Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temporal variation and detection limit of an estuarine bacterioplankton community analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)

To understand how the composition of estuarine bacterioplankton changes on a monthly basis, microbial communities in the Baltimore Inner Harbor were investigated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA gene. As revealed by DGGE fingerprints, the composition of bacterioplankton populations in the harbor varied from month to month, and 3 major seasonal patterns were identified: winter (December and January), spring (February to May) and summer-fall (June to November). Sequencing of DGGE bands showed that Planctomycetes and uncultured α-Proteobacteria were detected in all seasons. Roseobacter spp. and Rhodobacter sp. were only present in winter and spring. Marine α-Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria exhibited simi- lar seasonal patterns and appeared to be more dominant from late summer to fall. β-Proteobacteria were present in most months, but different phylotypes were present from spring to summer-fall. γ-Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were only present in winter and early spring. In addition to DGGE analysis, 48 bacterial isolates from summer and winter were cultured and characterized. Few of these bacterial isolates matched with phylotypes determined by sequencing DGGE bands, which sug- gested that the density of 'easy-to-culture' bacteria in the natural environment may be too low to be detected by PCR-DGGE. Bacterial seeding experiments showed that detection thresholds for PCR- DGGE ranged from 2.5 × 10 3 to 1 × 10 4 cells ml -1 (0.1 to 0.4% of total cell counts), depending on the copy number of rRNA operons in the genome of individual species.
Which Investors Fear Expropriation? Evidence from Investors' Portfolio Choices

Using a data set that provides unprecedented detail on investors' stockholdings, we analyze whether investors take the quality of corporate governance into account when selecting stocks. We find that all categories of investors (domestic and foreign, institutional and small individual) who generally enjoy only security benefits are reluctant to invest in companies with weak corporate governance. In contrast, individuals connected with company insiders are more likely to invest in weak corporate governance companies. These findings suggest that it is important to distinguish between investors who enjoy private benefits or access private information, and investors who enjoy only security benefits.
Immigrant crime in Germany 2012-2015

Number of suspects per capita were estimated for immigrants in Germany grouped by citizenship (n=83). These were correlated with national IQs (r=-.53) and Islam prevalence in the home countries (r=.49). Multivariate analyses revealed that the mean age and sex distribution of the groups in Germany were confounds. The German data lacked age and sex information for the crime data and so it was not possible to adjust for age and sex using subgroup analyses. For this reason, an alternative adjustment method was developed. This method was tested on the detailed Danish data which does have the necessary information to carry out subgroup analyses. The new method was found to give highly congruent results with the subgrouping method. The German crime data were then adjusted for age and sex using the developed method and the resulting values were analyzed with respect to the predictors. They were moderately to strongly correlated with national IQs (.46) and Islam prevalence in the home country (.35). Combining national IQ, Islam% and distance to Germany resulted in a model with a cross-validated r2 of 20%, equivalent to a correlation of . 45. If two strong outliers were removed, this rose to 25%, equivalent to a correlation of . 50.
Social Capital and Social Communication in Japan: Political Participation and Tolerance

Using a Japanese national-sample panel survey in 2000 that includes snowball-sampled data, this paper attempts to examine the extended hypotheses on social capital. One focus of the extension is on the role of social networks, a low-cost device for obtaining political information that also operates as a portal to the society. The other focus includes the role of tolerance, which is as important as political participation in an open democracy. By positing a hypothesis that the reverse logic of social capital is applicable to the problem of intolerance, an attempt is made to elucidate the dark side of social capital. The result of multivariate analyses clearly indicates a positive correlation between social capital and political participation, both of voluntary organization and social networks, on the individual and the dyadic levels. On the other hand, political tolerance is not clearly related with social capital at any level.
Cyclodissipativity and Power Factor Improvement for Full Nonlinear Loads

In recent research, a cyclodissipativity character- ization of the problem of power factor compensation (PFC) for nonlinear loads with non-sinusoidal source voltage has been presented. Using this characterization the classical capacitor and inductor compensators can be interpreted in terms of energy equalization. This brief note focuses on the extension of this approach. In particular, one result is to show that power factor compensation is equivalent to a new cyclodissipativity condition. Another result is to consider general lossless linear filters as compensators and to show that the power factor is improved if and only if a certain equalization condition between the weighted powers of inductors and capacitors of the nonlinear load is ensured. I. INTRODUCTION In Electrical engineering, a classical problem is optimizing energy transfer from an alternating current (ac) source to a load. The power factor, defined as the ratio between the real or the active power (average of the instantaneous power) and the apparent power (the product of rms values of the voltage and current), captures the energy transmission efficiency for a given load, (1). The standard approach to improve the power factor is to place a lossless compensator between the source and the load. The task of designing compensators that aim at improving the power-factor (PF) for nonlinear time-varying loads oper- ating in non-sinusoidal regimes is far from clear. Most of the approaches used to improve PF are based on ad-hoc defini- tions of reactive power, (2), and a lack of consensus on these definitions produces misunderstanding of power phenomena in circuits with nonsinusoidal voltages and currents. Recently, in (3) a new framework for analysis and design of (possibly nonlinear) PF compensators for electrical sys- tems operating in non-sinusoidal (but periodic) regimes with nonlinear time-varying loads was presented. This framework proceeds from the aforementioned, universally accepted, definition of PF and does not rely on any axiomatic defi- nition of reactive power. It is shown that PF is improved if and only if the compensated system satisfies a certain cyclodissipativity property, (4) (5). The supply rate in (3) depends explicitly on the load, but unfortunately the load is typically unknown. Hence, the result may not be used for compensator synthesis. One contribution of our work is J.M.A. Scherpen and D. del Puerto-Flores are with the Deparment of Discrete Technology and Production Automation, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands. (e-
Completion pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer: experience with 59 cases q

Objective : The objective of this study was to assess the results of completion pneumonectomy performed for non-small cell lung cancer, classiﬁed as second primary or recurrence/metastasis. Methods : From 1982 to 2000, 59 patients underwent completion pneumonectomy for lung cancer, classiﬁed second primary or recurrence/metastasis according to a modiﬁed form of Martini’s criteria, after a mean interval from ﬁrst resection of 60 months for second primary lung cancers and 19 months for recurrences/metastases. Results : Operative mortality was 3.4% and complications occurred in 30% of patients. Five-year survival rate for completely resected patients was 25% (median 20 months). No signiﬁcant difference in long-term survival was detected between second primary and recurrent tumors; survival was not adversely affected by a resection interval of less than 2 years or less than 12 months. Conclusions : Completion pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer is a safe surgical procedure in experienced hands; long-term survival is acceptable and the best results are obtained for stage I lung cancer. Distinction between second primary lung cancer and recurrence failed to demonstrate a prognostic value. q 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Modeling of a Thermosiphon to Recharge Phase Change Material Based Thermal Battery for a Portable Air Conditioning Device

Closed loop two phase thermosiphons have a broad range of applications due to their simplicity, reliability, low cost and the ability to dissipate high heat fluxes from minimal temperature differences. The present study focuses on one thermosiphon operation which solidifies a phase change material (PCM) based thermal battery for a portable air conditioner called Roving Comforter (RoCo). RoCo uses vapor compression cycle (VCC) to deliver cooling and stores the heat released from the condenser into a compact phase change material (PCM) based thermal battery. Before its next cooling operation, the PCM needs to be re-solidified. This is achieved by the thermosiphon, which operates within the same refrigerant circuitry with the help of a pair of valves. The molten PCM which acts as heat source affects the dynamics of the thermosiphon which in turn affects the solidification process. Thus the dynamics of both the PCM and thermosiphon are coupled. For accurate transient modeling of this process, the PCM model considers the solidification over a temperature range, variable effects of conduction and natural convection during the phase change and variable amounts of heat release at different temperatures within the temperature range of phase change. The paper discusses component modeling for this transient operation of thermosiphon and its validation with experimental data.
Anatomical study of four species of Heliotropium L. (Boraginaceae) from Saudi Arabia

The leaf anatomy and distribution of types of foliar trichome of four Heliotropium L. species have been investigated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the systematicrelevance of their diversity compared to the recent findings of systematic relationshipswithin the genus. The results of leaf anatomy patterns, especially venation, vascularsystem, various types of foliar trichome and localization of crystals are surprisingly of high systematic value and proof. Key words: Heliotropium L. , leaf anatomy, Kranze-cells, C3 and C4 plants, venation, stomata, trichomes, crystals.
Effect of supplementing feed with oregano and-or alpha-tocopherol acetate on growth of broiler chickens and oxidative stability of meat

An experiment was carried out to examine the effect of supplementing feed with oregano and/or α-tocopheryl acetate on growth performance of broiler chickens and the oxidative stability of breast and thigh meat. A total of 6300 one-day old Cobb-500 chickens were randomly allocated into 7 equal groups with three subgroups of 150 males and 150 females each. One of the groups was given a basal diet containing 30 mg α-tocopheryl acetate/kg feed (negative control group), whereas the other six groups were administered the basal diet supplemented further with dehydrated oregano plants at 5 g/kg (OR5 group) and 10 g/kg (OR10 group), dehydrated oregano plants at 5 or 10 g/kg plus 170 mg/kg α-tocopheryl acetate (OR5-TOC and OR10-TOC group, respectively), α-tocopheryl acetate at 170 mg/kg (TOC group), and flavomycin at 4 mg/kg plus lasalocid at 75 mg/kg (FLA-LAS positive control group). After 42 days of feeding, values of body weight, daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio showed that oregano given as single supplement at the level of 5 g/kg or in combination with α-tocopheryl acetate could serve as an alternative to the approved feed additives flavomycin and lasalocid, exerting a growth-promoting effect. Feed supplementation with oregano decreased malondialdehyde values in meat samples compared with the control, the supplementation level of 5 g/kg being more effective in retarding lipid oxidation compared with 10 g/kg. The antioxidant activity offered by oregano was, however, inferior to that exhibited by α-tocopheryl acetate supplementation, while the antioxidant activity presented by the combination of 5 g/kg oregano and α-tocopheryl acetate was higher than that presented by α-tocopheryl acetate when supplemented alone or in combination with 10 g/kg oregano. Thigh meat samples were found to be more susceptible to oxidation compared with breast meat, although the latter contained α-tocopherol at markedly lower levels.
Return spillovers between White Metals ETFs: The Roleof Oil, Gold, and Global Equity

This paper investigates the relationship between white precious metals and gold, oil and global equity by means of spillovers and volatility transmission. Relying on the recently introduced ETFs, this study is the first to analyse return spillovers derived from an E-GARCH model and to take into account frequency dynamics to understand changes in connectedness across periods of time. Results uncover numerous channels of return transmission across the selected ETF markets over the last 10 years and highlight the role of gold ETFs as the most influential market in the sample. Furthermore, our work provides insights into the characteristics of white precious metal markets using a hidden semi-Markov model. Finally, we argue that even though silver and platinum have gained more importance as investment assets over the last few years, palladium still very much remains an industrial metal.
Pool boiling heat transfer on artificial micro-cavity surfaces in dielectric fluid FC-72

The boiling performance and flow mechanism on artificial micro-cavity surfaces with different geometric parameters are presented in the present study. The test surfaces are manufactured on a 625 µm thick, 10 mm × 10 mm square silicon plate. The treated cavities are all cylinders with three diameters (200, 100 and 50 µm) and two depths (200 and 110 µm). The densities of the cavities were designed to be 33 × 33, 25 × 25 and 16 × 16 arrays with 100, 200 and 400 µm spacings, respectively. The characteristics of heat transfer for pool boiling of FC-72 on artificial micro-cavity surfaces were also examined. In this paper, visualization of the flow patterns was conducted to investigate the characteristics of the bubbles in the growth and departure process. The results indicated that boiling incipience and temperature excursion of silicon-based surfaces are more significant than those of metal-based surfaces reported in the literature. The effects of cavity density are stronger in the high heat flux region than in the low heat flux region because of the bubble/vapor coalescence near the heating surface. The heat transfer coefficient increases with heat flux and cavity density but a denser cavity will suppress the value of critical heat flux (CHF). Besides, in moderate and high heat flux regions, a larger cavity diameter surface shows earlier decay and a lower peak value of the heat transfer coefficient. The maximum value of CHF on the base area was 3 × 105 W m−2 (30 W m−2) for the test surface with a 33 × 33 cavity array, which is almost 2.5 times that of the plain silicon surface.
Assessment of landfill wastewater pollutants and efficiency of different treatment methods

In Estonian landfills, in addition to waste sorting and depositing, most biodegradable waste is composted. Stormwater and snowmelt samples collected from compost fields have shown a high content of pollutants. Furthermore, the flow rate of landfill wastewater can vary greatly. This has a significant influence on the options for and efficiency of treatment methods. Different technologies for landfill wastewater treatment were tested, and the operation of several treatment plants was observed from 2007 to 2014. On the basis of the present research, the wastewater treatment system at Väätsa was redesigned and reconstructed. The treatment system consists of a landfill wastewater collection system, an equalizing tank, physical/chemical (i.e. reverse osmosis) treatment after biological activated sludge treatment and oxidation in pond, and stabilization of the pumping and distribution systems for concentrate discharge from reverse osmosis back to the landfill. Since April 2012, the parameters in the effluent from the treatment plant have been in compliance with the permitted limit values. The composting of biodegradable waste needs to cease for an efficient and stabilized treatment of landfill wastewater. Methane fermentation is considered to be the most effective method for biodegradable waste treatment, and it generates biogas as a by-product. The rearrangement of composting and depositing of biodegradable waste in combination with anaerobic fermentation would facilitate the production of up to 23.1 million m of biomethane per year, which is equal to about 226 MWh heat and electric energy. The digestate that is produced during methane fermentation contains a significant amount of plant nutrients, which could be used for fertilizing certain cultivated areas.
The Relationship between Religious Attitudes and Marital Satisfaction among married personnel of departments of education in Rasht City, Iran

Marital satisfaction is the objective feeling of satisfaction and pleasure from spouse, considering all aspects of marriage. Religious attitude is known as one of the factors that can be associated with marital satisfaction because the religion is guidelines for life and a system of beliefs and values, which can affect marriage. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between religious attitudes and marital satisfaction. This research is an analytic-descriptive correlation study. The study samples were 150 married personnel of departments of education in 2012 in Rasht city, and in order to investigate the validity of the study, all individuals were tested. Finally, 139 patients (74 female, 64 male) completed their questionnaires thoroughly, which were analyzed. In order to collect data, Religious Attitude Questionnaire with 96 % reliability coefficient and Enrich Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire with 70 % reliability were used. The results showed that there is a significant positive relationship between marital satisfaction and religious attitudes and the results of linear regression analysis, using Enter method, Indicated that religious attitudes explains 10% of the variance in marital satisfaction. Other findings showed that there is not a significant difference between gender and marital satisfaction, and religious attitudes.
Consumption of organic strawberries in Italy: demand analysis

Major changes have occurred in the agri-food sector in recent years, generating new and complex concepts of food quality. One of the most significant indicators of these changes is market restructuring, in terms of rapid concentration among retailers, the dominance of chain stores and their imposition of cost and quality constraints. To analyze this new aspect in the food sector, we carried out a survey on organic strawberry consumption. Interestingly, although the conventional strawberry may be considered unsafe, due to the widespread use of chemical inputs in the production process, the demand for organic strawberries remains fairly low. We attempted to investigate such concerns through a questionnaire-based survey. The data were analyzed using a Logit model to derive a demand estimate for organic strawberries. Our initial results indicate the presence of a major role played by large retailers and consumer lifestyles to drive the final demand.
Tail Behavior and Dependence Structure in the APARCH Model

Abstract The APARCH model attempts to capture asymmetric responses of volatility to positive and negative ‘news shocks’ – the phenomenon known as the leverage effect. Despite its potential, the model’s properties have not yet been fully investigated. While the capacity to account for the leverage is clear from the defining structure, little is known how the effect is quantified in terms of the model’s parameters. The same applies to the quantification of heavy-tailedness and dependence. To fill this void, we study the model in further detail. We study conditions of its existence in different metrics and obtain explicit characteristics: skewness, kurtosis, correlations and leverage. Utilizing these results, we analyze the roles of the parameters and discuss statistical inference. We also propose an extension of the model. Through theoretical results we demonstrate that the model can produce heavy-tailed data. We illustrate these properties using S&P500 data and country indices for dominant European economies.
On the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Vocabulary Learning among Iranian Pre-university EFL Learners

This study aimed at examining the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and learning English language vocabulary. The male (N= 119) and female (N= 98) participants who were randomly selected from high schools in Zanjan Province were asked to complete a Persian version of an emotional intelligence (EI) questionnaire and answer a vocabulary achievement test. The EI questionnaire consisted of 90 items that examined fifteen components of EI. The vocabulary test battery contained 40 items in various test formats that was developed on the basis of an official high school textbook. The results of the study showed a low and negative correlation between the students’ emotional intelligence and vocabulary knowledge. This finding, which is not consistent with earli r studies, implies that the contribution of EI to vocabulary learning is controversial. The results also showed that male and female students are significantly different from each other in performing on some components of EI. This indicates that the emotional capacity of male and female students has been developed differently. Moreover, these emotional capacities can be employed in a different way in the processes of language learning in general and vocabulary learning in particular.