Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing Biodiversity from Space: an Example from the Western Ghats, India

We demonstrate for the first time the potential use of satellite imagery to characterize areas of high and low species richness of trees in tropical forests. Our studies, conducted in the Biligiri Rangaswamy hills in the Western Ghats, India, show a high positive correlation between species richness and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which is an index of green biomass. We discuss the application of NDVI values for biodiversity assessment and monitoring, as well as for conservation planning. The NDVI is a rough measure of green biomass.
Urban South African Adolescents' Perceptions of Their Neighborhood Socio-Economic Environments: The Birth to Twenty Plus Cohort Study

Abstract:The Apartheid era led to major differences in the living conditions between population groups in South Africa. Subsequently, reforms have been implemented to reduce poverty and inequalities. This study aims to assess neighborhood and school socio-economic (SE) environments reported by adolescents to determine whether geographic and population group differences in the SE environment exist. Neighborhood SE status was assessed using a novel questionnaire adapted to the urban South African context. Black African and Mixed Ancestry participants lived in more deprived SE environments and reported studying in less favorable school environments compared to Whites. Among Black Africans, those living in Soweto versus metropolitan Johannesburg reported more deprived economic and school environments.
Hepatitis C Viral Infection among Health Care Workers at Dialysis Centers in Khartoum State, Sudan

: Hepatitis C virus infection continues to be a major public health problem warranting high priority efforts for control and treatment. An observational, cross-sectional facility based study was conducted to measure the prevalence of HCV infection and to identify risk factors associated with HCV infection among health care workers at dialysis centres in Khartoum State. Sudan. A total of 109 participants were selected. It conducted through stratified random sampling. For the analysis, Z- test and Fisher’s exact test were used. All participants in this study were tested for HCV marker (Anti-HC), the positive for Anti-HC was found to be 1.8% (2/109), which was found among nurses and medical engineers. The results showed association between Anti-HC positivity and blood transfusion, frequency of blood transfusion and exposure to sharp injuries, P values ( 0.003, 0.0001 and 0.029) respectively. Conclusion: prevalence rate of Anti-HC was found to be low in HCWs (1.8%). The prevalence rate was found among nurses and medical engineers. Blood transfusion, frequency of blood transfusion and exposures to sharp injuries to be risk factors with Anti-HC positivity.
Sources of Uncertainties in Climate Forcing by Black Carbon Aerosol over Indian Region Using Regional Climate Model

The models of the atmospheric Black Carbon (BC) cycle are highly uncertain and the results are difficult to evaluate as they are influenced by emission inventories, the inclusion of BC ageing processes that can change BC lifetime and wet deposition that is the most uncertain process in the models. The objective of this study is to understand the various sources of uncertainties in climate models and to quantify the uncertainty in Climate Forcing due to the treatment of BC (emission and transport) in Regional Climate Model (RegCM 4.1). The methodology adopted in this study utilized emission data of June and December 2001 obtained from EDGAR. The comparative study was done between the estimated surface Radiative forcing for BC with the results obtained in similar studies done for Bangalore in December 2001 and 5 year averaged value for June and December for Kanpur. The effects on the surface temperature, surface pressure and daily precipitation rate were estimated for the months of June and December 2001 to quantify the response of the atmosphere to BC forcing in Climate models. The study concludes that the uncertainties involved in the climate models due to BC emission inventories are due to the underestimation of the emissions in EDGAR database as compared to the other emission inventories for Indian region. It was observed that the BC aerosols in atmosphere are responsible for surface cooling over the Indian region. The reduced surface temperatures in the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and over Indian region act to reduce the surface pressure and precipitation over maximum parts of India.
Magnetization reversal via single and double vortex states in submicron Permalloy ellipses

The magnetization reversal mechanism in an array of submicron elliptical Permalloy elements with an aspect ratio 1.4:1 is investigated using the diffracted magneto-optic Kerr effect technique, Lorentz scanning transmission electron microscopy, and Lorentz transmission electron microscopy. The experimental results are interpreted from a comparison with micromagnetic simulations. The reversal mechanism is found to be dependent on the direction of the magnetic field and to occur via the formation of one or two vortices; the one vortex state is nucleated when the field is applied along the short axis. For the field applied along the long axis a mixture of one- and two-vortex states is observed at remanence.
Flexible Employment Contracts, the Psychological Contract and Employee Outcomes: An Analysis and Review of the Evidence

There has been growing interest in the impact of flexible employment contracts on workers affected by them. In the light of assumptions that such workers are significantly disadvantaged, European-wide legislation has been introduced to ensure that they are treated similarly to permanent employees. The evidence on the impact of flexible employment contracts on employees' attitudes and behaviour is reviewed within the framework of the psychological contract. The body of research is limited but is sufficient to challenge the assumption that workers on flexible contracts are invariably disadvantaged. Those on contract of choice, particularly knowledge workers who may be pursuing boundaryless careers, are especially likely to report positive outcomes. The evidence also indicates that a framework that incorporates the psychological contract provides additional value in explaining variations in outcomes.
Effect of water chemistry on the physiology and toxicity assessment in Daphnia

All aquatic systems are potentially exposed to changes in the water parameters, as a consequence of environmental current phenomena such as acid deposition, leaching of ions from soils and climate change. Since water chemistry parameters are often correlated, it is pertinent to study their combined effects to aquatic biota. Thus, the main objective of this thesis is to assess the ecological importance of the simultaneous variation of the main water physicochemical parameters to the life-history endpoints of crustaceans either in the absence or presence of metals. The following water parameters were studied: hardness (0.5 3.5 mM), alkalinity (0.3 2.3 mM), pH (5.7 9.0) and temperature (13 30oC). Daphnia magna was used as a model species representing aquatic crustaceans. The simultaneous variation of hardness and alkalinity significantly affected growth, reproduction and population growth of Daphnia; however the effects of hardness overruled the effects of alkalinity. There seemed to be an interaction between hardness and alkalinity on daphnids reproduction, suggesting that the effects of varying hardness to Daphnia and probably other crustaceans might depend on the alkalinity level. Water pH and hardness exerted combined effects to Daphnia, being the effects of pH more pronounced than the effects of hardness. Decreasing pH reduced survival, growth, reproduction, feeding rate and population growth of the daphnids. However, the effects of low pH were more adverse at low hardness, suggesting an interaction between these parameters. Thus, decreasing pH in soft water lakes might be a major stressor to acid-sensitive crustaceans threatening their survival and, thus, affecting the structure of aquatic food webs. Temperature and water chemistry (hardness and alkalinity) interacted with each other on the life-history endpoints of Daphnia; however, the effects of temperature overruled the effects of water chemistry. In general, extreme temperatures reduced growth, reproduction and, consequently, population growth of Daphnia. The effects of increasing temperature were more adverse at low hardness and alkalinity, raising concern about the ecological effects of global warming in soft waters. Water hardness and alkalinity also played an important role in the acute and sublethal (feeding inhibition) metals toxicity to Daphnia. Decreasing hardness raised the acute toxicity of zinc. On the other hand, decreasing alkalinity raised the acute and sublethal toxicity of copper, but reduced the sublethal toxicity of zinc, evidencing the important role of alkalinity in the sublethal toxicity of metals to Daphnia. Overall, water physicochemical parameters seem to interact among each other, affecting life-history endpoints and population growth of Daphnia and also affect metals toxicity. In particular, low hardness exacerbates the adverse effects of decreasing pH, increasing temperature and metals toxicity, which raises concern about the ecological effects of their simultaneous variation on crustaceans and, thus, on aquatic food webs.
What's in a Sign? Trademark Law and Economic Theory

The aim of this paper is to summarize the extant theory as it relates to the economics of trademark, and to give some suggestions for further research with reference to distinct streams of literature. The proposed line of study inevitably looks at the complex relationship between signs and economics. Copyright 2006 The Authors Journal compilation © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Generating Non-normal Data for Simulation of Structural Equation Models Using Mattson's Method

SEM researchers use Monte-Carlo simulations to ascertain the robustness of statistical estimators and the performance of various fit indices under varying conditions of non-normality. The efficacy of these Monte-Carlo simulations is closely related to the generation of non-normal data. Traditionally, SEM researchers have used approaches proposed by Fleishman (1978) and Vale and Maurelli (1983) to generate multivariate non-normal random numbers. However, both approaches do not provide a method to determine univariate skewness and kurtosis of the observed variables when a non-normal distribution is specified for some or all of the latent variables. Mattson (1997) proposed a method for generating data on the latent variables with controlled skewness and kurtosis of the observed variables. We empirically test the applicability of Mattson's theoretical method in a Monte-Carlo simulation. Specifically, we assess the impact of data generation, selection of transformation method, sample size and degree of skewness/kurtosis on the performance of the method. Our results suggest that Mattson's method seems to be a good approach to generate data with defined levels of skewness and kurtosis. In addition, based on the results of our analysis, we provide practicing researchers recommendations regarding their empirical implementation schemes.
Climate on Cable

This study examines climate change coverage on the three major cable news channels and assesses the relationship between viewership of these channels and beliefs about global warming. Evidence from a content analysis of climate change coverage on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC during 2007 and 2008 demonstrates that Fox takes a more dismissive tone toward climate change than CNN and MSNBC. Fox also interviews a greater ratio of climate change doubters to believers. An analysis of 2008 survey data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults finds a negative association between Fox News viewership and acceptance of global warming, even after controlling for numerous potential confounding factors. Conversely, viewing CNN and MSNBC is associated with greater acceptance of global warming. Further analyses reveal that the relationship between cable news viewership (both Fox and CNN/MSNBC) and global warming acceptance is stronger among Republicans than among Democrats. That is, the views of Republicans are strongly linked with the news outlet they watch, regardless of how well that outlet aligns with their political predispositions. In contrast, Democrats don’t vary much in their beliefs as a function of cable news use. This asymmetry suggests that some Republicans, who as a group tend to be predisposed toward global warming skepticism, are less skeptical when exposed to information on the reality and urgency of climate change.
On the speed of solitary waves running down a vertical wall

Solitary-wave solutions to surface equations or two-equation models of film flows are investigated within the framework of dynamical system theory. The limiting behaviour of one-humped solitary waves (homoclinic orbits) at large Reynolds numbers is considered. Their predicted speed is in good agreement with numerical findings. The theory also explains the absence of solitary-wave solutions to the Benney equation in the same limit.
SeDuCe: a Testbed for Research on Thermal and Power Management in Datacenters

With the advent of Cloud Computing, the size of datacenters is ever increasing and the management of servers and their power consumption and heat production have become challenges. The management of the heat produced by servers has been experimentally less explored than the management of their power consumption. It can be partly explained by the lack of a public testbed that provides reliable access to both thermal and power metrics of server rooms. In this paper we propose SeDuCe, a testbed that targets research on power and thermal management of servers, by providing public access to precise data about the power consumption and the thermal dissipation of 48 servers integrated in Grid’5000 as the new ecotype cluster. We present the chosen software and hardware architecture for the first version of the SeDuCe testbed, highlighting its current limitation and proposing some improvements that will increase its relevance.
On the links between spatial variables and overeducation

This article considers the role that diverse spatial variables play in explaining overeducation. Unlike previous analyses of the Spanish case, we have directly tested the links between current mobility (commuting and migration) and overeducation, and in contrast to previous literature, we have included a direct measure of potential spatial flexibility at an individual level (worker availability to migrate, in response to the needs of his/her firm). Regional labour market conditions are also considered in the analysis. Our results show that the links between overeducation and spatial variables vary depending on the specific sub-group of wage earners considered, based on gender and education.
Principal Leadership in the Implementation of Effective School Management

This research aims at describing the implementation of effective school management based on the principal leadership in one of Public Primary Schools in Sumedang Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The principal who implemented effective school management had the potential to produce high-achieving young generation because the school scope could optimize its function as an educational institution that carried out economic, humanitarian, social, political, cultural, and educational functions. One aspect that could support the implementation of effective school management was the principal leadership in making decisions, communicating, directing and developing the staff, solving problems and evaluating school activities. The data were collected through questionnaires, interviews and documentation studies. Furthermore, the results proved that the principal leadership was one of the main factors in implementing effective school management in terms of technology, school culture, information systems, and organizations.
HIV/AIDS Awareness and its Impact on the Profitability of Business Firms in Developing Nations

The impact of HIV/AIDS on South Africa as well as in the African continent is undoubtedly enormous, especially considering the percentage of the country’s workforce living with HIV/AIDS. This study becomes imperative when statistics shows that many owners/managers are not well aware of the challenges of HIV/AIDS in their business firms. This study investigated HIV/AIDS awareness and its impact on the profitability of business firms in King Williams Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa, which could well relate to developing nations. The researchers use a target population of all the private business firms as well as the owners/mangers that are present in King Williams Town. A sample was drawn from the target population by the researchers. The sample size of 120 respondents (100 employees and 20 owners/mangers) was considered adequate due to the sensitive nature of the research. Based on the findings of this research, it was discovered that employees of business firms are not aware of issues pertaining to HIV/AIDS, business firms do not have a workplace policy on HIV/AIDS to minimise the impact of HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS does affect the profitability of business firms in developing nations. The study recommends that business firms and relevant stakeholders develop effective strategies in minimising the impact of HIV/AIDS at work place and on employee morale as well as to intensify HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns at firm level. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n7p244
Stem Cell Based Bone Tissue Engineering

Regenerative tissue engineering is defined as the combination of living cells and biocompatible scaffolds to generate a biologic substitute capable of sustaining itself and integrating with functional native tissue. By engineering and delivering tissues and/ or cells capable of replacing damaged tissue, regenerative medicine offers the potential for the treatment and possibly curing of debilitating diseases. Optimized methods for improving the function and maturation of engineered cellular constructs to produce constructs with near-native tissue properties are necessary to enable translation to clinically useful therapies.
Quality in Inclusive and Noninclusive Infant and Toddler Classrooms

Abstract The quality of care in infant and toddler classrooms as compared across inclusive (n=64) and noninclusive classrooms (n=400). Quality was measured using the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ITERS-R). An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed four distinct dimensions of quality within the ITERS-R. Inclusive classrooms were higher in quality on the overall scale as well as on three of the four factor-based scales. Teachers reported, on average, that children had mild to moderate disabilities. Correlational analyses indicated that neither having more children with disabilities nor having children with more severe disabilities was associated with higher or lower quality scores. Teacher education and teacher-child ratios were important predictors of quality. Information on low-scoring items on the Personal Care Routines subscale is also presented.
Effect of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on carcass quality, serum lipid variables and histopathological changes of broiler chickens infected with aflatoxin B1

Three dietary inclusion rates of CLA (0, 2 and 4 g/kg feed) and aflatoxin B1 (0, 200 and 300 μg/kg feed) were tested in a 3 x 3 factorial experimental design on a total of 99 Ross-308 male broiler chickens from 1 to 42 days of age. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on carcass characteristics, serum lipid variables and histopathological properties in broiler chickens receiving a diet containing aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). Carcass yield, abdominal fat weight and abdominal fat percentage were not significantly influenced by dietary CLA, AFB1 or CLA + AFB1. Altered serum lipid measurements induced by AFB1 treatments included increased serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, and decreased serum concentration of high density lipoprotein (HDL). Serum HDL concentration was increased in birds supplemented with 2 and 4 g CLA/kg diet compared with the control group. However, CLA + AFB1 did not significantly affect these parameters compared to the groups that received AFB1 alone. Aflatoxin B1 administration induced degenerative changes in the liver tissue, but dietary CLA supplementation offered protection to the livers against these changes. Aflatoxin B1 residues were not detected in any breast tissues collected from the broiler carcasses. Our results suggest that CLA provided protection against the negative effects of liver damage induced by AFB1 in broiler chickens. Furthermore, dietary CLA supplementation increased serum HDL levels. Keywords : Aflatoxin B1; conjugated linoleic acid;carcass quality; hepatotoxicity; serum lipid variables South African Journal of Animal Sciences Vol. 35 (2) 2005: pp.109-116
The importance of agricultural areas for bird conservation in the Korup region, south-western Cameroon

Recent studies have shown that a relatively high number of individuals and species from the natural forest fauna can still be found in land use systems. To detect key parameters for population development and preconditions for long-term suitability of different land use systems for forest bird populations, we investigated patterns of species richness and abundance of understorey birds using mist-net data, in 24 study sites equally distributed over two types of natural and two types of agricultural habitats. We also assessed arthropod availability, nesting sites, parasite loads, and fault bars for trapped birds. We recorded high numbers of birds in all habitats but with a tendency for smaller species with increasing habitat modification. Our data support the idea that arthropod richness and density attract many understorey forest birds in agricultural areas but that environmental stress in these habitats might be high since numbers of bird species and individuals presenting fault bars were significantly higher in the agricultural matrix. In the Afrotropical context, the management of agricultural areas should consider preserving some aspects of natural habitats, and a fallow period of five to eight years, to avoid biodiversity loss.
On the small maximal flows in first passage percolation

We consider the standard first passage percolation on $\mathbb{Z}^{d}$: with each edge of the lattice we associate a random capacity. We are interested in the maximal flow through a cylinder in this graph. Under some assumptions Kesten proved in 1987 a law of large numbers for the rescaled flow. Chayes and Chayes established that the large deviations far away below its typical value are of surface order, at least for the Bernoulli percolation and cylinders of certain height. Thanks to another approach we extend here their result to higher cylinders, and we transport this result to the model of first passage percolation.