Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The soil N cycle: new insights and key challenges

Abstract. The study of soil N cycling processes has been, is, and will be at the centre of attention in soil science research. The importance of N as a nutrient for all biota; the ever-increasing rates of its anthropogenic input in terrestrial (agro)ecosystems; its resultant losses to the environment; and the complexity of the biological, physical, and chemical factors that regulate N cycling processes all contribute to the necessity of further understanding, measuring, and altering the soil N cycle. Here, we review important insights with respect to the soil N cycle that have been made over the last decade, and present a personal view on the key challenges of future research. We identify three key challenges with respect to basic N cycling processes producing gaseous emissions: 1. quantifying the importance of nitrifier denitrification and its main controlling factors; 2. characterizing the greenhouse gas mitigation potential and microbiological basis for N2O consumption; 3. characterizing hotspots and hot moments of denitrification Furthermore, we identified a key challenge with respect to modelling: 1. disentangling gross N transformation rates using advanced 15N / 18O tracing models Finally, we propose four key challenges related to how ecological interactions control N cycling processes: 1. linking functional diversity of soil fauna to N cycling processes beyond mineralization; 2. determining the functional relationship between root traits and soil N cycling; 3. characterizing the control that different types of mycorrhizal symbioses exert on N cycling; 4. quantifying the contribution of non-symbiotic pathways to total N fixation fluxes in natural systems We postulate that addressing these challenges will constitute a comprehensive research agenda with respect to the N cycle for the next decade. Such an agenda would help us to meet future challenges on food and energy security, biodiversity conservation, water and air quality, and climate stability.
An algorithm for Mean Curvature Motion

We propose in this paper a new algorithm for computing the evolution by mean curvature of a hypersurface. Our algorithm is a variant of the variational approach of Almgren, Taylor and Wang~\cite{ATW}. We show that it approximates, as the time--step goes to zero, the generalized motion(in the sense of barriers or viscosity solutions). The results still hold for the Anisotropic Mean Curvature Motion, as long as the anisotropy is smooth.
Reionization and feedback in overdense regions at high redshift

Observations of galaxy luminosity function at high redshifts typically focus on fields of view of limited sizes preferentially containing bright sources. These regions possibly are overdense and hence biased with respect to the globally averaged regions. Using a semi-analytic model based on Choudhury & Ferrara (2006) which is calibrated to match a wide range of observations, we study the reionization and thermal history of the Universe in overdense regions. The main results of our calculation are as follows. (i) Reionization and thermal histories in the biased regions are markedly different from the average ones because of enhanced number of sources and higher radiative feedback. (ii) The galaxy luminosity function for biased regions is markedly different from those corresponding to average ones. In particular, the effect of radiative feedback arising from cosmic reionization is visible at much brighter luminosities. (iii) Because of the enhanced radiative feedback within overdense locations, the luminosity function in such regions is more sensitive to reionization history than in average regions. The effect of feedback is visible for absolute AB magnitude MAB≳−17 at z= 8, almost within the reach of present-day observations and surely to be probed by the James Webb Space Telescope. This could possibly serve as an additional probe of radiative feedback and hence reionization at high redshifts.
Public Consumption Over the Business Cycle

What fraction of the business cycle volatility of government purchases is accounted for as endogenous reactions to overall macroeconomic conditions? We answer this question in the framework of a neoclassical representative household model where the provision of a public consumption good is decided upon endogenously and in a time-consistent fashion. A simple frictionless version of such a model with aggregate productivity as the sole driving force can explain almost all the volatility of U.S. non-defense government consumption expenditures. However, such a model fails to match other important features of the business cycle dynamics of public consumption, which comes out as not persistent enough and too synchronized with the cycle. We add implementation lags and implementation costs in the budgeting process to the model, plus taste shocks for public consumption relative to private consumption, and achieve a substantially better match to the data. All these ingredients are essential to improve the fit. Depending on the precise specification of the flow utility function over private consumption, public consumption and leisure, 25-40 percent of the variance of public consumption is driven by aggregate productivity shocks.
Dermal Toxicity of a Repellent Formulation Containing Piper Aduncum Linnaeus (Piperales: Piperaceae) Essential Oil

It has been shown in previous research that Piper aduncum Linnaeus essential oil has the potential to be developed as an alternative mosquito repellent. When the essential oil was formulated into cream, it was able to provide >2h of protection against Aedes aegypti in the laboratory; thus, it can be commercialized as an alternative to synthetic repellent especially N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET). In this study, the irritation and sensitization potential of a cream formulation containing P. aduncum essential oil was investigated to verify its safety for application purposes. The P. aduncum essential oil was formulated into a cream containing 10% of the essential oil for irritation and skin sensitization assays on New Zealand white rabbits and guinea pigs (Hartley strain), respectively, following the ISO10993-10:2010 (E) guidelines. The macroscopic and histological observations from both assays revealed that the cream formulation containing P. aduncum essential oil caused slight irritation on rabbit skin, with a Primary Irritation Index (PII) of 1.54; however, no positive response was detected in the skin sensitization assay. In conclusion, the cream formulation containing 10% P. aduncum essential oil was slightly irritating to rabbit skin but did not cause sensitization in the animals tested.
Low SES and High Mathematics Achievement: A Two-Level Analysis of the Paradox in Six Asian Education Systems

Although the impact of family socioeconomic status (SES) on student academic achievement has received much attention in the western literature, studies focusing on the Asian education systems were limited. Guided by Bourdieu’s capital theory and the success frame notion proposed by Lee and Zhou, this study examined whether a paradoxical relationship between family SES and the mathematics achievement of students exists across six Asian education systems. Results from a two-level hierarchical linear modeling of PISA 2012 data revealed a positive and significant linear association between family SES and student mathematics achievement in all six Asian education systems as well as a negative and significant quadratic relationship in two of the six education systems. The study provides important understanding about the role of family SES in shaping the academic performances of students in these Asian education systems, especially those from the most socioeconomically privileged families.
Growth and yield response of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to inoculation with rhizobacteria

The growth and yield response of spring wheat to inoculation with foreign and local rhizobacteria of Erzurum (Turkey) origin was studied. At the first stage of the research, a greenhouse experiment was carried out with wheat cv. Kirik using 75 local bacterial strains isolated from the soil with 6 foreign bacteria, and a control. According to results of the greenhouse experiment 9 local strains were identified. At the second stage, the response of wheat cv. Kirik to 20 treatments (9 local strains, 6 foreign bacteria, 4 levels of N, and a control) was investigated in Erzurum field conditions. Seventeen strains had significant positive effects on tiller number per plant, 47 strains on plant height, one strain on dry matter yield, and 28 strains on plant protein content in the greenhouse experiment. Inoculation with certain rhizobacteria clearly benefited growth and increased the grain and N-yield of field grown wheat. The effects of local strains were observed to be in general superior to those of foreign strains. Inoculation with the local Strain No. 19, 73, and 82 increased total biomass by 18.7, 18.1, and 19.9%; grain yield by 18.6, 17.7, and 18.0%; total N-yield by 27.5, 24.3 and 26.0%, respectively, as compared to control. In conclusion, Strain No. 19, 73, and 82 can be a suitable biofertilizer for spring wheat cultivation in areas with similar conditions as in Erzurum. Inoculation with these strains may lead both to increases in wheat yield and savings of nitrogen fertilizer.
Multiple rapid polarity swings during the Matuyama-Brunhes transition from two high-resolution loess-paleosol records

[1] Two high-resolution magnetic records of the Matuyama-Brunhes (M-B) transition have been obtained from Xifeng and Baoji loess-paleosol sequences in the Chinese Loess Plateau. The results of stepwise thermal and alternating field (AF) demagnetizations confirm that both treatments are effective in isolating characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) from specimens of loess-paleosol sediments which suffer from weak pedogenesis, and that AF demagnetization clearly fails to isolate ChRM from specimens of paleosol sediments which have undergone strong pedogenesis. On the basis of virtual geomagnetic pole latitudes crossing the virtual geomagnetic equator, the M-B transition involves at least 15 rapid polarity swings. Rock magnetic experiments and anisotropy of low-field magnetic susceptibility show that high-frequency polarity swings during the M-B transition cannot be attributed to rock-magnetic and/or sedimentary causes. Extrapolating a constant accumulation rate between the Jaramillo-Matuyama and M-B boundary ages, the M-B transition interval of both the Xifeng and Baoji sections is estimated to have a duration of more than 10 kyr. Durations of each short polarity interval are estimated to range from about 0.3 to 5.6 kyr. Our new results, combined with previous paleomagnetic observations from lavas and marine sediments, suggest that multiple rapid polarity swings occurred during the M-B transition.
Case of Latvia in the Evaluation of Adult Education: Issues and Solutions

In the context of research the evaluation of adult education is analyzed as a process and outcome, emphasizing the evaluation of performance; goals are related to the assurance of quality and sustainability according to learners' needs; competence indicators are methodology, motivation, communication and management; evaluation involves self-evaluation, external evaluation and consolidation. The goal of the article is to analyze the experience of adult educators in the field of evaluation. Methods - analysis of literature and interviews with Latvia’s education policy makers and implementers in AQUAD environment. The authors of the article offer the model for evaluation of adult educators’ competence and analyze the real situation of adult education evaluation in Latvia.
Emotion work and emotional exhaustion in teachers: the job and individual perspective

Teaching requires much emotion work which takes its toll on teachers. Emotion work is usually studied from one of two perspectives, a job or an individual perspective. In this study, we assessed the relative importance of these two perspectives in predicting emotional exhaustion. More than 200 teachers completed a questionnaire comprising the DISQ (Demand‐Induced Strain Compensation Questionnaire), the Dutch Questionnaire on Emotional Labour (D‐QEL), and the UBOS (Utrechtse Burnout Schaal [Utrecht Burnout Scale]). In line with previous studies, our findings indicated that emotional exhaustion is positively associated with emotional job demands and surface acting. The relative importance of the two operationalisations of emotion work was assessed by comparing the results of two regression analyses. Whereas the model with job demands explained 18% of the variance, the model with emotional labour explained only 5%. In understanding what might contribute to emotional exhaustion in teachers, the emotional job demands might be much more important than the self‐regulation perspective that is measured with emotional labour.
Pyramiding of four blast resistance QTLs into Thai rice cultivar RD6 through marker-assisted selection

Suwannual T. , Chankaew S. , Monkham T. , Saksirirat W. , Sanitchon J. (2017): Pyramiding of four blast resistance QTLs into Thai rice cultivar RD6 through marker-assisted selection. Czech J. Genet. Plant Breed. , 53: 1–8. Thai rice cultivar RD6 is well known for its cooking and eating qualities. However it is susceptible to blast disease, a major rice disease caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. This study focused on the pyramiding of four QTLs for blast resistance located on chromosomes 1, 2, 11 and 12, from two RD6 introgression lines. Marker-assisted selection was performed and facilitated the selection with 8 microsatellite flanking markers to enable the selection in BC2F2:3 lines. All possible combinations of the four QTL alleles were assessed for blast resistance by artificial inoculation using 8 diverse isolates in a greenhouse and under field conditions using the upland short row method. The results showed that the RD6 introgression lines carrying a high number of QTLs for blast resitance achieved from pyramiding have high levels of blast resistance and broad spectrum of resistance to the blast pathogens prevalent in the region. Only one of the M. oryzae isolates, THL185, was virulent to all the breeding lines, suggesting that the identification of new blast resistance genes or QTLs and pyramiding them into RD6 for durable blast resistance and no yield penalty should be the focus of further research.
Contributions of Wind Forcing and Surface Heating to Interannual Sea Level Variations in the Atlantic Ocean

Interannual sea surface height variations in the Atlantic Ocean are examined from 10 years of highprecision altimeter data in light of simple mechanisms that describe the ocean response to atmospheric forcing: 1) local steric changes due to surface buoyancy forcing and a local response to wind stress via Ekman pumping and 2) baroclinic and barotropic oceanic adjustment via propagating Rossby waves and quasi-steady Sverdrup balance, respectively. The relevance of these simple mechanisms in explaining interannual sea level variability in the whole Atlantic Ocean is investigated. It is shown that, in various regions, a large part of the interannual sea level variability is related to local response to heat flux changes (more than 50% in the eastern North Atlantic). Except in a few places, a local response to wind stress forcing is less successful in explaining sea surface height observations. In this case, it is necessary to consider large-scale oceanic adjustments: the first baroclinic mode forced by wind stress explains about 70% of interannual sea level variations in the latitude band 18°–20°N. A quasi-steady barotropic Sverdrup response is observed between 40° and 50°N.
Interstellar Scintillation Explains the Intraday Variations in the Linear Polarisation of Quasar PKS 0405-385 at cm-wavelengths

Abstract During its burst of intraday variation (IDV) in June 1996 quasar PKS 0405–385 exhibited rapid changes in the Stokes parameters Q and U that were even faster than the 1 hr timescale changes in I. Auto- and cross-correlation analyses of I,Q, and U at 8.6 GHz show systematic relations between the variations in I,Q, and U. These are well modelled by interstellar scintillation (ISS) of a 14 × 20 μ as source, with about 180 degree rotation of the polarisation angle along its long dimension. This success in explaining the remarkable IDV in polarisation confirms that ISS gives rise to the IDV in this quasar.
Assessment of farmer preferences for cattle traits in smallholder cattle production systems of Kenya and Ethiopia

The urgent need to improve livestock productivity in sub–Saharan Africa in order to keep pace with expected increases in demand for meat and milk is very topical. Breed improvement provides key entry points for increasing productivity in cattle populations. However, there are tendencies for genetic improvement programs to focus on single, market driven traits such as milk or meat production in isolation of environmental constraints and broader livestock system functions which cattle perform in developing countries. This potentially leads to genotypes that are not well adapted to the environment and not capable of performing the multiple roles that cattle assume in smallholder systems. In developing countries, many important functions of livestock are embedded in non-tradeable traits that are neither captured in economic analysis nor considered in livestock improvement programs. This study employs Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) ranking techniques and conjoint analysis to evaluate preferences of cattle keepers in pastoral and agro-pastoral systems of selected sites in Kenya and Ethiopia for various cattle traits. These systems are characterized by low input management and prevalence of various cattle diseases. Trypanosomosis is a serious disease constraint in Ghibe valley of Ethiopia and some of the pastoral areas in Kenya. The results indicate that farmer preferences for cattle traits are influenced by various factors including production system characteristics, infrastructural constraints and environmental conditions, especially in relation to disease prevalence and availability of cattle feeds. In the crop-livestock systems of Ghibe valley in Ethiopia, preferred cattle traits include trypanotolerance, reproductive potential and fitness to traction. Milk production is a less important trait. On the other hand, in the pastoral and agropastoral systems of Kenya, important traits include trypanotolerance, reproductive potential, coat colour and watering needs.
MANUFACTURING AND NONMANUFACTURING EMPLOYMENT , EXCHANGE RATE AND OIL PRICE : A U . S . STATE-LEVEL TIME SERIES ANALYSIS

This paper investigates the time series properties of U.S. state-level manufacturing and non-manufacturing employment and two economy-wide variables: real effective exchange rate and real oil price. Examining the 1990 to 2005 period, cointegration tests and error-correction models reveal a long run relationship between manufacturing employment and the exchange rate in eleven states, while no evidence of this relationship between non-manufacturing employment and the exchange rate was detected. Additionally, in the vast majority of states, both manufacturing and non-manufacturing employment appear to have a long-run equilibrium relationship with the real price of oil.
How Distance, Language, and Culture Influence Stockholdings and Trades

This paper documents that investors are more likely to hold, buy, and sell the stocks of Finnish firms that are located close to the investor, that communicate in the investor’s native tongue, and that have chief executives of the same cultural background. The inf luence of distance, language, and culture is less prominent among the most investment-savvy institutions than among both households and less savvy institutions. Regression analysis indicates that the marginal effect of distance is less for firms that are more nationally known, for distances that exceed 100 kilometers, and for investors with more diversified portfolios.
Politics and image in the organizational landscape

This paper reports on two separate studies (S1, n = 169; S2, n = 224) that were designed to examine the relationship between organizational image, perceptions of workplace politics, and an additional set of job related variables (i.e. job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job autonomy). The paper suggests that perceptions of politics have never been examined in relation to organizational image, despite the fact that both concepts are closely related to more general ideas of climate and atmosphere in and around the workplace. For this purpose, a structural equation modeling with LISREL 8.30 was used to compare three alternative models in each of the studies. Findings reveal that the first model, where perceptions of politics function as antecedents of satisfaction and commitment that have an impact on organizational image, fitted the data best. The article concludes that perceptions of politics may have an important initial impact on the formation of organizational image via other job attitudes. Relevant implications for future studies in this area are discussed.
Large Eddy Simulation of Flow Past a Stationary and Controlled Oscillating Circular Cylinder at Re=5500

Vortex shedding from a stationary cylinder and transversely oscillating circular cylinder in a uniform flow at a Reynolds number of 5500 is numerically studied by three-dimensional Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The filtered equations are discretised using the finite volume method with an O-type structured grid and a second-order accurate method in both time and space. Firstly, the main wake parameters of a stationary cylinder are examined and compared for different grid resolutions. Secondly, a transversely oscillating cylinder with a constant amplitude in a uniform flow is investigated. The cylinder oscillation frequency ranges between 0.75 and 0.95 of the natural Karman frequency, and the excitation amplitude is 50% of the cylinder diameter. Comparisons with the available experimental data indicate that the present study has properly predicted the flow statistics of the cylinder wake for both the fixed and oscillating cylinder case, and numerically captured the vortex switching phenomenon, which is characterized by changes in forces and wake mode of shedding observed in the previous experiments at high values of Reynolds number.
ESTIMATING THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE AND TEMPORAL ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF WOOD MICE (Apodemus sylvaticus) BY REMOTE PHOTOGRAPHY IN MEDITERRANEAN POST-FIRE HABITATS

We investigated whether remote photography can be considered a valid method to assess the abundance and the temporal activity patterns of the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) in two Mediterranean post-fire habitats. We compared the results with those obtained by Sherman live-trapping, a conventional procedure to obtain information on the composition of small mammal communities. We observed a highly significant increase of abundance of wood mice in shrublands (early post-fire stage) in front of pinewoods (unburned during the last 50 years) with both capture methods (G = 104.83; p < 0.0001; d.f. = 1). 81 out of 95 photographic contacts of wood mouse were recorded in shrublands (85.3%) and the remainder 14 contacts in pinewoods (14.7%), and 78 out of 90 captures with Sherman traps were obtained in shrublands (86.7%), and the remainder 12 in pinewoods (13.3%). Remote photography showed the same proportions of captures than live-trapping in the two habitats studied (G = 0.07; p = 0.79; d.f. = 1). Temporal activity patterns of wood mice were biphasic during winter in shrublands, with lower values of activity near sunset and sunrise, and maximum four hours after sunset anf five hours before sunrise. We conclude that remote photography, despite pseudoreplication (impossibility to diferentiate individuals in the photographs), can be considered a valid method to estimate wood mice abundance and activity patterns in the post-fire habitats studied.