Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Consumers' Attitudes towards Edible Wild Plants: A Case Study of Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

This study explored the rural revitalizing strategy in FAO's Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) site in Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan, using a case study of edible wild plants. This study assessed the current and possible future utilization of edible wild plants as one important NTFP by clarifying the attitudes of consumers and exploring the challenges of harvesting edible wild plants. Traditional ecological knowledge associated with edible wild plants and the related attitudes of consumers towards wild plants was documented. A questionnaire survey found that a majority of the respondents held positive attitude towards edible wild plants as being healthy, safe food, part of traditional dietary culture. Increasing demand of edible wild plants from urban residents aroused conflicts with local residents’ interest given that around 86% of the forested hills are private in Noto Region. Non timber forest products (NTFP) extraction can be seen as a tool for creating socioeconomic relationships that are dependent on healthy, biodiverse ecosystems. It was suggested that Japanese Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) and Forestry Cooperatives (FCA) could be involved with GIAHS process. As important traditional dietary and ecological system, edible wild plants should be a part of GIAHS project for rural revitalization.
Impact of ownership structure on dividend payout in Pakistani non-financial sector

Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of ownership structure on dividend payout (DIV) ratio of 100 companies related to non-financial sector listed in Karachi stock exchange for the sample period of 2011–2015. Fixed effects model as a panel data analysis technique indicates that managerial ownership (MO) has shown significant and negative impact on DIV which indicates that as MO rise, they will prefer to retain instead of distribution. Institutional ownership is showing significant and positive behavior with DIV ratio which also showing favorable arguments for dividend distribution. Change in earnings and operating cash flows as control variables are not making variation in DIV. Further, firms having favorable firm’s value and higher firm’s size lead to distribute more dividends with good faith and reputation. Leverage and DIV ratio relationship are an indication of cash flow theory, all earnings must be distributed among shareholders while positive and favorable NPV projects must be availed through debt financing. This study provides supports to shareholders in adjusting their investment strategies because it provides information regarding dividend policies.
Yield and Mineral Content of Stinging Nettle as Affected by Nitrogen Fertilization

Stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica L.) is a valuable multifunctional plant species, mainly collected from natural habitats, but, quality of such plant material is rather variable. Cultivation of the plant allows for controlling some environmental factors and enhances the quality of the product. The goal of this research was to determine the influence of different doses of nitrogen fertilization (0, 100, and 200 kg N ha -1 ) on yield, dry matter content, crude proteins and mineral content in stinging nettle herbage collected at flowering time. Results of the study showed that nitrogen fertilization had a negative effect on the amount of dry matter, content of phosphorus, potassium, and trace elements. Crude proteins significantly increased with use of larger amounts of nitrogen fertilizer and the highest value was recorded in the last harvest at 200 kg N ha -1 (180.0 g kg -1 ). The amount of iron measured in this research was very variable (0.62-2.96 g kg -1 ) and much higher compared to the other studies on stinging nettle and similar leafy vegetables rich in iron. The highest total yield of fresh stinging nettle herbage was achieved at 200 kg N ha -1 (15.18 t ha -1 ), however, in the absence of nitrogen fertilization, the highest values of mineral composition and dry matter content were recorded.
Molding Optical Waveguides with Nematicons

Optical waveguides are usually fabricated by top‐down methods. Hereby, this study demonstrates a bottom‐up approach based on nonlinear optics in reorientational nematic liquid crystals with polymerizable materials. Near‐infrared optical spatial solitons—nematicons—in conjunction with UV exposure are employed in order to achieve (i) real‐time signal waveguiding for point‐to‐point beam‐induced interconnects by effectively quenching the fluctuations of nematicon trajectories through polymer stabilization; (ii) the molding of permanent channel waveguides in a crosslinked polymer network, so that they persist after turning off the soliton beam and confine signals of various wavelengths and intensities. These findings introduce a novel, highly versatile platform and a wealth of possibilities for guided‐wave photonics, signal addressing, and processing in liquid crystalline soft matter.
Radiative Heat Transfer Flow of Micropolar Fluid with Variable Heat Flux in a Porous Medium

A two-dimensional steady convective flow of a micropolar flui d past a vertical porous flat plate in the presence of radiation with v ariable heat flux has been analyzed numerically. Using Darcy-Forchheimer model the corresponding momentum, microrotation and energy equations have been solved numerically. The local similarity solutions for the flow, microrotation and heat transfer char acteristics are illustrated graphically for various material parameters. The effects of the pertinent parameters on the local skin friction coefficient, plate couple stress and the heat transfer are also calculated. It was shown that large Darcy parameter leads to decrease the velocity while it increases the angular velocity as well as temperature of the micropolar fluids. The rate of heat transfer in weakly concentrated micropolar fluids is higher than strongly concentrated micropolar fluids.
Estimation of discount factor (beta) and coefficient of relative risk aversion (gamma) in selected countries

We estimate the long-run discount factor for a group of developed and developing countries through standard methodology incorporating adaptive expectations of inflation. We find that the discount factor of developing countries is relatively nearer to unity as compared to that of the developed countries. In the second part, while considering a standard Euler equation for household's intertemporal consumption, we estimate the parameter of constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) for Pakistan by using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach. The resulting parameter value of CRRA confirms to the empirical range for developing countries (as given in, Cardenas and Carpenter, 2008). The GMM estimator for the discount factor reinforces its result from the first part of the paper. Consequently we show that different combination values for both the parameters result in different (in terms of magnitude) impulse response functions, in response to tight monetary policy shocks in a simple New Keynesian macroeconomic model.
Objective extraction of channel heads from high‐resolution topographic data

Fluvial landscapes are dissected by channels, and at their upstream termini are channel heads. Accurate reconstruction of the fluvial domain is fundamental to understanding runoff generation, storm hydrology, sediment transport, biogeochemical cycling, and landscape evolution. Many methods have been proposed for predicting channel head locations using topographic data, yet none have been tested against a robust field data set of mapped channel heads across multiple landscapes. In this study, four methods of channel head prediction were tested against field data from four sites with high‐resolution DEMs: slope‐area scaling relationships; two techniques based on landscape tangential curvature; and a new method presented here, which identifies the change from channel to hillslope topography along a profile using a transformed longitudinal coordinate system. Our method requires only two user‐defined parameters, determined via independent statistical analysis. Slope‐area plots are traditionally used to identify the fluvial‐hillslope transition, but we observe no clear relationship between this transition and field‐mapped channel heads. Of the four methods assessed, one of the tangential curvature methods and our new method most accurately reproduce the measured channel heads in all four field sites (Feather River CA, Mid Bailey Run OH, Indian Creek OH, Piedmont VA), with mean errors of −11, −7, 5, and −24 m and 34, 3, 12, and −58 m, respectively. Negative values indicate channel heads located upslope of those mapped in the field. Importantly, these two independent methods produce mutually consistent estimates, providing two tests of channel head locations based on independent topographic signatures.
Short-term variability in microbial food web dynamics in a shallow tidal estuary

Short-term variability in microbial food web dynamics was investigated from 3 to 17 May 2001 at 2 contrasting sites in the Urdaibai estuary (Bay of Biscay). The lower site is located in an area where tidal advection exerts a major influence, whereas the upper site is located in area where the influence of the tide is much lower and that of river runoff is markedly higher than at the lower site. The biomass of microbial plankton (phytoplankton, bacteria, non-pigmented flagellates [NPF] and ciliates) and their rates of activities (primary production, bacterial production, herbivory, bacterivory and microbial community respiration) were markedly higher at the upper site, thus showing that tidal flushing is a key factor controlling these spatial differences along the longitudinal axis of the estuary, rendering the upper channel a high productivity zone and the lower euhaline area a less productive one. Water residence time also exerted an overriding effect on chlorophyll a distribution on a temporal basis, with drastic increases in river runoff, due to heavy rain pulses, being responsible for immediate bloom dispersion in the upper channel. Bacterial density was less affected than phytoplankton biomass by increased river flow. It is hypothesised that detrital material increases caused by increases in river runoff provided an extra source of carbon for bacterial growth. On average, microbial herbivory was responsible for the fate of ca. 50% of chlorophyll a standing stock. Herbivory rates were not significantly different on phytoplankton 0.2 µm and on those 8 µm in size and grazing pressure on phytoplankton was lower in the more productive site. Protists 1 to 8 µm in size were the main bacterivores. No synchrony was observed between bacterial and NPF abundances. Instead a lag phase was observed between the peak densities of bacteria and NPF, which was larger at the more productive upper site than in the lower estuary and allowed bacteria in the former zone to exploit substrate availability without significant grazing control for several days. Microbial community rate of respiration was significantly correlated with bacterivory rates and NPF abundance in the upper estuary, but not in the lower zone. The median of the proportion of bacterial production removed by bacterivory was 64% at the lower estuary station and 17% in the upper estuary. A possible explanation for this difference could be that attached bacteria (abundant in the upper reaches of the estuary) are less accessible for protistan grazing. Bacterivory by protists accounted for a mean of 14 and 7% of protistan herbivory at the lower and upper sites respectively.
Barriers to the Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Secondary Schools: Teacher's Perspective

This study investigates the teachers’ perceptions of barriers to using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in secondary schools in India. Even though the progress of ICT for teaching is growing, very few studies address ICT particularly regarding secondary schools in India. This study has reviewed the existing literature pertaining to ICT in secondary schools and has analyzed barrier factors in relation to secondary schools in India. A 10-item questionnaire was administered to 749 secondary school teachers in India. Results from the study shows that lack of funding, lack of ICT integration and lack of connectivity were found to be most critical barriers to the use of ICT in secondary schools. Three barrier-factors were extracted: lack of support, lack of ICT infrastructure and lack of motivation and self belief from factor analysis.
The ecology of tardigrades

Introduction Tardigrades are hydrophilic microscopic invertebrates belonging to the phylum Tardigrada and are more commonly known as ‘water bears’. They were first discovered in 1773 by Goeze and since this time many species have been described (Romano 2003). They require a film of water to remain active and are found in marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems ranging from deep sea abysses to the tops of mountains (Ramazzotti and Maucci 1983, Kinchin 1994). Tardigrades have a bilaterally symmetrical body plan with four pairs of lobopodous legs terminating in claws or sucking disks. The adults average 200500μm in size, although some adults reach 1200 μm and juveniles can be much smaller. Reproduction is either sexual or by parthenogenesis and males are generally smaller in size than females. The fluid-filled body cavity functions in respiration and circulation and they have a full digestive system (Nelson 2002).
Influence of Social Network Websites over Women Consumers from Islamic Religion: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

The paper intends to design and test the influence of pertinent variables i.e. internal (marketing mix) information variables, and external information variables obtained through social network websites over women consumers buying behaviour from Islamic religion in Middle Eastern countries. The constructs focus on testing the impact on the aforesaid aspects. The paper uses structural equation modelling to find the influence and the results revealed that (i) external information variables found to have more influence than that of internal information variables (ii) It is found society, brand reputation and reference groups exert more influence over women consumer buying behaviour through social media websites.
Pitfall trapping for surveying trapdoor spiders: the importance of timing, conditions and effort

Abstract Trapdoor spiders are challenging to sample using active searching methods because of their cryptic burrowing behavior. This poses problems for ecological studies and for gathering the data needed for conservation assessments. Pitfall trapping provides an alternative method that targets adult males as they wander from their burrows in search of females. Using pitfall trapping requires considerations of the timing of sampling within the year, the effects of environmental conditions on spider activity, and sampling effort required for a high probability of detecting species that are present at a sample site. To investigate these factors, pitfall-trapping surveys were conducted at several localities in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The results showed that trapdoor spider activity occurs in all seasons. Each species has a discrete period of activity ranging from a few weeks to several months in duration. Some species are active at different times of the year at different localities. Statistical analysis showed soil moisture as the only significant predictor of activity from amongst seven environmental variables, and the survey results indicate that trapdoor spiders are active under wet conditions following rainfall. Between two and seven nights of trapping are required for a high probability of detecting all species present and active at a site, using the trap design employed for this study with ten trap arrays per site. Trapping must be repeated at regular intervals throughout the year in order to obtain a near complete inventory of the species assemblage. The number of species collected ranged from two to eight per site, with most sites having six or eight species. Pitfall trapping yielded 1.2–3.0 times the number of species obtained by active searching at sites where both methods were employed. Guidelines for planning pitfall-trapping surveys of trapdoor spiders are presented and future research directions are discussed.
T: A forest simulator for bioeconomic analyses based on models for individual trees

Abstract The aim of this paper is to describe a bioeconomic forest simulator based on models for individual trees. At present, the forest simulator can be applied only to stand-level analyses, but in future it is planned to be a part of a software system that may be used for decision support for large forest areas. The focus is on a flexible platform facilitating future development, and the biological submodels, i.e. distance-independent individual-tree growth and mortality models and area-based regeneration and recruitment models, are based on permanent sample plots from the Norwegian National Forest Inventory. The economic submodels estimate timber prices and harvesting costs from individual trees. For each management unit (i.e. stand), the simulator produces treatment schedules with all feasible combinations of user-defined treatment and regeneration options (e.g. precommercial thinning, thinning, different kinds of regeneration cutting with different kinds of regeneration options and selective cutting). A net present value is calculated for all treatment schedules. From the treatment schedules various aspects of forest dynamics and economics can be analysed and visualized. A case study is presented to demonstrate some of the functionality and behaviour of the simulator.
The Relation between Terrorism and High Population Growth

A fundamental problem in socioeconomic sciences is how to explain the root causes of terrorism. The literature has analyzed several determinants of terrorism. However, the precise role of demographic factors for the origin and evolution of terrorism in specific geoeconomic areas is hardly known. Results here show that high population growth seems to be basic for the source and evolution of terrorism. This study found that terrorism thrives, in average, in specific cultural zones with high growth rates of population combined with collective identity factors and low socioeconomic development. Overall, then, the main aim of this study is to clarify and generalize whenever possible, the demographic source of the terrorism and suggest appropriate socioeconomic policies to preempt this critical problem in society over the long run.
Drought reduces tree growing season length but increases nitrogen resorption efficiency in a Mediterranean ecosystem

Abstract. Mediterranean ecosystems are hotspots for climate change, as the highest impacts are forecasted for the Mediterranean region, mainly by more frequent and intense severe droughts. Plant phenology is a good indicator of species' responses to climate change. In this study, we compared the spring phenology of cork oak trees (Quercus suber), an evergreen species, over 2 contrasting years, a mild year (2004) and a dry year (2005), which was the most severe drought since records exist. We evaluated the timing of occurrence, duration, and intensity of bud development, budburst, shoot elongation, trunk growth, and leaf senescence (phenophases) and assessed the nitrogen resorption efficiency from senescent to green leaves. The temperature was the main driver of budburst. Nevertheless, water had the main role of constraining all the other phenophases by strongly reducing the growing season length (−48 %) and consequently the tree growth. Basal area increment was the most affected growth variable (−36 %), although it occurred at a similar rate in the 2 years. Shoot elongation was also reduced (−21 %), yet elongation occurred at a higher rate in the dry year compared to the mild year. Leaf senescence during the bulk period was higher in the dry year, in which leaves were shed at the same rate over a longer period. Nitrogen concentrations in green and senescent leaves were affected by drought and nitrogen resorption efficiency increased remarkably (+22 %). Our results highlight the importance of studying different phenological metrics to improve our understanding of the ecosystem's responses to climate change. The faster dynamics observed in shoot elongation, while all other phenophases developed at the same rate, indicate that leaf area development is privileged in cork oak. Water availability was the main driver of spring growth in this Mediterranean ecosystem; however, growth may be affected by complex interplays between precipitation and temperature, such as higher temperatures during dry winters or heatwaves during spring, that are likely to result in water stress. Longer studies are needed to disentangle those interplays. Finally, a higher nitrogen resorption efficiency in response to drought appears to be an adaptive trait that mitigates the limitation in nitrogen uptake by the roots during drought and contributes to improving tree fitness in the short term but will probably exert a negative feedback on the nitrogen cycle in the long term, which might affect the ecosystem functioning under the forecasted droughts.
Complex Physical Activity, Outdoor Play, and School Readiness among Preschoolers.

High quality educational settings play a crucial role in preparing a child to enter kindergarten, but little work has explored how outdoor play and complex physical activity outside school and childcare settings promote school readiness among preschoolers. To address this gap, the present study explored connections among school readiness with outdoor play and participation in complex physical activity. Parents (N = 107) reported the extent and frequency of time their child spent in outdoor play during a typical week, and what complex activities (e.g., soccer, biking, basketball) the child played over the last year. School readiness was assessed with parent reports on the Preschool Behavior and Emotional Rating Scale. Results showed participating in complex activities significantly moderated the relationship between time in outdoor play with school readiness, with time in outdoor play positively related to school readiness for children who participated in two or less complex activities. For children who participated in three complex activities, time in outdoor play was not related to school readiness. Findings offer support that encouraging both outdoor play and participation in complex physical activities could promote school readiness, particularly when opportunities for outdoor playtime are limited.