Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seasonal variation in depth-stratified macroalgal assemblage patterns on Marado, Jeju Island, Korea

Marado is a small rocky island located off the south coast of Jeju Island and acts as the first gateway of the Kuroshio Current to Korean coastal ecosystems. This island is one of the most unpolluted and well preserved sea areas around the Jeju coast. We extensively observed macroalgal assemblages of species and functional forms in the intertidal and subtidal zones through four seasons on Marado, Jeju Island, Korea to demonstrate the seasonality of vertical distribution patterns and biomass. A total of 144 species (14 Chlorophyta, 40 Phaeophyta, and 90 Rhodophyta) were identified in quadrats and were analyzed seasonally and vertically to define the variation patterns. The annual mean biomass of macroalgae was and the highest value was recorded in spring and the lowest was in winter. The annual dominant species by biomass was Ecklonia cava followed by Sargassum fusiforme, S. macrocarpum, Amphiroa galapagensis, Chondria crassicaulis, and S. thunbergii. Obvious biomass zonation patterns of macroalgal species were detected in relation to tidal height and depth. Macroalgal biomass, diversity index (H`), and community dynamics were the highest in the shallow subtidal zone. Species number was higher in the subtidal than in the intertidal zone and similar throughout the entire subtidal zone. Our results provide revealing insights into the distribution patterns of macroalgal assemblages in an unpolluted sea area around Jeju Island.
The Effect of Government Bank Lending: Evidence from the Financial Crisis in Japan

This paper investigates the effect of direct lending by government owned banks (GOBs) on real investment for publicly traded industrial firms in Japan, during the financial crisis caused by the burst of the real estate bubble in the 1990’s. We use the crisis as an event that resulted in a sudden exogenous increase in credit constraints. We find that increases in GOB lending have a strong incremental impact on investment during the crisis, especially for credit constrained firms. Also, increases in investment due to increases in GOB lending positively impact firm accounting performance in subsequent years. The impact of increases in GOB lending on real investment is much larger than the investment effect of increases in private bank lending This lower effect of increases in private bank lending on investment is because private banks tend to lend to zombie firms, and also because borrowing firms that receive increases in credit from GOBs reduce their precautionary savings. Thus, our results show that direct intervention by GOBs can be effective in mitigating credit constraints and stimulating investment during a crisis, even for publicly traded companies.
Impact of legal and public policy changes on social and economic behavior

My dissertation consists of two chapters investigating impact of various legal and public policy changes on several important social and economic behaviors in the United States. The first chapter examines the long-term impact of legalized abortion on teenage out-of-wedlock childbearing, which has been in constant decline since the early 1990s in the U. S. My argument is that to the extent that it prevented unwanted births, legalized abortion could have reduced the likelihood of the teenage out-of-wedlock childbearing for the cohorts born after the legalization. This is analogous to the argument of Donahue and Levitt (2001) for crime but extends their analyses to a different context. I adopt a non-parametric approach that allows me to separately estimate the effects of the legal changes concerning abortion in the repeal states in 1970 and Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973 on Whites and African-Americans. My results show that legalized abortion can potentially account for a little less than one third of the decline in the teenage out-ofwedlock childbearing among 15-17 years olds for African-Americans and a little more than one third of this decline for Whites in the 1990s. The second chapter explores two approaches to allow for the effect of eligibility to participate in Medicaid to differ across individuals. The first approach allows for interactions between eligibility and demographic variables in the linear probability model, which does not require distributional assumptions on the error terms. The second is based on a switching probit model and has the advantage of letting newly eligible
Increases in mercury emissions from desert soils in response to rainfall and irrigation

As part of an international Hg flux intercomparison at the Steamboat Springs, Nevada, geothermal area, several dynamic soil flux chambers and micrometeorological gradient systems were operated over desert soils in early September 1997. A series of unanticipated convective rain cells impacted the site with the first rainfall in {approximately}90 days, and the initial 4-cm rainfall increased soil moisture from {approximately}0.01 to 0.06{percent} (vol/vol). Several chambers were operating prior to the events, and two were deployed over wet soils following rainfall. Rainfall resulted in an immediate and steep rise in ambient air Hg concentrations and soil Hg emissions which persisted for 12{endash}24 hours. Fluxes increased most quickly and to a greater degree over the wettest soils, and the rate of increase was related to chamber design and flushing rate. The flux response was also apparent in the micrometeorological data. In general, soil emissions increased by an order of magnitude following the rain, and reached levels {approximately}6 times above those at the same time the previous day. These fluxes were significantly correlated with temperature, radiation, humidity, wind speed, and soil moisture. After drying for {approximately}40 hours, selected soil plots were manually irrigated with low-Hg-distilled water. Mercury emissions responded similarly across the threemore » treated sites, uniformly increasing from {approximately}60 ng m{sup {minus}2} h{sup {minus}1} pretreatment to {approximately}650 ng m{sup {minus}2} h{sup {minus}1} posttreatment, which was a factor of {approximately}6 higher than adjacent control soils. Possible causes of the increases in flux include soil gas displacement, desorption of Hg{degree} by water molecules, and desorption of Hg(II) and subsequent reduction in solution. The kinetics of the flux response, combined with local soil and climatic conditions, suggest that Hg emissions were responding primarily to soil moisture and solar radiation. These data have interesting implications for the role of changing regional climates on biogeochemical cycling of Hg. « less
Consistent systems of linear differential and difference equations

We consider systems of linear differential and difference equations \begin{eqnarray*} \partial Y(x) =A(x)Y(x), \sigma Y(x) =B(x)Y(x) \end{eqnarray*} with $\partial = \frac{d}{dx}$, $\sigma$ a shift operator $\sigma(x) = x+a$, $q$-dilation operator $\sigma(x) = qx$ or Mahler operator $\sigma(x) = x^p$ and systems of two linear difference equations \begin{eqnarray*} \sigma_1 Y(x) =A(x)Y(x), \sigma_2 Y(x) =B(x)Y(x) \end{eqnarray*} with $(\sigma_1,\sigma_2)$ a sufficiently independent pair of shift operators, pair of $q$-dilation operators or pair of Mahler operators. Here $A(x)$ and $B(x)$ are $n\times n$ matrices with rational function entries. Assuming a consistency hypothesis, we show that such system can be reduced to a system of a very simple form. Using this we characterize functions satisfying two linear scalar differential or difference equations with respect to these operators. We also indicate how these results have consequences both in the theory of automatic sets, leading to a new proof of Cobham's Theorem, and in the Galois theories of linear difference and differential equations, leading to hypertranscendence results.
The Attractiveness of Political Markets: Implications for Firm Strategy

We conceptualize democracies as marketlike processes where demanders and suppliers of various public policies interact. Firms may enter political markets to seek new or to maintain existing policies that affect their current business operations or future opportunities. We contend that a firm's decision to become politically active is influenced, in part, by the attractiveness of the political market, and we outline conditions that make political markets more or less attractive for firms to compete in to advance their interests.
Immigration Policy, Migrants' Selection and Human Capital Accumulation

This paper investigates the economic consequences of international migration from the point of view of destination countries. Consistently with international evidence on migration flows, we build a model where the migration rate is higher among the highly-educated. A negative relationship is shown to exist between the domestic wage level and the percentage of educated workers among immigrants, which raises interesting policy implications. In particular, the optimal immigration policy from the point of view of natives requires an immigration quota above a certain minimum level. Extending the analysis to a dynamic setting, we highlight additional effects of the immigration quota on human capital accumulation among natives.
Comprehensibility of English Written Sentences Made by Non- Language University Students

The study aimed to identify how an English native speaker and a highly proficient non-native speaker rated the comprehensibility of English sentences written by learners who were studying non-language majors. Nine essays written by students of Pharmacy and 14 essays written by students of Accounting were rated by the two raters. They were guided by a scoring rubric which emphasized mainly on the grammaticality and comprehensibility. Their ratings classified the sentences into two major categories: sentences with mistakes that potentially hinder comprehensibility, and sentences with mistakes that completely make them incomprehensible. Mistakes that make sentences partially comprehensible include wrong word order, coma splice, wrong auxiliary, wrong form of finite verb, wrong form of active sentences, the omission of verb be, intensifier, and introductory “there”. Mistakes that completely blocks comprehensibility are fragmented phrase, wrong collocations, mismatched markers, wrong part of speech, unfinished sentences, and excessively long sentences joined by a coordinator. A number of suggestions for the teaching of grammar, writing, and vocabulary are then proposed on the basis of the findings.
Examining Pre-Service Teachers' Design Capacities for Web-Based 21st Century New Culture of Learning.

Although there is an established body of work arguing that teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is necessary for designing ICT-integrated lessons, little is known about the relationships among teachers’ beliefs about learning, their design dispositions, learning design practices and TPACK. Critical inquiry in this aspect is timely as a new culture of learning is emerging from the informal contexts of learning and challenging how school-based learning should be designed to foster 21st century competencies. In this study, a survey instrument was developed to assess and investigate the relationships among pre-service teachers’ beliefs about the new culture of learning and school-based learning, their design dispositions, learning design practices and relevant factors of TPACK. Based on the sample size of 223 pre-service teachers in Singapore, the validation shows that the relevant factors pertaining to TPACK, teachers’ beliefs and design were distinctive. The study shows that teachers’ beliefs about learning and their design capacities changed along with their TPACK efficacy. It also identified factors that might affect teachers’ competencies needed to design lessons that could cultivate a new 21st century culture of learning. Implications of the relationships among teachers’ beliefs about learning, their design capacities and TPACK to foster 21st century competencies are discussed.
Preventive Effect of Dietary Fermented Soybean on Bone Loss in Ovariectomized Rats : Enhancement with Isoflavone and Zinc Supplementation

The effect of experimental diets with fermented soybean (natto) containing isoflavone and zinc on ovariectomy (OVX)-induced bone loss was investigated. Sham-operated rats or OVX rats were given experimental diets containing soybean protein for 3 months, and other OVX rats were fed dietary natto, with or without calcium, calcium plus zinc, calcium plus isoflavone or calcium plus zinc and isoflavone for 3 months. Experimental diets contained 2.1 to 9.7mg zinc per 100g and 44.6 to 92.4mg isoflavone (including genistin, genistein, daidzin, and daidzein) per 100g. OVX caused a significant reduction in the dry weight and mineral density of the femur. Also, the calcium content, zinc content and alkaline phosphatase activity in femoral-diaphyseal and metaphyseal tissues was significantly reduced by OVX. These reductions were largely prevented by feeding natto diets. This prevention was significantly enhanced in OVX rats fed natto diets supplemented with isoflavone and zinc. This study demonstrates that the prolonged intake of dietary natto supplemented with isoflavone and zinc has a preventive effect on OVX-induced bone loss, suggesting that it may have a role in the prevention of osteoporosis.
A simulation model of artisanal fisheries of Senegal

A simulation model was designed to corrcspond to a Senegalese artisanal fishery. Each fishing unit has a strategy, and at a given time chooses a tactic from a set of available tactics, according to a decision rule taking into account expected “revenucs”. The multispecies resource is modelled with simple stock production models, assuming quantities of biomass are inaccessible, depending on the resourcc component, season, and tac-tic. We compare the results of two simulations with the same number of fishing units, the same gears, and the same resource, but with different strategies. One set of strategies has smaller sets of tactics available than the other. Results indicate the importance of flexibility of the fishermen, which must be taken into account in management studies.
Female Labour Supply in Sudan

Female participation in the market activities has been increasing in the last decades in Sudan, particularly in the organized modern sector, as women's educational attainment has been rising. The trend, undoubtedly, has vital repercussions on social and economic change and deserves to be studied. This paper looks at the determinants of women's decisions to enter the labour market and their market labour hours.
Climate reconstructions from annually banded corals

Instrumental observations are too short to resolve the full range of natural climatic and environmental change. Massive, annually banded corals from the tropical and subtropical oceans however, provide a means to reconstruct climatic conditions prior to the instrumental record. Isotopic and elemental tracers, incorporated into the carbonate skeletons of these corals during growth, provide proxies of past environmental variability of the surface ocean. Here we give an overview of the most frequently used coral based proxies reflecting variations in sea surface temperature (Sr/Ca, U/Ca, δ18O), hydrologic balance (δ18O), ocean circulation and upwelling (∆14C), and terrestrial runoff (Ba/Ca) at seasonal resolution. We present coral based reconstructions of climatic and environmental change for the last few centuries, the last millennium, the Holocene, and the Pleistocene; with a focus on seasonal, interannual, and decadal scale climate variability. Finally, future directions in coral-based paleoclimatology are discussed.
Refinancing Risk , Managerial Risk Shifting , and Debt Covenants : An Empirical Analysis ∗

This paper identifies a special channel (the long-term debt maturity structure) through which the credit crisis of 2008 affected corporate investment. I provide empirical evidence of shareholders’ risk-shifting behavior in the investment decisions by exploiting the real effects of ex-ante heterogeneity of long-term debt maturity structure. The first hypothesis, which examines the relationship between financial frictions and risk-shifting behavior, demonstrates that: (i) firms whose long-term debt was maturing at the peak of crisis in 2008 experienced close to 2% increase in investment than similar firms whose debt became mature prior to 2008. The second hypothesis, which studies the effectiveness of debt covenants in mitigating agency conflicts, indicates that: (ii) covenant restrictions increase firms’ market-to-book ratio by 3.8% for distressed firms than similar firms without covenants. Furthermore, I use event study to show that firm stock price performance deteriorates following the refinancing activity and improves with stronger creditor control. I highlight the importance of debt maturity structure for corporate financing and investment policies. More than merely showing the risk-shifting issue itself, my analysis suggests that accounting-based covenants can serve as a corporate governance tool in mitigating investment distortions arising from financial market shocks. JEL Classification: G01, G11, G21, G31, G32
Interregional inequalities in Israel: Explanatory model and empirical data

An explanatory model of regional inequality is proposed, which attempts to explain a spatial distribution of different income groups. According to this model, such a distribution is a function of the relation between the cost of living in a particular geographic area and actual income of its inhabitants. The applicability of this model to spatial inequalities in Israel is investigated, using data from five subsequent censuses of population and housing. The analysis indicates that there is no universal trend in the development of inequalities, examined from either a temporal or a spatial point of view. Instead, the extent of interregional disparities appears to differ when various indicators of inequality are considered. Measures of population distribution and wealth indicate the highest extent of interregional disparities, whilst the country's regional development appears to be the least uneven when indicators of education and participation in the labor force are considered. Temporally, most indicators of welfare and population distribution tend to diverge over time, reflecting increasing interregional disparities. In contrast, variables related to education and housing tend to converge, indicating a reduction in inequality. Moreover, the change in inequality appears to differ across various geographic areas: Whereas development in the central part of Israel has tended to become more uniform over time, the country's peripheral regions have developed towards further polarization of their socio-economic development. As a result of the analysis, several strategies are proposed aimed at reducing the extent of interregional disparities.
Economies of Scope in Financial Conglomerates: Analysis of a Revenue Side *

This paper looks into the economies of scope in revenue associated with financial conglomeration. In the first part, we presented a theoretical model of revenue enhancement brought about by the establishment of brand image and one-stop shopping. In the second part, we first studied the revenue enhancement effects due to the synergies between divisions that are engaged in different types of businesses, using the financial data of subsidiaries of three major financial conglomerates in Europe (ING Group, Allianz Group, and Credit Suisse Group) from 1998 to 2003. We then verified the existence of synergies between banking and insurance divisions of financial conglomerates, using the financial data of the respective banking and insurance divisions of fourteen European financial conglomerates. From among them, we collected the data of the respective banking divisions of twelve financial conglomerates, separately for personal banking and corporate banking, and determined the existence of synergies among the personal banking division, corporate banking division and insurance division of the financial conglomerates. As a result, we confirmed the existence of revenue synergies between banking operations and insurance operations, while no cost synergies have been observed in preceding studies.
MODULATION OF INTENSE BEAMS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ELECTRON RING

All beams are dominated by space charge forces when first created. After a beam is accelerated, space charge directly plays a less important role. However, at low energy space charge will drive changes in the beam which will become "frozen in" as the beam is accelerated, and may have adverse consequences even at high energy. In this paper, we report on the generation and evolution of modulated beams in the University of Maryland Electron Ring, a low energy (10 keV), high current (100 mA) electron recirculator for the study of beams in the extreme space charge dominated regime. Such intense, modulated beams have application to future high power FELs and novel light sources.
Strong Linkage Disequilibrium Between -670 A>G and -1377 G>A Polymorphisms in FAS Gene in Patients with Breast Cancer and Controls

www.thecancerpress. com Corresponding Author E-Mail: Mohammadimzh@mums.ac. ir 55 References 1. Stecklein SR, Jensen RA, Pal A (2012) Genetic and epigenetic signatures of breast cancer subtypes. Frontiers in bioscience 4: 934–949. 2. Wiechec E (2011) Implications of genomic instability in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 11: 445–453. Vol 2, No 3, Aug, 2016, P 55-58 DOI, 10.15562/tcp.19
Luxury consumption, precautionary savings and wealth inequality

Abstract Most macroeconomic models are based on the assumption of a single homogeneous consumption good. In the present paper we consider a model with two goods: a basic good and a luxury good. We then apply this assumption to a standard general equilibrium heterogeneous agent model. We find a substantial reduction in precautionary savings compared to a standard model. The effect on wealth inequality turns out to be ambiguous and to depend on the size of the assumed earnings risk.
Influence of Organizational Factors in the Sustainability of E-Government

The majority of e-government implementations and their subsequent use, particularly in developing countries, have resulted in high rates of failure. These failures of e-government implementation have been caused by a plethora of organizational, human, financial and infrastructure challenges that mostly result from organizational factors such as lack of resources, political commitment and poor collaboration. These commonly result when government organizations try to sustain their e-government facilities alone and have insufficient resources, competence, and legitimacy to do so. This study is an attempt to understand how organizational factors shape the sustainability of e-government implementation within a local government context. A case study of local e-government implementation is presented and then analyzed from perspective of organizational view. Our construct is based on organizational factors that are commonly found to influence information systems implementation. Our findings show that organizational factors such as organizational and employees' professionalism, commitment, coordination and cooperation, and responsibility sharing among local government institutions have influenced the sustainability of e-government implementation within the local government. Our findings also show that e-government is a complex project that requires coordination and cooperation among actors as well as the need to share responsibility among the actors to support the sustainability of the project.