Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plant Diversity and Cover after Wildfire on Anthropogenically Disturbed and Undisturbed Sites in Subarctic Upland Picea mariana Forest

Postfire development of cover and diversity was studied in an upland Picea mariana -dominated forest in the Canadian Subarctic. Short-term vegetation responses of 10- and 22-year-old cleared rights-of-way and a forest site were investigated two and three growing seasons after a wildfire. Prefire and postfire investigation of the study site allowed direct comparison of species cover and frequency values, as well as the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, before and after the fire. The fire considerably reduced diversity on all sites. Species diversity increased with the level of prefire disturbance. Prefire disturbance influenced the fire's characteristics by altering the fuel load and soil moisture, which in turn affected the postfire revegetation through different soil and microclimatic conditions. The sites that were most severely disturbed before the fire experienced the most rapid revegetation, including the highest diversity index and highest plant cover. Of the sites that were undisturbed before the fire, the natural drainage swales offered the best growing conditions after the burn. Furthermore, prefire disturbance increased the patchiness of the burned area, and the residual flora of unburned patches added to postfire floristic diversity.
High-income consumers may be less hyperbolic when discounting the future

We investigate to what extent high-income consumers are less hyperbolic than low-income consumers using a sample of 216 bank customers and 796 undergraduates. We assess whether participants who scored lower on a test of cognitive ability were also those who tended to discount the future hyperbolically. Our problem is then to find whether lower cognitive ability translates into hyperbolic discounting. The students had higher implicit discount rates, i.e. they were more hyperbolic, for both low stakes and high stakes when long delays were involved, a result in line with the literature. The undergraduates tended to be hyperbolic regardless of stake size, whereas the bank customers tended to be hyperbolic only when high stakes were involved. This makes sense, as high-income consumers should be less sensitive to low stakes. The bank clients showed superior cognitive ability and this may explain why their System 2 could be more capable of overriding cognitive biases, such as the present bias.
Cryptocurrency Price Prediction Using Tweet Volumes and Sentiment Analysis

In this paper, we present a method for predicting changes in Bitcoin and Ethereum prices utilizing Twitter data and Google Trends data. Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization represent over $160 billion dollars in combined value. However, both Bitcoin and Ethereum have experienced signiﬁcant price swings on both daily and long term valuations. Twitter is increasingly used as a news source inﬂuencing purchase decisions by informing users of the currency and its increasing popularity. As a result, quickly understanding the impact of tweets on price direction can provide a pur-chasing and selling advantage to a cryptocurrency user or a trader. By analyzing tweets, we found that tweet volume, rather than tweet sentiment (which is invariably overall positive regardless of price direction), is a predictor of price direction. By utilizing a linear model that takes as input tweets and Google Trends data, we were able to accurately predict the direction of price changes. By utilizing this model, a person is able to make better informed purchase and selling decisions related to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Effect of Pig and Cattle Slurry Application on Heavy Metal Composition of Maize Grown on Different Soils

Cattle and pig manure contain useful mineral nutrients (N, P, and K) and are therefore used as organic fertilizer. However, excessive applications of manure can cause environmental problems and threaten animal and human health because these materials also hold significant amounts of heavy metals, particularly Cu and Zn. To assess the potential risk due to the increased concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Mn, Zn, and Cr) in a harvested crop, two maize hybrids were grown in pots on four different soils with three different fertilisers (urea, pig manure, and cattle manure). Both soil and manure characteristics influenced the heavy metal concentrations in the plant shoots. Organic fertilisation strongly interacted with the soils and, in general, reduced the shoot content of Cu, Mn, and Zn. A preliminary assessment of the heavy metal balance of the agricultural systems based on the intensive livestock production and maize cultivation showed that the potential soil enrichment of the long-term application of livestock manure arises mainly from the application of pig slurries that have a high content of Cu and Zn. The time required to apply an amount of metal that is equal to the initial soil content is 60–300 years for Zn and 240–450 years for Cu, depending on the soil type and the initial heavy metal content.
Distribution, Abundance and Reaction to Aerial Surveys of Post-breeding King Eiders ( Somateria spectabilis ) in Western Greenland

Moulting and post-breeding king eiders in western Greenland were surveyed in late August and early September of 1993, 1994, and 1995. We counted all eiders observed during fixed-winged aircraft flights along coastlines and offshore transects. The coastline in the survey area is roughly 13 400 km long, and our flightlines totalled approximately 16 500 km. The areas optimal for the birds were covered fully several times; in less suitable areas, only a fraction of the coastline was covered. Using the largest count for coastlines covered more than once, we counted a total of 22 980 king eiders. Large numbers of king eiders were observed at a number of remote localities on the west coast of Disko Island and in southern Upernavik. At localities considered to have frequent disturbance, few birds were observed. Highest densities were found along coasts with sandy or muddy areas at the shorelines. Overall we estimate that 30 000 to 40 000 king eiders reside in the coastal zone of western Greenland in late August. Even allowing for a high turnover rate, as different individuals may occupy the moulting areas during the extended period from July to October, this figure can account for only half of a 1950s estimate that 200 000 males and immatures were moulting in western Greenland.
Impact of Use of Chemical Transformation Modules in Calpuff on the Results of Air Dispersion Modelling

Abstract Assessment of the impact on air quality for combustion sources should be carried out using advanced modelling systems with chemical transformation modules taken into account, especially for the facilities characterized by significant emission of gaseous air pollutants (including SO2). This approach increases the reliability of the obtained evaluation results by modelling the formation of secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) in the air which can substantially contribute to PM10. This paper assesses in this regard selected chemical transformation modules (MESOPUFF, RIVAD/ARM3, ISORROPIA/RIVAD) available in the CALPUFF model (v. 6.42) and its application in the atmospheric dispersion modelling of air emissions from a coal-fired large combustion plant (LCP) not equipped with a flue gas desulphurization (FGD) system. It has been proven that consideration an additional mechanism of secondary sulfate aerosol formation in aqueous phase in the ISORROPIA/RIVAD module (AQUA option) causes a significant increase in the annual average concentration of PM10 in the air compared to the other considered options, along with the calculation variant which excludes chemical transformation mechanisms. Type of the selected chemical transformation module has no significant effect on the results of modelled NO, NO2 and NOx concentrations in the air. However, it can lead to different SO2 results, especially for annual averaged, and in some points, for the hourly averaged concentrations.
Recent Environmental Changes in the Arctic: A Review

Numerous recent observations indicate that the Arctic is undergoing a significant change. In the last decade, the hydrography of the Arctic Ocean has shifted, and the atmospheric circulation has undergone a change from the lower stratosphere to the surface. Typically the eastern Arctic Ocean, on the European side of the Lomonosov Ridge, is dominated by water of Atlantic origin. A cold halocline of varying thickness overlies the warmer Atlantic water and isolates it from the sea ice and surface mixed layer. The western Arctic Ocean, on the North American side of the Lomonosov Ridge, is characterized by an added layer of water from the Pacific immediately below the surface mixed layer. Data collected during several cruises from 1991 to 1995 indicate that in the 1990s the boundary between these eastern and western halocline types shifted from a position roughly parallel to the Lomonosov Ridge to near alignment with the Alpha and Mendeleyev Ridges. The Atlantic Water temperature has also increased, and the cold halocline has become thinner. The change has resulted in increased surface salinity in the Makarov Basin. Recent results suggest that the change also includes decreased surface salinity and greater summer ice melt in the Beaufort Sea. Atmospheric pressure fields and ice drift data show that the whole patterns of atmospheric pressure and ice drift for the early 1990s were shifted counterclockwise 40°-60° from earlier patterns. The shift in atmospheric circulation seems related to the Arctic Oscillation in the Northern Hemisphere atmospheric pressure pattern. The changes in the ocean circulation, ice drift, air temperatures, and permafrost can be explained as responses to the Arctic Oscillation, as can changes in air temperatures over the Russian Arctic.
A new species of genus Hoplobatrachus (Anura, Dicroglossidae) from the coastal belt of Bangladesh

A new cryptic species of the genus Hoplobatrachus from Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh is described and compared with itsrelevant congeners both in morphology and mitochondrial gene sequences. The new species differs from its close relative H. tigerinus in having a distinct broad black band from the eye, through the nostrils, to the anterior edge of the upper jaw, anotherblack band along the lateral margin of the upper jaw, and a narrow inter-orbital distance relative to eyelid width and inter-nostrildistance. Advertisement calls of the new species are similar to those of H. tigerinus but differ in dominant frequency and num-ber of pulses. Based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data, this species was proved to genetically divergent from H. tigerinus at3.2% for the 16S rRNA gene and 14.2% for the Cytb gene. The known distribution range of the new species is restricted to the southeastern corner of Bangladesh and it seems to be endemic in this coastal belt.
Variability of Arctic Sea Ice: The View from Space, An 18-year Record

A recently compiled 18-year record (1979 to 1996) of sea ice concentrations derived from four passive-microwave satellite instruments has allowed the quantification of a variety of measures of Arctic sea ice variability. Earlier maps generated using data through August 1987 have been updated to 18-year summaries of the annual range of sea ice distributions, the interannual variability of average monthly sea ice distributions, the frequency of sea ice coverage over the 18 years, the length of the sea ice season, and trends in the length of the sea ice season. Linear least squares trends over the 18-year record show the sea ice season to have lengthened over some sizeable regions, especially in the Bering Sea, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, the Labrador Sea, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but to have shortened over a much larger area, including the Sea of Okhotsk, the Greenland Sea, the Barents Sea, and all the seas along the north coast of Russia. The area with trends showing sea ice seasons shortening by over 0.5 days/year is 7 500 000 km², over 2.5 times the area experiencing a lengthening of the sea ice season by over 0.5 days/year. Neither the shortening nor the lengthening, however, is uniform or monotonic over the 18-year record. Instead, the ice cover exhibits widespread interannual variability, not just in the length of the sea ice season but for each month-a fact well illustrated by the monthly average September ice coverage, which was at its lowest extent in 1995 but at its second highest one year later, in the final year of the record. The maps of ice frequency and ice variability can help identify how anomalous individual years are. In some cases, they can help forestall unnecessary concern over seemingly unusual conditions which, upon examination of the maps, are found to fall well within the observed variability.
Primary sand-dune plant community and soil properties during the west-coast India monsoon

Abstract A seven-station interrupted belt transect was established that followed a previously observed plant zonation pattern across an aggrading primary coastal dune system in the dry tropical region of west-coast India. The dominant weather pattern is monsoon from June to November, followed by hot and dry winter months when rainfall is scarce. Physical and chemical soil characteristics in each of the stations were analysed on five separate occasions, the first before the onset of monsoon, three during and the last post-monsoon. The plant community pattern was confirmed by quadrat survey. A pH gradient decreased with distance from the shoreline. Nutrient concentrations were deficient, increasing only in small amounts until the furthest station inland. At that location, there was a distinct and abrupt pedological transition zone from psammite to humic soils. There was a significant increase over previous stations in mean organic matter, ammonium nitrate and soil-water retention, although the increase in real terms was small. ANOVA showed significant variation in electrical conductivity, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and sodium concentrations over time. There was no relationship between soil chemistry characteristics and plant community structure over the transect. Ipomoea pes-caprae and Spinifex littoreus were restricted to the foredunes, the leguminous forb Alysicarpus vaginalis and Perotis indica to the two stations furthest from the strand. Ischaemum indicum, a C4 perennial grass species adopting an ephemeral strategy was, in contrast, ubiquitous to all stations.
Spatial and temporal variability of algal community dynamics and productivity in floodplain wetlands along the Tanana River, Alaska

Abstract The boreal landscape is a mosaic of wetlands with distinct ecosystem properties. Algae are important for wetland functioning, but relatively little is known about the structure of algal communities among boreal wetlands. We documented spatial and temporal variability of algal community dynamics and productivity during a growing season in 6 wetlands (1 rich and 1 poor fen, 1 tussock, and 3 riverine marshes) in interior Alaska. Algal biomass and productivity were greater in the poor fen and a riverine marsh than in all other wetlands. Water depth and nutrients were significant predictors of benthic algal biomass and productivity among wetlands and were greatest immediately after the spring thaw and decreased during the growing season. Water depth and nutrients (N and P) explained the most variability in algal community structure. Algal community structure differed among wetlands, and temporal variation in environmental conditions was a significant predictor of the relative abundance of algal genera in individual wetlands. N2-fixing cyanobacteria increased in abundance with a seasonal decline in water depth and nutrient concentrations. Our characterization of algal community dynamics and productivity in relation to environmental characteristics will help to forecast future wetland function in a changing boreal landscape.
Toxicologic, hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic effects of ethanolic and ether extracts of Commiphora molmol from Saudi Arabia

Ether as well as ethanol extracts of Commiphora molmol administered orally to 42 rats at a dose rate of 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg body weight/d for 2 weeks were toxic to laboratory rats. Group 1 was the control which was fed regular diet without the plant extract. Groups 2, 4 and 6 were fed ethanol extract of C. molmol at a dose rate of 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg/body weight/d respectively. Groups 3, 5 and 7 were fed ether extract of C. molmol at a dose rate of 200, 400, 600 mg/kg/body weight/d respectively. The toxic effects were exhibited in all groups by a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the body weights of the experimental rats compared to those weights of the control rats. Experimental animals showed marked depression, abdominal pain, and dyspnoea at their late stages. Haematological changes in rats fed both ether and ethanol extracts of the plant were indicated by significant decrease (p<0.05) in the RBC count as well as in the haemoglobin concentrations while there was significant increase (p<0.05) in the WBC counts. Rats which fed ether extract showed significant decrease in glucose in all groups, cholesterol and triglycerides and a significance increase in bilirubin concentration in experimental animals which fed 400 and 600 mg/body weight/d. Histological changes in experimental rats were observed in the form of fatty change and necrosis of hepatocytes, renal tubular cell degeneration, and shrinkage of the glomeruli.
Phylogeny and systematics of Old World serotine bats (genus Eptesicus, Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera): an integrative approach

Integrative taxonomy aims to document biodiversity by incorporating all useful characters to increase confidence in hypotheses about phylogenetic relationships. In this study, we combine data obtained independently from morphology, two maternally inherited mtDNA genes and two biparentally inherited nuDNA genes to make phylogenetic and taxonomic hypotheses about the Palaearctic members of the bat genus Eptesicus (Vespertilionidae). This genus is distributed worldwide (except for Antarctica) and is highly diversified, presenting one of the most entangled taxonomic puzzles among all mammals. Our results support restoring the genus Rhyneptesicus and separating E. isabellinus and E. pachyomus from E. serotinus and E. ognevi and E. anatolicus from E. bottae. Differences in the phylogenetic hypotheses from mtDNA and nuDNA data suggest the occurrence within E. serotinus of evolutionary processes such as mtDNA capture and secondary contacts between partially differentiated ecomorphs. These two evolutionary processes deserve more in‐depth studies within the group.
Dynamical structure factor of one-dimensional hard rods

The zero-temperature dynamical structure factor $S(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ of one-dimensional hard rods is computed using state-of-the-art quantum Monte Carlo and analytic continuation techniques, complemented by a Bethe ansatz analysis. As the density increases, $S(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ reveals a crossover from the Tonks-Girardeau gas to a quasisolid regime, along which the low-energy properties are found in agreement with the nonlinear Luttinger liquid theory. Our quantitative estimate of $S(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ extends beyond the low-energy limit and confirms a theoretical prediction regarding the behavior of $S(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ at specific wave vectors ${\mathcal{Q}}_{n}=n2\ensuremath{\pi}/a$, where $a$ is the core radius, resulting from the interplay of the particle-hole boundaries of suitably rescaled ideal Fermi gases. We observe significant similarities between hard rods and one-dimensional $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ at high density, suggesting that the hard-rods model may provide an accurate description of dense one-dimensional liquids of quantum particles interacting through a strongly repulsive, finite-range potential.
Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Program on Knowledge and Practice Regarding Blood Specimen Collection among Nurses

Objective the study was carried out to was to investigate the effectiveness of structured teaching program on knowledge and practice regarding blood specimen collection among nurses Methods: Research design: A quazi experimental design was utilized. Setting: Menoufia University Hospital at Menoufia governorate, Egypt. Subjects: A purposeful sample of 286 nurses from different departments in Menoufia university hospital, Menoufia governorate, Egypt. Tools for data collection: Interviewing questionnaire includes socio demographic date, structured knowledge questionnaire sheet: regarding blood specimen collection, and observational checklist. Results: more than half of studied sample aged above 30 years, they mainly working in surgical department. The measures taken to improve prominence of vein showed statistically significant difference before and after structured educational program, nurses' knowledge regarding blood specimen collection showed obvious improvement and good practice after structured educational program. Conclusions: The program helps the Staff nurses to improve their knowledge on BSC. This will ultimately improve their practice that reflects on patient's safety. The findings of the study indicate that there is improvement in knowledge of Staff nurses and practice even this improvement was less slightly which indicate that the STP is an effective in improving the knowledge and practice of the staff nurses.
Intergenerational Altruism and Transfers of Time and Money: A Life-Cycle Perspective

Parental investments in children can take one of three broad forms: (1) Time investments during childhood and adolescence that aid child development, and in particular cognitive ability (2) Educational investments that improve school quality and hence educational outcomes (3) Cash investments in the form of inter-vivos transfers and bequests. We develop a dynastic model of household decision making with intergenerational altruism that nests a child production function, incorporates all three of these types of investments, and allows us to quantify their relative importance and estimate the strength of intergenerational altruism. Using British cohort data that follows individuals from birth to retirement, we find that around 40\% of differences in average lifetime income by paternal education are explained by ability at age 7, around 40\% by subsequent divergence in ability and different educational outcomes, and around 20\% by inter-vivos transfers and bequests received so far.
Exchange Rate Pass-Through and Inflation Dynamics in Tunisia: A Markov-Switching Approach

Abstract This paper studies the effect of exchange rate pass-through on inflation in Tunisia for the period 2001 to 2009. The objective is to track inflation regimes for the Tunisian economy and to forecast its determinants. Using a Markov-switching approach, the authors identified two main regimes for inflation in Tunisia during this period: a low and stable inflation regime associated with a low pass-through level and a high inflation regime associated with a high pass-through level. To highlight the mechanisms underlying shifts in inflation regimes, the authors used a time-varying probabilities approach and identified a set of variables to assess their effects on inflation in Tunisia. The results show that the price level decreases in response to an increase in interest rates. Along with this, the empirical results provide strong evidence that the industrial production index has a negative and significant effect, as it increases the probability to stay in an inflationary regime and remain at a high pass-through level. The results also show robust support for the hypothesis that the imports increase the probability to stay in a high-inflation regime and maintain a high pass-through level. However, exports increase the probability of staying in a low-inflation regime and maintaining a low pass-through level.