Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growth and survival in Quercus ilex L. seedlings after irrigation and artificial shading on Mediterranean set-aside agricultural land

En Europe, de nombreuses terres agricoles ont ete boisees. La politique agricole de l'Union europeenne subventionne actuellement la transformation de terres cultivees en foret avec une attention speciale accordee aux especes feuillues. Pour evaluer les pratiques de boisement, nous avons analyse la croissance et la survie de 800 plants de Quercus ilex sub-espece ballota sur une ancienne terre agricole soumise aux conditions climatiques semi-arides du climat mediterraneen du Centre de l'Espagne. Apres plantation, la survie et la croissance des plants ont ete suivies pendant trois ans. Le dispositif incluait quatre combinaisons : 1) irrigation ou non irrigation pendant la saison seche, 2) ombrage artificiel ou non ombrage. Les traitements ont differe en evapotranspiration potentielle (ETP) (p < 0,0002) et evapotranspiration reelle (ETR) (p < 0,0001). Ces traitements ont induit des differences dans la production d'adventices (p < 0,0001) lesquelles etaient uniquement affectees par l'irrigation. L'irrigation, l'ombrage et l'interaction entre l'irrigation et l'ombrage ont induit un effet positif sur la survie des plants (valeurs-p plus petites que 0,007, 0,0007 et 0,01 respectivement). Les plus grandes differences en terme de survie des plants sont apparues au cours de la fin de la premiere saison seche. La survie ne differait cependant pas de facon significative entre les traitements d'irrigation, d'ombrage et combine. En revanche, chacun des trois traitements ont induit de maniere significative moins de mortalite que le temoin. La forte survie des plants du traitement irrigue non ombrage coincidait avec une forte couverture des adventices (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) au cours de la premiere annee. Des effets significatifs des traitements sur la croissance des plants ont ete notes: p < 0,002 pour le diametre de la tige, et p < 0,0001 pour la hauteur et la surface projetee du houppier (SPH). L'effet de l'ombrage etait significatif pour toutes les mesures de croissance (p < 0,003 diametre de la tige et p < 0,0001 pour la hauteur et la SPH). L'irrigation seule a eu un effet significatif sur le diametre de la tige (p < 0,03) et l'interaction entre l'irrigation et l'ombrage a produit un effet significatif sur la croissance en diametre (p <0,04) et en SPH (p < 0,02). A la fin de la premiere annee, le plus fort diametre correspondait aux parcelles irriguees non ombragees. Toutes les variables mesurees de la croissance etaient correlees avec la quantite d'eau et avec l'ETR (r compris entre 0,35 et 0,78, et valeurs-p entre 0,01 et 0,0001). Les coefficients de correlation etaient plus eleves de 50 % pour la quantite d'eau que pour l'ETR. Nous concluons qu'il faut chercher a reduire le deficit hydrique des plants si l'on veut ameliorer le succes des plantations en terres agricoles dans des milieux secs. L'irrigation des plants pendant l'ete cree des conditions qui permettent la survie des plants apres plantation. En deuxieme et troiseme annee, les traitements d'irrigation et/ou ombrage augmentent la croissance des plants.
Creative Writing Assignments in a Second Language Course: A Way to Engage Less Motivated Students.

This article makes a case for using creative writing in a second language course. Creative writing increases students’ enthusiasm for writing skills development and supports students’ creativity, which is a fundamental aspect of education. In order to engage less motivated students, a series of creative writing assignments was implemented in a second language writing course. This study presents the rationale for the use of creative writing grounded in critical pedagogy and the context of instruction. Data collection focused on the content of students’ writing and their attitudes towards creative writing and critical pedagogy. The results show that all the participating students found the assignment both enjoyable and beneficial for the development of their writing ability. However, the students’ perceptions of critical pedagogy varied. The author argues for greater employment of creative writing in second language courses in the future.
First detection of the 63um atomic oxygen line in the thermosphere of Mars with GREAT/SOFIA

Context. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) with its 2.5 m telescope provides new science opportunities for spectroscopic observations of planetary atmospheres in the far-infrared wavelength range. Aims. This paper presents first results from the 14 May, 2014 observing campaign of the Martian atmosphere at 4.7 THz using the German REceiver for Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies (GREAT) instrument. Methods. The atomic oxygen 63 m transition, OI, was detected in absorption against the Mars continuum, with a high signal-to-noise ratio ( 35). A beam-averaged atomic oxygen from a global circulation model was used as input to the radiative transfer simulations of the observed line area and to obtain a new estimate on the column density using a grid-search method. Results. Minimizing di erences between the calculated and observed line intensities in the least-square sense yields an atomic oxygen column density of (1:1 0:2) 10 17 cm 2 . This value is about twice as low as predicted by a modern photochemical model of Mars. The radiative transfer simulations indicate that the line forms in the upper atmospheric region over a rather extended altitude region of 70‐120 km. Conclusions. For the first time, a far-infrared transition of the atomic oxygen line was detected in the atmosphere of Mars. The absorption depth provides an estimate on the column density, and this measurement provides additional means to constrain the photochemical models in global circulation models and airglow studies. The lack of other means for monitoring the atomic oxygen in the Martian upper atmosphere makes future observations with the SOFIA observatory highly desirable.
Hard Versus Soft Law in International Security

The use and choice of hard and soft law in international governance has been the subject of ever-increasing scholarly interest. This law and social science literature assesses the relative strengths and weaknesses of hard- and soft-law instruments as alternatives for international governance, as well as how these instruments can be combined as mutually reinforcing complements to lead to greater international cooperation over time. By contrast, we argue, hard and soft law can and do operate, under certain conditions, as antagonists. In short, states and non-state actors increasingly use soft law not to "progressively develop" existing hard law, but to undermine it. In our previous scholarship we have demonstrated this antagonistic interaction of hard and soft law in the economic realm, where the international trade system often interacts in antagonistic ways with related areas of international environmental and cultural law. In this Article, we look beyond economic law, examining the interaction of hard and soft legal instruments with respect to two fundamental questions of international security law: (1) the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons, and (2) the legality of the use of force in humanitarian intervention under the "responsibility to protect" doctrine. In both cases, states and non-state actors have employed hard and soft law, not as complements in a progressive process of international legal development, but as antagonists, with soft-law pronouncements being used to undermine long-standing hard-law norms. In both cases, the result has been to obscure, rather than to clarify and elaborate, the most fundamental norms of the international legal system.
Studies on fecundity and some physiological features for the ovaries of Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus treated with different concentrations of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid (EDTA).

The present study aims to determine the effect of different concentrations of EDTA (0 g EDTA/L, 0.1 g EDTA/L and 0.3 g EDTA/L) on fecundity, survival rate and biochemical responses of the adult female of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus reared in glass tanks. Results showed that, the fecundity increases with the increasing in the concentrations of EDTA compared with control. Survival rate are affected by high concentration of EDTA (0.3 g EDTA/L) and reached to 33.3 % at the end of third week. However, an addition of EDTA to aquaria containing adult females increased the biochemical parameters at high concentration compared with control and low concentration samples except total proteins showed deceasing to lowest level. Statistical analysis mentioned a significant difference between the low concentration of EDTA and both of high concentration and control in all parameters. Otherwise, total carbohydrates exhibit non significant differences between all of them.
The Television Factor In Vocabulary Development Among Secondary School Students In Cross River State, Nigeria

This study investigated the influence of television viewing frequency on the performance in vocabulary development of SS 3 students in Cross River State, Nigeria. Data were obtained through questionnaires and a vocabulary test administered to 993 students in selected public and private schools in Cross River State. Data analyses indicated that high frequency television viewers performed significantly better than moderate viewers, while moderate viewers performed significantly better than did the low frequency viewers in vocabulary development. KEY WORDS: television viewing, vocabulary development, achievement
IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON CEREAL MARKET AND FOOD SECURITY IN SUDAN: STOCHASTIC APPROACH AND CGE MODEL

The paper aims at analysing the impact of the likely change in rainfall on food availability and access to food in Sudan. The empirical investigation is based on an integrated approach consisting on a stochastic method and CGE model. The former provides the likely changes in sorghum, millet and wheat productivity and their probability of occurrence according to rainfall predictions based on historical data. These results are at the basis of the shocks simulated in a standard CGE model augmented with a stochastic component. Achievements underline the negative impact on the two dimensions of food security taken into consideration, mainly due to a reduction in cereal supply, a marked cereal inflation pressure and income contraction; the grater negative effect on the poorest households; and a deterioration of the economic performance of the country. In this context, the paper stresses a strong interconnection among climate change, poverty and food insecurity and thus the need for an integrated policy-making approach.
Gradation criteria for experimentally induced periapical lesions in mice

A periapical lesion occurs as periapical tissue reacts to a dental pulp anaerobic infection. This phenomenon may result from carious lesions, tooth fractures, or iatrogenic and other circumstances that allow for bacteria to penetrate into the pulpal tissues. Objectives: This study histologically evaluated experimentally induced periapical lesions using the Autodesk AutoCAD 2010 software. Additionally, based on the amounts of alveolar bone destruction sizes in the mouse model regions, a proposed experimental periapical lesion gradation criterion was created. Methods: Twelve BALB/c mice were utilizised in a periapical model, whereby their mandibular right first molars were coronally opened, allowing for pulp exposure to host oral bacterial flora. Th ese mice were sacrificed two and four weeks following pulp exposure. Following each sacrifice, hemimandibles were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, decalcified in 3% formic acid, embedded in paraffin and cut into 4-μm-thick sections. The sections were stained with haematoxylin- eosin and examined with light microscopy (40x). Section images that included the mandibular first molar distal roots and passed through the apical foramens were selected for analysis. The periodontal ligament sizes were measured using the Autodesk AutoCAD 2010 software. Results: There was a highly significant lesgion size difference at the two different time points following the lesion induction (p=0.002). The periapical lesions were classified according to periapical bone resorption sizes. We determined the values of quartiles (25% and 75%) and median areas (50%) of the mean lesion values at both experimental periods. These data enabled for scoring of the lesions with grades from 1 to 4. The area of the normal periodontal ligament space was assigned with a grade of 0. Conclusion: This newly designed gradation criteria represent a significant advantage compared with the previous descriptive methods used for determining periapical tissue bone destruction levels. It The criteria achieves this advantage by excluding subjectivity, facilitating a numerical presentation of the data and reducing the possibility of making errors by using the highly availably Autodesk AutoCAD 2010 software.
S04-3 birds as pollinators and dispersers: a case study from New Zealand.

One special legacy of New Zealand's long biogeographic isolation is a distinctive flora and fauna. The flora is characterized by a high percentage of trees (33% of species), a high percentage of bird-dispersed species (72% of trees), and a low incidence of ornithophily (4% of genera). In the prehuman avifauna, twelve species dispersed seed, and five were pollinators. Native ecosystems have since suffered clearance of 71% of forests, extensive hunting, and the introduction of 14 now-widespread predatory or browsing mammals. As a result, pollinating and seed dispersing birds are either regionally or nationally rare (7 species), or extinct on the New Zealand mainland (6 species). Six of seven bird-pollinated plant species examined so far are pollen-limited, to some extent, at mainland sites. Three of eight fruiting species studied are suffering reduced dispersal on the mainland, where large (>1.4 cm) diameter fruits now depend on a single disperser, the New Zealand pigeon, Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae. Conservation of these plants requires management of native bird populations, especially the tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), bellbird (Anthornis melanura), and the pigeon to avert long-term shifts in vegetation composition. Intensive predator control has been shown to increase the densities of mutualist bird species, suggesting that New Zealand conservation managers can assist bird-serviced plant populations by controlling predators, a third-order ecologi- cal manipulation.
Exploring the Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility, Employee Engagement, and Organizational Performance: The Case of Jordanian Mobile Telecommunication Companies

The aim of this research is to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility, employee engagement, and organizational performance in Jordanian mobile telecommunication companies. A total of 350 questionnaires containing 37 items were used to collect information from the respondents. Multiple and simple regression analyses were conducted to test the research hypotheses. Results of the current study revealed that corporate social responsibility (both internal and external) and employee engagement (vigor, absorption, and dedication) have a significant positive relationship with organizational performance. Also, the results revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between corporate social responsibility (internal CSR and external CSR) and employee engagement. The Baron and Kenny mediation model and Sobel test were used to test whether employee engagement mediated the relationship between corporate social responsibility and organizational performance. The results showed that employee engagement fully mediated the relationship in a significant way. The results of the current study have many managerial implications for mobile telecommunication companies. In order to enhance organizational performance, decision makers must work on creating and maintaining an efficient corporate social responsibility agenda, which would increase employees’ engagement in their work which will lead to improved performance outcomes.
Simulation of a finishing operation : milling of a turbine blade and influence of damping

Milling is used to create very complex geometries and thin parts, such as turbine blades. Irreversible geometric defects may appear during finishing operations when a high surface quality is expected. Relative vibrations between the tool and the workpiece must be as small as possible, while tool/workpiece interactions can be highly non-linear. A general virtual machining approach is presented and illustrated. It takes into account the relative motion and vibrations of the tool and the workpiece. Both deformations of the tool and the workpiece are taken into account. This allows predictive simulations in the time domain. As an example the effect of damping on the behavior during machining of one of the 56 blades of a turbine disk is analysed in order to illustrate the approach potential. © 2012 ASME
Significance testing for quasi-periodic pulsations in solar and stellar flares

The robust detection of quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) in solar and stellar flares has been the topic of recent debate. In light of this, we have adapted a method described by Vaughan (2005) to aid with the search for QPPs in flare time series data. The method identifies statistically significant periodic signals in power spectra, and properly accounts for red noise as well as the uncertainties associated with the data. We show how the method can be further developed to be used with rebinned power spectra, allowing us to detect QPPs whose signal is spread over more than one frequency bin. An advantage of these methods is that there is no need to detrend the data prior to creating the power spectrum. Examples are given where the methods have been applied to synthetic data, as well as real flare time series data with candidate QPPs from the Nobeyama Radioheliograph. These show that, despite the transient nature of QPPs, peaks corresponding to the QPPs can be seen at a significant level in the power spectrum without any form of detrending or other processing of the original time series data, providing the background trends are not too steep.
Spatial and Temporal Variations of Groundwater- Stream Water Interaction in an Agricultural Area, Case study: Haean Basin, Korea

Accepted 21 st September 2012. A spatial and temporal variation of seepage in the Haean basin of Korea was examined using seepage meters and piezometers in the streambeds. More so, stream water budget and groundwater levels were also measured. The streambed of the study area was mostly sand bed forms and the seepage direction show high among 35 piezometer points at two stream transects each. Various upwelling (22.8, 4% at HSV1 and HSV2 in August and 77.1, 71.4% in October), downwelling (68.6, 51.4% in August and 0, 0% in October) and stagnation (8.6, 8.6% in August and 22.9, 28.6% in October) were found during different season. Vertical hydraulic gradients were generally small (-0.3~0.15 at HSV1, -0.1~0.1 at HSV2 in August and 0~0.05 at HSV1, 0~0.05 at HSV2 in October, respectively) but they show a significant variation with season and location. Downwelling was dominant in August while upwelling was dominant in October at HSV1 and HSV2. Furthermore, the proportion of stagnation points was greater in the dry season. A balance of total stream water flux and measured groundwater levels also indicated that the stream was generally losing in wet season. An integrated evaluation of seepage rate, vertical hydraulic gradient, stream flow budget and groundwater levels enhanced understanding of the groundwater-stream water interaction in this study area.
Holocene upper forest line dynamics in the Ecuadorian Andes: a multiproxy study

Bergbossen en tropische alpiene graslanden in de Ecuadoriaanse Andes hebben een hoge diversiteit aan planten. Door ontbossing is slechts een klein deel van het oorspronkelijke bergbos over. De alpiene graslanden, regionaal bekend als ‘paramo', zijn gedegradeerd door grazen en branden en zijn op grote schaal als aardappelakkers, en recentelijk ook als boomplantages in gebruik. Dit heeft tot gevolg gehad dat de bovenste bosgrens nu lager op de helling voorkomt. Sommige onderzoekers geloven dat deze bosgrens onder natuurlijke condities rond 4000 tot 4100 meter ligt. Dat heeft als consequentie dat paramo onder de 4000 meter als secundaire vegetatie wordt beschouwd in een voorheen bebost gebied. Deze ‘hoge bosgrens hypothese' is in discussie bij onderzoekers die geloven dat de bosgrens zonder menselijke invloed rond 3600 tot 3700 meter hoogte is gelokaliseerd (‘lage bosgrens hypothese'). Marcela Cecilia Moscol Olivera reconstrueerde de natuurlijke ligging van de bovenste bosgrens met behulp van een combinatie van vegetatieanalyse langs een hoogte gradient, een analyse van de relatie tussen vegetatie en actuele pollenregen, en de palynologische analyse van twee veenkernen en een bodemprofiel.
The impact of an Integrated Financial System implementation on accounting profiles in a public administration

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of an Integrated Financial System implementation on accountant profiles in a Swiss public administration. The authors observe the following variables: accountants' skills, accountants' functions, and accountants' educational backgrounds. Each variable was studied before and after the implementation.Design/methodology/approach – This study is an empirical research based on a case study using interviews. The authors designed a questionnaire that they discussed with participants in order to determine how they perceive accountants' job profiles.Findings – The main finding concerned accountants' educational backgrounds. In the public administration that was studied, accountants tended overall to lack the specialized knowledge necessary to work with the complex tools in an Integrated Financial System. The paper also confirmed other authors' findings, that the necessary skill sets change when an Integrated Financial System is implemented. Actually, it wa.
Effects of Neutralization, Decoloration, and Deodorization on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons during Laboratory-Scale Oil Refining Process

The influence of technological operations during oil refining process on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in neutralized, bleached, and deodorized oils was investigated on the basis of laboratory-scale study. Under the best experimental conditions, benzo[a]pyrene decreased by 85.1%, 99.7%, and 40.8% in neutralized, bleached, and deodorized oils, respectively. Total of 16 analytes decreased by 55.7%, 87.5%, and 47.7%, respectively. Bleaching with activated charcoal was the most efficient procedure to reduce PAHs in crude oil. Neutralization had a modest influence on sixteen analytes; however, deodorization was only responsible for a slight decrease in the light PAHs and heavy PAHs contents. Data obtained in this study suggest that the use of activated carbon during oil refining process is highly recommended; moreover, these results provide a useful guidance for oil refining plant to reduce security risk and ensure the quality of the vegetable oil products.