Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seasonal Variability of Rainfall Interception and Canopy Storage Capacity Measured under Individual Oak (Quercus brantii) Trees in Western Iran

While the hydrological balance of forest ecosystems has often been studied, quantitative studies on the seasonal variability of rainfall Interception ( I) and Canopy Storage Capacity ( S) by individual trees are less frequently reported. Hence, the effects of the seasonal variation in I and S by individual Persian oak trees ( Quercus brantii var. Persica ) in the Zagros forests of Iran were studied over a 1-year period. Annually, I accounted for 84.9 mm (20%) of Gross Rainfall ( GR ) that significantly differed between the in leaf (47.4 mm or 30% of GR) vs. leafless (37.7 mm or 14% of GR) periods. Negative logarithmic correlations existed between I:GR and GR both for in leaf (r 2 = 0.808) and leafless (r 2 = 0.709) periods. An indirect method, outlined by Pereira et al. (2009), estimated S to be 1.56 mm in the in Leaf Period ( LP ) and decreased considerably to 0.56 mm in the Leafless Period ( LLP ). The results indicate that while I decreased during the LLP , it still exerts considerable influence on the hydrology of forests. Hence, measurement of I in both the LP and LLP is essential when assessing the water balance on the catchment scale.
Pupil Home Background Characteristics and Academic Performance in Senior Secondary Schools: A Case Study of Selected Secondary Schools in Kitwe District, Zambia

The purpose of this research was to investigate pupil background characteristics and academic performance in senior secondary schools in Kitwe district with a view of recommending on how to improve pupils’ performance. The study was conducted in Kitwe district because in the past years pupils’ performance in senior secondary schools has been alarmingly deteriorating. The study used termly test data collected from senior secondary schools in Kitwe district. A representative sample of 150 grade ten and eleven pupils from senior secondary schools was used. The main instruments used to collect data in the study were the pupils’ questionnaire and parent interview guide.Data analysis was done using two methods. These were Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and the information collected through interviews were analysed by coding it into themes, while the information from the questionnaires were analysed through the SPSS – generated tables, diagrams and percentages.The findings of the study suggested considerable variation in pupil performance. The study revealed that there were positive relationships between number of books at home, the language spoken at home and pupil’s performance. Furthermore, the analysis of the quantitative data revealed that there was a negative relationship between pupils’ age and family size.
The Apprentice to Master Journey: Exploring Tertiary Music Instrument Teachers’ Reflections on Their Experiences as Learner.

Many students worldwide engage in lessons on a music instrument; the most common format for this type of learning isthe one-to-one or studio lesson where the master guides the apprentice. At the same time, the one-to-one or studio lesson is an isolated area of practice, given that it takes place behind closed doors. In addition, while the literature for classroom music teachers is substantial with regard to investigating how they describe their own previous teaching experiences or the general characteristics of effective teachers, in comparison there are few studies that explore what music instrument teachers believe are effective characteristics and attributes of their previous teachers and lessons. In order to address this problem, this exploratory article focuses on the reflections of current higher education performing arts teachers; specifically music instrument teachers and their experiences of teachers and lessons. Survey data were obtained from 171 practitioners from nine nations. The respondents were asked to reflect on their initial, pre-tertiary and tertiary lesson experiences and teachers, and to identify the most significant influences on their learning. The data reveal a number of findings, such as the dominance of the master-apprentice social and learning relationship, the characteristics and attributes of inspiring teachers and/or learning experiences, and the fact that some respondents do not have any positive reflections on some periods of their learning. The data also point towards the cyclical nature of music instrument learning and teaching, with masters guiding apprentices who then become the masters.
Syndication Loans and Banks' Risk-Taking Behaviour

This paper shows that borrowers’bank-dependent behavior leads lending banks to change credit risk-taking through its lending activity. Unique data composed of 34,082 syndicated loan of publicity banks facilities from the U.S. for the period 1987-2010 that capture the effect of the 2008 financial crisis, to test the theory of informational monopolies advantage and the theory of sacrificing reputational capital, analyzes the impact of capital level on banking credit risk-taking under syndication loans. The results show that there is positive correlation between the ratios of bank's capital over its total assets and banks’ credit risk-taking. It implies that banks with lower capital level charge higher lending spread for borrowers with fewer cash flows; hence the banks would bear a lower probability of default.
Measurements of precipitation in Dumont d'Urville, Terre Adélie, East Antarctica

The first results of a campaign of intensive observation of precipitation in Dumont d'Urville, Antarctica, are presented. Several instruments collected data from October 2015, including a polarimetric weather radar (MXPol), a Micro Rain Radar (MRR), a weighing gauge (Pluvio 2 ), and a Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC). These instruments collected the first model-free measurements of precipitation in the region in the region of Terre Adelie (Adelie Land), including of precipitation microphysics. Microphysical observations during the austral summer 2015/2016 showed that, close to ground level, aggregates are the dominant hydrometeor type, together with small ice particles (mostly originating from blowing snow), and that riming often occurs. Contamination of the Pluvio 2 measurements in windy conditions is observed and partly removed through synergistic use of MRR data. The yearly accumulated precipitation of snow (300 m above ground), obtained by means of a local conversion relation of MRR data, trained on the Pluvio 2 measurement of the summer period, is estimated to be 815 mm of water equivalent, with a confidence interval ranging between 739.5 to 989 mm. Climatological data obtained from satellite-borne radars, and the ERA-Interim reanalysis of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) both provide lower yearly totals: 655 mm for ERA-Interim, while 679 mm for the climatological data over DDU. ERA-Interim seems to overestimate the occurrence of low-intensity precipitation events especially in summer, while visual observations conducted at the research stations all year long seem to underestimate it. Overall, this manuscript provides insightful examples of the added values of precipitation monitoring in Antarctica with a synergistic use of in-situ and remote sensing measurements.
Application of Machine Learning Algorithms to an online Recruitment System

In this work, we present a novel approach for evaluating job applicants in online recruitment systems, leveraging machine learning algorithms to solve the candidate ranking problem. An application of our approach is implemented in the form of a prototype system, whose functionality is showcased and evaluated in a real-world recruitment scenario. The proposed system extracts a set of objective criteria from the applicants' LinkedIn profile, and infers their personality characteristics using linguistic analysis on their blog posts. Our system was found to perform consistently compared to human recruiters; thus, it can be trusted for the automation of applicant ranking and personality mining.
WIDEBAND DYNAMIC RADIO SPECTRA OF TWO ULTRA-COOL DWARFS

A number of radio-loud ultra-cool dwarf (UCD) stars exhibit both continuous broadband and highly polarized pulsed radio emission. In order to determine the nature of the emission and the physical characteristics in the source region, we have made multi-epoch, wideband spectral observations of TVLM 0513-46 and 2M 0746+20. We combine these observations with archival radio data to fully characterize both the temporal and spectral properties of the radio emission. The continuum spectral energy distribution can be well modeled using gyrosynchrotron emission from mildly relativistic electrons in a dipolar field. The pulsed emission exhibits a variety of time-variable characteristics, including frequency drifts, frequency cutoffs, and multiple pulses per period. For 2M 0746+20 we determine a pulse period consistent with previously determined values. We modeled locations of pulsed emission using an oblique rotating magnetospheric model with beamed electron-cyclotron maser (ECM) sources. The best-fit models have narrow ECM beaming angles aligned with the local source magnetic field direction, except for one isolated burst from 2M 0746+20. For TVLM 0513-46, the best-fit rotation axis inclination is nearly orthogonal to the line of sight. For 2M 0746+20 we found a good fit using a fixed inclination i = 36 ° ? > , determined from optical observations. For both stars the ECM sources are located near feet of magnetic loops with radial extents 1.2Rs–2.7Rs and surface fields 2.2–2.5 kG. These results support recent suggestions that radio over-luminous UCDs have a global “weak field” non-axisymmetric magnetic topologies.
Getting to Know the Elephant: A Call to Advance Servant Leadership through Construct Consensus, Empirical Evidence, and Multilevel Theoretical Development

This essay examines the challenges facing servant leadership as a theoretical construct, specifically the variety of definitions that results in a lack of construct clarity, the lack of agreed upon measures, and the sparse empirical evidence. This essay addresses the need for consensus, empirical research, and examination of the phenomenon of servant leadership across multiple levels of the organization.
Evaluation of special grains bean lines for grain yield, cooking time and mineral concentrations

Genetic variability of 32 inbred special grains bean lines was investigated for grain yield, mass of 100 grains, cooking time, and mineral concentrations in grains, and Z index was used for selection of superior lines in most of the characters. IAC Centauro, IAC Galante, Xamego, Ouro Branco, Montcalm, and Hooter lines presented high yield grain, short cooking time (less than 24 min), and high potassium (>14 g kg-1dry matter [DM]), calcium (>1.42 g kg-1DM), iron (>97.60 mg kg-1DM), zinc (>29.05 mg kg-1DM) and copper (>8.67 mg kg-1DM) concentrations, and their dietary use is therefore recommended. Cal-96 line presents higher Z index for grain yield and for the most of the minerals, and its use is recommended for crosses for the development of superior lines.
A Preliminary Assessment of Traveler’s Emotional Response to Their Vacation

Despite the fact that researchers have linked individuals’ interpretation of their emotions to behavioral outcomes such as well-being, resilience and service evaluation, few researchers have studied emotions during a vacation. We rose to the challenge by conducting a study that involved the use of a diary, which individuals completed each day of their vacation. Respondents used the diary to document their emotions on the modified Differential Emotions Scale and through a follow-up open-ended question. Results provided support for the notion that emotion is a multidimensional construct, and converged with past research that suggests existing emotion scales may not be entirely appropriate for the measurement of emotions in a pleasure travel context. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed and directions for future research are noted.
Capital Structure Around the World: The Roles of Firm- and Country-Specific Determinants

We analyze the importance of firm-specific and country-specific factors in the leverage choice of firms from 42 countries around the world. Our analysis yields two new results. First, we find that firm-specific determinants of leverage differ across countries, while prior studies implicitly assume equal impact of these determinants. Second, although we concur with the conventional direct impact of country-specific factors on the capital structure of firms, we show that there is an indirect impact because country-specific factors also influence the roles of firm-specific determinants of leverage.
Evidence of accelerated englacial warming in the Monte Rosa area, Switzerland/Italy

Abstract. A range of englacial temperature measurements was acquired in the Monte Rosa area at the border of Switzerland and Italy in the years 1982, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2008. Englacial temperatures revealed no evidence of warming at the firn saddle of Colle Gnifetti at 4452 m a.s. l. between 1982 and 1991, the 1991 to 2000 period showed an increase of 0.05 °C per year at a depth of 20 m. From 2000 to 2008 a further increase of 1.3 °C or 0.16 °C per year was observed, indicating that the amount of infiltrating and refreezing meltwater at Colle Gnifetti has probably increased since 2000. The measured temperatures give clear evidence of firn warming since 1991. This is confirmed by five existing boreholes with measured temperature down to bedrock, which were drilled in 1982, 1995, 2003 and 2005. All the observed temperature profiles show a slight bending to warmer temperatures in their uppermost part indicating a warming of the firn, which can be related to the observed atmospheric warming in the 20th century. However, the drilling sites on Colle Gnifetti are still located in the recrystallisation-infiltration zone. A much stronger warming of 6.8 °C or 0.4 °C per year was found at locations beneath Colle Gnifetti on Grenzgletscher from 1991 to 2008. This warming is one order of magnitude greater than the atmospheric warming and can be explained only by a strong increase in the latent heat input by infiltrating and refreezing meltwater. The observations indicate that since 1991, an important firn area beneath Colle Gnifetti has already undergone a firn facies change from the recrystallisation-infiltration to the cold infiltration zone due to an increasing supply of surface melt energy.
Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Childhood Brucellosis in West of Iran

Background In Iran, Brucellosis mainly is transmitted from animals to humans of non-occupational ways, thus its prevalence in children is equal to adults or higher than them, thus in view of etiology and public health studying the epidemiological pattern of Brucellosis in children is important. Present study aimed to investigate the epidemiologic characteristics of brucellosis in children under 15 years old in Hamadan province. Materials and Methods This cross – sectional study was carried out on children under 15 years old in Hamadan province during 2012-2014. 460 patients in this period were investigated. Data were analyzed using by descriptive statistics and incidence rate as an analytic statistics with Stata software version 12. P-value≤0.05 considered as statistically significant. Results Overall 460 Brucellosis cases were detected in children during the studied period, among them N (%) of boys and reside in rural area were 317 (68.9) and 404 (87.8) respectively. Incidence rate of brucellosis was 41.4 per 100,000 populations. 103 cases (22.4%) had a history of consumption of raw or unpasteurized milk products and 170 (37%) had direct contact with domestic animals. Conclusion Age and gender pattern of transmission of brucellosis in children in Hamadan province was similar to the pattern of endemic countries and prevalence in children was comparable with adults.
THE PROBLEM OF MINIMIZATION OF AN UNEVEN FUNCTION OF SEVERAL VARIABLES IN THE NORM 1 l AND ∝ l BY MEANS OF NEURAL NETWORKS

The paper presents the problem of the minimization of an uneven function of several variables n m R R F → : . In general, the minimization of an uneven function is difficult in terms of numerical application, especially when there is no information about the character of the unevenness of the function or any precise data about the distribution of observation errors. This paper presents two algorithms for the minimization of an uneven function by means of neural networks: solutions to an overdetermined system of linear equations according to the criteria of the norm 1 l and according to the criteria of the norm ∝ l (the Chebyshev norm) with the use of a square and exact penalty function. The results of particular solutions have been compared with the solution via the method of the least squares. The equalization tasks have been performed with minimum restrictions of extents of freedom.
Late Cretaceous paleoenvironment and lake level fluctuation in the Songliao Basin, northeastern China

Study of Late Cretaceous lacustrine sedimentary strata in the eastern Songliao Basin, China revealed that the paleoclimate was relatively arid and hot during sedimentation of the upper Santonian of the Yaojia Formation, but became relatively humid and warm during deposition of the lower Campanian Nenjiang Formation. The upper Yaojia Formation was deposited in a freshwater lake environment, while the lower Nenjiang Formation was deposited in a slightly brackish to brackish environment. The average total organic carbon content in the upper Yaojia Formation is 0.15%, while the hydrogen index is 36 mgHC/gTOC, implying poor source rock for oil generation and the organic matter comprised of a mixture of woody and herbaceous organic matter. In contrast, the hydrogen index of oil shale and black shale of the lower Nenjiang Formation is 619 mgHC/gTOC, and total organic carbon content on average is 3.37%, indicating a mixed algae and herbaceous source of kerogen and an increase in aquatic bioproductivity. The black shale and oil shale have low Pristane/Phytane and C29 5α,14α,17α(H) − stigmastane 20R/(20R + 20S) ratios, with maximum concentration of n‐alkanes at n‐C23, implying an anoxic depositional environment with algae, bacteria and higher plants providing most of the organic matter. Relatively abundant gammacerane and a higher Sr/Ba ratio in the oil shales suggest the presence of brackish water and development of salinity stratification in the lake. During sedimentation of the upper Yaojia through the lower Nenjiang Formations, the level of Songliao lake increased and a deep‐lake environment was formed with bottom waters being oxygen depleted. Concomitantly, as the lake deepened bottom conditions were changing from oxic to anoxic, and the input of organic matter changed from predominantly higher plants to a mixture of bacteria, algae and higher plants providing favorable conditions for oil source rock accumulation.
The Cognition of Discovery: Defining a Rhetorical Problem.

Metaphors give shape to mysteries, and traditionally we have used the metaphor of discovery to describe the writer's creative process. Its broad meaning has sheltered many intellectual styles ranging from classical invention to modern heuristics such as tagmemics to self-exploratory modes such as Pre-Writing. Furthermore, discovery carries an implicit suggestion that, somewhere in the mind's recesses or in data outside the mind, there is something waiting to be discovered, and that writing is a way to bring that something out. However, if we try to use this metaphor to teach or analyze the creative process itself, we discover its limitations.1 First of all, because discovery emphasizes the rather glamorous experience of "Eureka, now I see it," it obscures the fact that writers don't find meanings, they make them. A writer in the act of discovery is hard at work searching memory, forming concepts, and forging a new structure of ideas, while at the same time trying to juggle all the constraints imposed by his or her purpose, audience, and language itself.2 Discovery, the event, and its product, new insights, are only the end result of a complicated intellectual process. And it is this process we need to understand more fully. There is a second, practical reason for teachers to probe this metaphor. The notion of discovery is surrounded by a mythology which, like the popular myth of romantic inspiration, can lead writers to self-defeating writing strategies. The myth of discovery implies a method, and this method is based on the premise that hidden stores of insight and ready-made ideas exist, buried in the mind of the writer, waiting only to be "discovered. " Or they are to be found in books and data if only the enterprising researcher knows where to look. What does one do when a ready-made answer can't be found in external sources? The myth says, "look to your own experience. " But what happens when a writer on this internal voyage of discovery still can't "find" something to say because his or her "ideas" as such are not actually formed? What is there to "discover" if only confused experience and conflicting per-
Ab initio multimode linewidth theory for arbitrary inhomogeneous laser cavities

We present a multimode laser-linewidth theory for arbitrary cavity structures and geometries that contains nearly all previously known effects and also finds new nonlinear and multimode corrections, e.g., a correction to the α factor due to openness of the cavity and a multimode Schawlow-Townes relation (each linewidth is proportional to a sum of inverse powers of all lasing modes). Our theory produces a quantitatively accurate formula for the linewidth, with no free parameters, including the full spatial degrees of freedom of the system. StartingwiththeMaxwell-Blochequations,wehandlequantumandthermalnoisebyintroducingrandomcurrents whose correlations are given by the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. We derive coupled-mode equations for the lasing-mode amplitudes and obtain a formula for the linewidths in terms of simple integrals over the steady-state lasing modes.
Vaginal leucocyte counts as indicator for cervical infections in women with bacterial vaginosis in Najaf, Iraq

Abstract: The study analysed the relation of vaginal leucocyte counts to vaginal and cervical infections and to clinical manifestations in non-pregnant women diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis at Al-Zahraa teaching Hospital in Najaf governorate,Iraq. Of 300 women with bacterial vaginosis studied, the median age was 25 years and elevated vaginal leucocyte counts were associated with objective signs of vaginitis and cervicitis and also predicted candidiasis (OR 8, 95% CI 2.2 to 31), chlamydia (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.4 to 6.5), gonorrhoea (OR 2.2, 96% CI 1.5 to 5.6), or trichomoniasis (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.8 to 6.0). In general, as a screening test for vaginal or cervical infections, vaginal leucocyte count had very sensitivities and specificities, modrate positive predictive values, and high negative predictive values. An elevated vaginal leucocyte count in women with bacterial vaginosis was a strong predictor of vaginal or cervical infections. Vaginal leucocyte quantification may provide an alternative approach to assessing need for empirical therapy for chlamydia and gonorrhoea, particularly in epidemic zone.