Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trade Wars and Trade Talks

When governments meet in the international arena, their actions reflect the political situations at home. Previous studies of trade relations have focused on governments that are immune from political pressures and that act as benevolent servants of the public interest. Here we introduce domestic politics into the analysis of international economic relations. We study the interactions between national leaders who are concerned with both providing a high standard of living to the general electorate and collecting campaign contributions from special-interest groups. Our analysis sheds light on the determinants of the structure of protection in noncooperative and cooperative policy equilibria.
Comparative microbial community composition from secondary carbonate (moonmilk) deposits: implications for the Cansiliella servadeii cave hygropetric food web

The microbial diversity of moonmilk, a hydrated calcium carbonate speleothem, was evaluated from two Italian caves to provide context for the food web of highly-specialized troglobitic beetles, Cansiliella spp. (Leptodirinae), with distinctive carbon and nitrogen isotope values indicative of a novel food source. The moonmilk and associated percolating waters had low to no extractable chlorophyll, with an average organic C:N ratio of 9, indicating limited allochthonous input and a significant contribution from microbial biomass. The biomass from moonmilk was estimated to be ~10 4 micro- and meiofaunal individuals per m 2 and ~10 7 microbial cells/ml. Proteobacteria dominated the 16S rRNA gene sequences retrieved from the moonmilk from both caves. The distribution of other proteobacterial classes and phyla in the moonmilk were statistically similar to each other, even though the two caves are geographically separated from each other. Comparing the moonmilk gene sequences to sequences from previously described environmental clones or cultured strains revealed the uniqueness of the moonmilk habitat, as ~15% of all of the moonmilk sequences were more closely related to each other than to sequences retrieved from any other habitat. However, comparative analyses confirmed that as much as ~34% of the clones sequences were also closely related to environmental clones and cultured strains derived from soil and freshwater habitats, which is likely due to the fact that the putative inoculation source for the moonmilk bacterial communities is from overlying soil and percolating fluids from the surface. Prior to our studies of Cansiliella spp. , moonmilk has not been considered a food source for cave animals. Our findings provide unique insight into moonmilk microbial diversity that could reveal the underpinnings of the moonmilk carbon and nitrogen cycle that influences the isotopic composition and the morphological adaptations of the troglobitic beetles associated with the moonmilk. calcium carbonate; microorganisms; food web; nitrogen cycling; beetles
Recent progresses of simulations on passive membrane permeations in China

Abstract Membranes are vital for many cellular processes, providing compartments in living organism as well as specific/non-specific permeation pathways through them. These pathways may be transiently formed tunnels in the lipid bilayers, stable membrane pores or highly specific protein channels, which may all have their special selectivities for different solutes. Understandings in the mechanisms of transmembrane permeations through these different pathways are important in development of drug delivery systems, structure-based drug design and various medical strategies. In this article, we reviewed recent progress in China of computational simulations on the cross-membrane passive permeations, including direct permeations through lipid bilayers, passive diffusion through membrane pores and facilitated diffusions through highly selective channels. The illustrated papers cover the cross-membrane permeations of ions-like charged groups, the insertion of antimicrobial peptides, the membrane pore of peptidal oligomers, the blockage and control of selectivities of membrane channel as well as voltage and ligand gating. These computational simulations may provide further understandings on membrane permeations and the function of membrane proteins, as well as possible new ideas for drug design.
Shifts in Eastern Mediterranean Fish Communities: Abundance Changes, Trait Overlap, and Possible Competition between Native and Non-Native Species

During the last few decades the fish community has changed substantially along the Eastern Mediterranean continental shelf, which is a hotspot of invasion by species that had migrated via the Suez Canal. Trawl data from the Israeli coast spanning two periods (1990–1994 and 2008–2011) were compared to identify species with substantial variation in their relative abundance between the two periods. The aim of this study was to examine if certain ecological traits characterize fish species showing an increase or decrease in relative abundance, and if non-indigenous fishes with strongly increasing populations may have caused the decline of native species with similar habitats and diets. We found that the main predictors of population trends were species length, habitat affinity, and maximum depth, with larger and soft bottom species displaying decreasing abundances. Comparing native and non-indigenous fishes with similar habitat and diet, we found a potential for competitive impact of the Indo-Pacific Plotosus lineatus and two Upeneus spp. on the native Mullus species. However, competition with non-indigenous fishes could not generally explain the dramatic decline of many other native species between the two study periods. Alternative causes, such as fishery pressure and increasing water temperature, are discussed.
Towards an enhanced understanding of airborne LiDAR measurements of forest vegetation

This thesis presents basic research on how airborne LiDAR measurements of forest vegetation are influenced by the interplay of the geometric-optical properties of vegetation, sensor function and acquisition settings. Within the work, examining the potential of waveform (WF) recording sensors was of particular interest. Study I focused upon discrete return LiDAR measurements of understory trees. It showed that transmission losses influenced the intensity of observations and echo triggering probabilities, and also skewed the distribution of echoes towards those triggered by highly reflective or dense targets. The intensity data were of low value for species identification, but the abundance of understory trees could be predicted based on echo height distributions. In study II, a method of close-range terrestrial photogrammetry was developed. Images were shown as being useful for visualizations and even the geometric quality control of LiDAR data. The strength of backscattering was shown to correlate with the projected area extracted from the images. In study III, a LiDAR simulation model was developed and validated against real measurements. The model was able to be used for sensitivity analyses to illustrate how plant structure or different pulse properties influence the WF data. Both simulated and real data showed that WF data were able to capture small-scale variations in the structural and optical properties of juvenile forest vegetation. Study IV illustrated the potential of WF data in the species classification of larger trees. The WF features that separated tree species were also dependent on other variables such as tree size and phenology. Inherent between-tree differences in structure were quantified and the effects of pulse density on the features were examined. Overall, the thesis provides basic findings on how LiDAR pulses interact with forest vegetation, and serves to link theory with real observations. The results contribute to an improved understanding of LiDAR measurements and their limitations, and thus provide support for further improvements in both data interpretation methods and specific sensor design.
Ideological Values and the Votes of Justices Revisited

Segal and Cover (1989) content analyzed newspaper editorials to devise measures of the ideological values of the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. Because their measures came from sources independent of the judicial vote, scholars have widely adopted them. This note updates, backdates, and extends the Segal and Cover research by adding the two Bush appointees and the seven Roosevelt and four Truman nominees whose service extended beyond the start of the Vinson Court. While we find that the ideological values of the Eisenhower through Bush appointees correlate strongly with votes cast in economic and civil liberties cases, the results are less robust for justices appointed by Roosevelt and Truman. Ideological Values and the Votes of Justices Revisited A predominant, if not the predominant, view of judicial decision making is the attitudinal model. It supposes that the ideological values of jurists provide the best predictors of their votes (see Segal and Spaeth 1993). Although this proposition has gained wide acceptance, testing it in a valid way presented the seemingly intractable problem of circularity: judicial attitudes were often measured through the very votes one sought to predict. In a 1989 article, Segal and Cover set out to solve the circularity problem as it pertained to U.S. Supreme Court decision making. They did so by devising a set of measures— reflecting the justices’ ideological positions— from sources independent of judicial votes. As we describe below, Segal and Cover gathered these measures from editorials (published before the Senate confirmed the nominee) in four newspapers. They then used the scores to demonstrate the aptness of the attitudinal model. Specifically, they found a correlation of . 80 between judicial values (as measured by newspaper editorials) and votes in civil liberties cases for justices appointed between 1953 and 1988. This note has two purposes. First, we update the Segal/Cover scores by adding the two Bush appointees (Souter and Thomas) and backdate them by including the seven Roosevelt (Black, Reed, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, Jackson, and Rutledge) and the four Truman (Burton, Vinson, Clark, and Minton) nominees whose service extended beyond the start of the Vinson Court. In and of themselves, these tasks serve an important function. For, despite the relative recency of their appearance, judicial specialists have widely adopted the Segal/Cover scores (e.g., Segal, Cameron, and Cover 1992; Mishler and Sheehan 1993; Sheehan, Songer, and Mishler, 1992; Kearney
LIPIDS OF BLACK SEA ALGAE: UNVEILING THEIR POTENTIAL FOR PHARMACEUTICAL AND COSMETIC APPLICATIONS

Background: Bulgarian Black Sea coast is rich in algae, regarding biomass and algal biodiversity. The red algae Gelidium crinale (Rhodophyta) and brown algae Cystoseira barbata (Phaeophytes) are among the most abundant species along the Bulgarian Black Sea shore. Yet information about their lipid composition is limited. Purpose: Present study was conducted to investigate biologically active substances in two underexplored seaweed lipids. Total lipids, total phospholipids, fat soluble vitamins and carotenoids were analysed. In addition, the specific distribution of fatty acids group among the total lipids and total phospholipids were elucidated. Material/Methods: The saponifiable lipid fraction was derivatized into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) and analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS) to identify and quantify the fatty acids. The fat soluble non-saponifiable lipids were identified by high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with UV/Vis and fluorescence detectors (HPLC-UV-FL). Results: Results showed that Rhodophyta and Phaeophytes have high concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particularly from the n-3 series, thereby being a good source of these compounds. They presented a “healthy” n-6/n-3 ratio. Both seaweed species showed considerably high amounts of α-tocopherol, β-carotene and astaxanthin. Conclusions: The study reveals that lipids from Black Sea algae have a high potential as natural sources of biologically active ingredients. They are balanced source of fatty acids and contained beneficial antioxidants, such as α-tocopherol, β-carotene and astaxanthin.
Subjective well-being and income: a compromise between Easterlin paradox and its critiques

Abstract Despite rising popularity of subjective well-being (SWB) as a proxy for utility, its relationship with income is still unresolved. Against the background of debates around the ‘Easterlin paradox’, this paper seeks a compromise between two positions: one that insists on individual relative income, and one that finds similarity between individual and aggregate levels. Proposing a model which puts the emphasis on the interaction between individual and aggregate-level factors, it argues that the effect of relative income on SWB varies across countries as a function of average income, in addition to a relatively small direct effect of the latter, in partial agreement with the two major positions. The model is tested crosssectionally on the data from the latest wave of World Values Survey. The results from hierarchical mixed-effect models confirm the main argument. But further examination reveals that there is still unaccounted variation especially in middle-income economies.
Indian vultures: victims of an infectious disease epidemic?

During the 1990s, populations of two species of griffon vulture, the Indian white‐backed Gyps bengalensis and the long‐billed Gyps indicus, declined by more than 90% throughout India. These declines are continuing and are due to abnormally high rates of both nesting failure and adult, juvenile and nestling mortality. Affected birds exhibit signs of illness (neck drooping syndrome) for approximately 30 days prior to death. Epidemiological observations are most consistent with an infectious cause of this morbidity and mortality. To investigate the cause of these declines, 28 vulture carcases, including adults and juveniles of both species, were examined in detail. Significant post‐mortem findings included visceral gout, enteritis, vasculitis and gliosis. Although we have not yet been able to identify the causative agent of the declines, the results of our pathological studies are most consistent with those for an infectious, probably viral, aetiology. We examine hypotheses for the cause of the declines and, based on our epidemiological and pathological findings, we show infectious disease to be the most tenable of these.
Validation and uncertainty estimates for MODIS Collection 6 “Deep Blue” aerosol data

The “Deep Blue” aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieval algorithm was introduced in Collection 5 of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) product suite, and complemented the existing “Dark Target” land and ocean algorithms by retrieving AOD over bright arid land surfaces, such as deserts. The forthcoming Collection 6 of MODIS products will include a “second generation” Deep Blue algorithm, expanding coverage to all cloud‐free and snow‐free land surfaces. The Deep Blue dataset will also provide an estimate of the absolute uncertainty on AOD at 550 nm for each retrieval. This study describes the validation of Deep Blue Collection 6 AOD at 550 nm (τM) from MODIS Aqua against Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) data from 60 sites to quantify these uncertainties. The highest quality (denoted quality assurance flag value 3) data are shown to have an absolute uncertainty of approximately (0.086+0.56τM)/AMF, where AMF is the geometric air mass factor. For a typical AMF of 2.8, this is approximately 0.03+0. 20τM, comparable in quality to other satellite AOD datasets. Regional variability of retrieval performance and comparisons against Collection 5 results are also discussed.
Early evolution of vertical vorticity in a numerically simulated idealized convective line

The generation and organization of mesoscale convective vortices (MCVs) is a recurring theme in midlatitude and tropical meteorology during the warm season. In this work a simulation of a finite-length idealized convective line in a westerly shear environment is investigated in the absence of ambient vertical vorticity. An asymmetry in average vertical vorticity forms rapidly at early times in the present simulation. This study focuses on the formation and organization of vertical vorticity at these early simulation times. Previous simulations suggest that tilting of either ambient or storm-generated horizontal vorticity is the primary mechanism responsible for the formation, organization, and maintenance of MCVs. This study confirms recent work regarding the generation of vertical vorticity at early times in the simulation. A Lagrangian budget analysis of the vertical vorticity equation, however, shows that vorticity convergence becomes a comparable, and at times dominant, mechanism for the enhancement and long-term organization of vertical vorticity early in the simulation. Despite differences in the initial ambient horizontal vorticity, hodograph, and convective available potential energy, the Lagrangian budget analysis in the present midlatitude case is consistent with the Lagrangian budget results of a previous tropical squall line simulation. The study of idealized convective lines in midlatitude environmental conditions therefore provide valuable insight into understanding vertical vorticity production in tropical squall lines and their potential relevance to tropical cyclogenesis.
The Relation of Weight Stigmatization to Psychological Adjustment

This study investigated weight stigmatization as a predictor of adjustment in samples of 100 undergraduates and 99 bariatric patients. Coping strategies (emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping, disengagement coping) were tested as moderators of this relation. Weight stigmatization predicted depression, anxiety, and antisocial behavior when controlling for the effects of stressful life events. Problem-focused coping weakened the association between weight stigmatization and depression. Emotion-focused coping augmented the relation between weight stigmatization and antisocial behavior. The results support weight stigmatization as a meaningful predictor of adjustment difficulties. Engendering a problem-focused coping style over an emotion-focused coping style might benefit patients reporting weight stigmatization. Further work is necessary to understand what specific elements of these coping styles impact adjustment. jasp_94
A comparative utilisation of high dietary copra and palm kernel cakes based diets with exogenous enzyme by young pullets and layers

The effects of enzyme supplementation of copra cake (CPC) and palm kernel cake (PKC) in growing pullets and laying hens were investigated in two experiments. In experiment 1, a control diet based on fish meal and soybean meal and 4 diets containing 200 g CPC or PKC/kg with and without exogenous enzymes (a complex enzyme with 8 enzyme activities (U/g): b-glucanase, 800; xylanase, 15,000; b-mannanase,100; a-galactosidase, 100; amylase, 500; pectinase, 500; protease, 800 and cellulase, 300) were fed each to 3 replicate pens containing 10 growing pullets for a period of 70 days. In experiment 2, diets formulated as in experiment 1 were fed each to 10 point of lay birds for a period of 84 days. Pullets fed CPC and PKC based diets consumed more (P<0.05) feed and water than the control. Feeding CPC and PKC without enzyme resulted in a poorer (P<0.05) feed conversion efficiency. The laying hens showed no treatment difference in feed and water intake, feed conversion efficiency, Haugh unit and shell thickness but hen day production, egg weight and egg mass improved with enzyme supplementation. Therefore, feeding of 200 g copra cake or palm kernel cake per kg diet depressed efficiency of feed utilisation in growing pullets but this adverse effect was overcome by challenzyme supplementation. In laying hens, challenzyme supplementation improved hen day production but had no effect on the efficiency of feed utilisation.
Associations between perceived teaching behaviours and affect in upper elementary school students

ABSTRACT We explored the associations between student-perceived teaching behaviours and negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) in upper elementary age students, both before and after controlling for perceived parenting behaviours. The Teaching Behaviour Questionnaire, the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children were completed by 777 third to fifth graders in nine elementary schools. Using two-level hierarchical linear model analyses, we found that (a) perceived instructional teaching behaviour was negatively associated with NA and positively associated with PA; (b) perceived organizational behaviour was not associated with either; (c) perceived socio-emotional teaching behaviour was positively associated with both; (d) perceived negative teaching behaviour was positively associated with NA but not associated with PA. When parenting behaviours were controlled for, the associations with NA but not with PA held up. We discuss the implications of the findings for education and mental health personnel.
Who's Better? Who's Best? Pairwise Deep Ranking for Skill Determination

This paper presents a method for assessing skill from video, applicable to a variety of tasks, ranging from surgery to drawing and rolling pizza dough. We formulate the problem as pairwise (who's better? ) and overall (who's best? ) ranking of video collections, using supervised deep ranking. We propose a novel loss function that learns discriminative features when a pair of videos exhibit variance in skill, and learns shared features when a pair of videos exhibit comparable skill levels. Results demonstrate our method is applicable across tasks, with the percentage of correctly ordered pairs of videos ranging from 70% to 83% for four datasets. We demonstrate the robustness of our approach via sensitivity analysis of its parameters. We see this work as effort toward the automated organization of how-to video collections and overall, generic skill determination in video.
Wood Density within Norway Spruce Stems

We studied the variation in average wood density of annual rings, earlywood density, and latewood density in addition to ring width and latewood percentage within Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. ) stems from the pith to the bark, and from the stem base towards the stem apex. Moreover, the variation in wood density within annual rings was studied at the different heights and radial positions in the stem. The material consisted of 85 trees from central and south-eastern Finland. Variation between the annual rings accounted for 11–27% of the total variation in wood density. Only small differences (3–6%) in wood density were found between different heights in the stem. The largest (49–80%) variation in wood density was found within the annual rings. The difference in wood density between earlywood and latewood was smaller in the rings near the pith than in the outer rings. The increasing wood density from the pith outwards was related to increasing latewood density and latewood percentage, whereas the earlywood density increased only slightly from the pith outwards. In a given cambial age (i.e., given rings from the pith), the average wood density of annual rings increased with increasing stem height. In contrast, in the rings formed in the same calendar years (i.e., given rings from the bark), the average wood density of annual rings decreased with increasing stem height. The results of this study verify our knowledge of wood density variation and can further contribute to creating models to predict wood density.