Practice

Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is used worldwide to improve the quality of patient care to provide cost-effective care. EBP is a mandate for nursing practice combining individual clinical judgment with available expertise to generate a positive outcome for the patient. Objective: The study aimed to describe the self- assessment of undergraduate nursing students about Knowledge, behavior, and attitude in relation to Evidence Based Practice. A Cross- sectional study design. Convenience sampling technique was used to include all consenting nursing students from fifth level to eighth level (3rd and 4th year) (n=255) student. The research was carried out at the Faculty of Nursing, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University. A self- administered questionnaire. The EBP was done by adopting EBP questionnaire that has been created by Upton et.al (2006) & Ruzafa-Martinez et.al (2017): The results indicated that our respondents generally viewed EBP positively and their attitudes towards EBP tended to be more positive than their knowledge and behaviors about EBP. Exactly 76.6% of respondents in our study had a positive attitude toward EBP. Finally, our study showed statistically significant correlations between practice, knowledge and attitudes related to evidence-based practice. Many studies have established that the three segments of knowledge, attitude, and behavior are inseparably interlinked and strength each other in EBP. Conclusion of our research showed that factor of training in EBP has an effect on nursing students' knowledge, attitudes and behaviors about EBP. To the possible extent, training will help to increase positive beliefs and attitudes regarding EBP. Further investigation regarding the effect of gender difference in EBP is needed.
Forage accumulation and nutritive value of reduced lignin and reference alfalfa cultivars

2749 A lfalfa is widely used as forage for livestock due to its high nutrient content (Marita et al., 2003; Yu et al., 2003). However, the digestibility and utilization of alfalfa by these animals is hampered by its lignin content (Sewalt et al., 1997; Casler et al., 2002). Lignin is a complex structural polymer that is the second most abundant component of secondary plant cells walls (Li et al., 2015b), providing the strength and rigidity necessary for the plant to stand upright (Inoue et al., 1998; Guo et al., 2001a). As a plant matures, lignin concentration increases, fi lling the space between cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin molecules and forming cross-linkages with hemicellulose (Albrecht et al., 1987; Jung et al., 1997b; Inoue et al., 1998; Casler and Vogel, 1999). While it is essential for normal plant growth, the deposition of lignin into plant cell walls can reduce the feeding value of alfalfa by negatively aff ecting rumen microbial degradation and the digestion of feed by intestinal enzymes (Buxton and Hornstein, 1986; Liu and Yu, 2011). Lignifi cation has been reported to be the major factor limiting both the in vitro digestibility of plant cell-wall polysaccharides (Morrison, 1979; Albrecht et al., 1987; Jung et al., 2012) and the in vitro dry matter digestibility (DMD) of whole plant forage (Casler, 1986, 1987; Reddy et al., 2005). Th ese negative eff ects have primarily been associated with lignin concentration, as numerous studies have found strong negative correlations between lignin concentrations and forage digestibility (Albrecht et al., 1987; Casler, 1987; Jung et al., 1997a, 1997b; Reddy et al., 2005). With such a strong infl uence on forage digestibility, small decreases in the lignin concentration of forages can be expected to improve the fi ber digestibility at any plant maturity stage (Casler, 1987; Undersander et al., 2009). Predictions by Casler (1987) estimated that a single unit decrease (g kg–1) in the concentration of ADL of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis L.) would result in a 7.0 unit increase in in vitro DMD. Feeding and grazing studies have shown that small changes in forage digestibility can signifi cantly impact animal performance. For Forage Accumulation and Nutritive Value of Reduced Lignin and Reference Alfalfa Cultivars