Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative phylogeography of six herpetofauna species in Cyprus: late Miocene to Pleistocene colonization routes

The colonization patterns of oceanic islands are often interpreted through transmarine dispersal. However, in islands with intense human activities and unclear geological history, this inference may be inappropriate. Cyprus is such an island, whose geotectonic evolution has not been clarified yet to the desired level for biogeographical reconstructions, leaving the questions of ‘how the Cypriote biota arrived’ and ‘does the dispersal have the formative role in patterns of its diversification’ unanswered. Here, we address these issues through a reconstruction of the evolutionary history of six herptiles (Ablepharus budaki, Ophisops elegans, Acanthodactylus schreiberi, Telescopus fallax, Pelophylax cf. bedriagae, and Hyla savignyi) by means of mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome b and 16S rRNA), applying a Bayesian phylogenetic, biogeographical, and chronophylogenetic analyses. The phylogeographical analyses show that the colonization history of those species in Cyprus started in the late Miocene and extended into the Pliocene and Pleistocene, with geodispersal, transmarine dispersal, and human-mediated dispersal having their share in shaping the diversification of Cypriote herptiles. The revealed patterns could be divided into three biogeographical categories: old colonizers that arrived in Cyprus during the late Miocene or early Pliocene either by a land bridge (geodispersal) which connected Cyprus with the mainland or by transmarine dispersal, younger colonizers that reached the island through transmarine dispersal from the Middle East, and new settlers that arrived through human-induced (voluntary or not) introductions. This work advances our knowledge of the biogeography of Cyprus and highlights the need to consider both geo- and transmarine dispersal when dealing with islands whose associations do not have a straightforward interpretation. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London
Effect of Gestational Diabetes on Circulating Levels of Maternal and Neonatal Carnitine

Objectives: Free carnitine is reported to decrease in normal pregnancies whereas data on the effect of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on maternal and offspring carnitine status are lacking. This study aimed to assess changes in carnitine status in mothers with GDM and the offspring. Subjects/methods: Prospective case-control study of 54 pairs of mothers - neonates (27 with GDM and 27 with normal pregnancies) and 26 non-pregnant controls. Serum glucose, lipids, and total fatty acids, blood β-hydroxybutyric acid, and whole blood carnitine were assessed in mothers before labor and neonates at birth. Carnitine was assessed in dried blood-spots on Guthrie paper using Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Results: Compared to the controls, both groups of mothers had lower free carnitine and acylcarnitine and higher triglyceride and fatty acid levels. Compared to their respective maternal group, both groups of neonates had significantly higher free carnitine and acylcarnitine and lower triglyceride and fatty acid levels. Free carnitine and acylcarnitine, were comparable between the two maternal groups, whereas they were significantly higher in neonates of GDM mothers versus healthy neonates. Conclusions: Well controlled GDM does not exacerbate changes in free carnitine, acylcarnitine, and fatty acid levels in pregnant women, albeit it is associated with increased carnitine in the newborn indicating enhanced fatty acid oxidation. The potential association of carnitine changes with macrosomia and long-term consequences in the offspring of GDM needs further investigation.
Optimal promotional strategy for intra-category cross-selling: An application to culinary products in Taiwan

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate an optimal promotional strategy of intra-category cross-selling on culinary products for the fiercely competitive, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. Design/methodology/approach – A linear regression model and a Markov switching autoregressive model is used, that incorporates a retailing demand process to capture a nonlinear structure among promotional budget allocation, and evaluate promotional performance, and optimal promotional frequency within a given time span. Three product categories are applied with 39 months of time-series data from a multinational packaged food company in Taiwan. Findings – The result shows that most previous decisions on promotional budget allocation are non-optimal – most promotional investments were either extended too long or allocated too low in stimulating sales. Research limitations/implications – This study suggests implications for the brand or category manager in removing such non-optimal promotional policies.
CFD modelling of natural convection in air cavities

This paper discusses the modelling of natural convection in air cavities using four eddy viscosity turbulence models. Two 2D closed cavities with deferentially heated walls opposite each other and one 3D open ended tall cavity with one side is heated and adiabatic for all the others were investigated. The CFD simulation results for the two 2D cases were compared with their corresponding experimental measurements and it was found that the k-omega turbulence model offered the best solution among the turbulence models tested. Close agreement was also achieved between the k-omega model and the experiments in the prediction of temperature and velocity fields for the 3D case with Monte Carlo radiation model. The work has demonstrated the ability of the eddy viscosity turbulence models for modelling natural convection and radiation in different types of cavities.
Cinnamomum zeylanicum extract inhibits proinflammatory cytokine TNF∝ ∝ ∝ ∝: in vitro and in vivo studies

Cinnamomum zeylanicum, a commonly used spice and well-known medicinal plant has been reported to have anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant and anti-microbial properties. We have investigated its anti- inflammatory activity using ethanol extract obtained from bark. In vitro and in vivo experiments were performed targeting TNF-� using flow cytometry. Ethanol extract of C. zeylanicum showed suppression of intracellular release of TNF-� in murine neutrophils as well as leukocytes in pleural fluid. The extract was found to inhibit TNF-� gene expression in LPS-stimulated human PBMCs at 20 µg/ml concentration. A potent anti-inflammatory activity of cinnamon extract is suggestive of its anti-arthritic activity, which could be confirmed in various models of arthritis.
Patterns of Haemosiderin Deposits in Knee Joint Diseases : The Perl ’ s Prusian Blue Reaction Method

Many investigators have researched diseased joints for factors responsible for articular bone damage, and probed the inflammatory process and degenerative changes that arise [1-3]. Trauma and the resultant haemorrhage into the joint space produce iron deposits, which histologically is secreted by the synovial membrane cells and cytologically is found in the synovial fluid as in the A cells and inflammatory cells. Other conditions in which iron deposits are found include rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [2], osteoarthritis (OA) [3], haemochromatosis [4], haemosiderosis [5], cancer [6], synovitis [7], beta thalassaemia [4], and cyst have had unpredictable degree of knee joint reactions. These also, have been associated with bone deformation, anaemia and other systemic disorders, indicating that iron deposits were found in the synovium or the fluid [8,9]. 78 G.I. N. Ndubuka and W.I. B. Onuigbo
Organization-based self-esteem scale – adaptation in an international context

We report on a study in which the English-language original of a scale on the measurement of organization-based self-esteem was adapted in five further languages (German, Polish, Hungarian, Spanish, Malay) and validated. The employees of an international company were surveyed in seven countries (USA, Canada, Germany, Poland, Spain, Hungary and Malaysia). For purposes of validation, the job satisfaction, the selfrated job performance and the support of the employees in implementing the company values (commitment) were used. The results show that the adaptation proceeded successfully. In all cases, a reliable scale emerges, which correlates positively with the validity criteria.
Which Semantic Synchrony

Commonly, the relation between gesture and speech is analyzed in terms of semantic synchrony (i.e. whether it is complementing or reinforcing the verbal message). However, these categories reflect a mature semantic system that bears limitation when applied to child language studies. In this paper, thus, we present data from mother-child conversations during joint picture book reading. We present analyses of different forms of speech-gesture-synchrony and show how their results are related to the vocabulary development of the children. We critically discuss the different forms of semantic synchrony and their appropriateness for child language studies.
Solvation enthalpies of the proton and electron in polar and non-polar solvents

The importance of the proton and electron transfer processes in solution is well-known. Nonetheless, there is still no systematic theoretical study on the proton and electron solvation enthalpies. We investigated the solvation enthalpies of the proton and electron in different solvents of various polarities (water, DMSO, acetonitrile, methanol, ethanol, acetone, aniline, benzene, and penthylethanoate) using the SMD solvation model. All calculations were performed at the B3LYP-D2 and M052-X levels of theory with 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. On the basis of our calculations, it was found that the B3LYP-D2 and M05-2X functionals provide similar solvation enthalpies for the proton. Also, the results obtained for the proton solvation enthalpies are in good agreement with the published results. On the other hand, the electron solvation enthalpies calculated by means of B3LYP-D2, and especially using M05-2X, are significantly different from the reported results.
Motif Discovery Comparison using Multivariate Rhythm Sequence Technique and Dynamic Time Warping ( DTW ) in Time Series Data

Motif extraction is the process of looking for recurring patterns in time series sequences. Dynamic time warping is an algorithm that finds the distance between pairs of sequences and can be used to find clusters in a set of sequences. In this paper, we review the Multivariate Rhythm Sequence Technique of motif discovery and discussed ultrafast subsequence method Dynamic Time Warping(DTW) to identify the subsequence in the discovered motif. Dynamic Time Warping distance is applied both in ECG and Video data and comparative results of two different sequencesaredepicted. We demonstrated our method with the most extensive set of multidimensional time series data and experiments are shown.
Substituting Bakery Waste for Barley Grains in Fattening Diets for Awassi Lambs

Bakery waste (BW) is much cheaper than barley (20 to 40% the price of barley). Bakery waste and barley grain have similar chemical composition; they contain 99 and 97% organic matter (OM), 1.1 and 1.8% fat, 18 and 15% neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and 14.0 and 14.5% crude protein (CP), respectively (DM basis). The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of substituting BW for barley grain in high concentrate fattening diets for lambs on nutrient intake, growth and carcass characteristics. Forty Awassi lambs (21.751 kg) weaned at the age of 65 days were assigned randomly to four experimental fattening diets differing in BW ratio in a completely randomized design. The control diet (CON) contained 20, 60, 11, 7, and 2% (DM basis) wheat straw, barley grain, soybean meal, corn grain, and minerals and vitamin mix, respectively. Bakery waste substituted barley grain by 10, 20 and 30% of the diet DM in the LBW, MBW and HBW diets, respectively. The experiment lasted for 56 days. Dry matter intake (DMI) decreased (p
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Semantic theories of questions

Summary This survey article discusses two basic issues that semantic theories of questions face. The ﬁrst is how to conceptualise and formally represent the semantic content of questions. This issue arises in particular because the standard truth-conditional notion of meaning, which has been fruitful in the analysis of declarative statements, is not applicable to questions. The second issue is how questions, when embedded in a declarative statement (e.g., in Bill wonders who called ) contribute to the truth-conditional content of that statement. Several ways in which these issues have been addressed in the literature are discussed and compared.
Assessing crop water stress of winter wheat by thermography under different irrigation regimes in North China Plain

Thermal imaging can be used as an indicator of water stress due to the closure of stomatal aperture. In this paper, we analyzed the robustness and sensitivity of thermography of winter wheat in the North China Plain. The seasonal and diurnal variations of Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) were evaluated. Five treatments were applied by means of irrigation, with plots receiving 100% of ETo(DI), 50%(D50), 16%(D16) and no irrigation(NI). A high correlation was found between stomatal conductance (gs) and CWSI, depending on the phenological stage of the crop with R2 = 0.44 at pre-heading stage and R2 = 0.77 at post-heading stage. In addition, a high correlation between yield and CWSI at different growth stages indicates that thermography can predict yield. Hourly measurements of canopy temperature were taken to study the effect of the time of day on image acquisition and it was found that midday was the most appropriate time. These results should assist in designing precision irrigation scheduling for setting the threshold values. Keywords: CWSI, Triticum aestivum L. , stomatal conductance, canopy temperature, yield DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe. 20120503.003 Citation: Zia S, Du W Y, Spreer W, Spohrer K, He X K, M
Hydrodynamic and loss of life modelling for the 1953 Canvey Island flood

Canvey Island is located in the Thames Estuary. The island is a low-lying alluvial fan covering an area of 18.5 km2, with an average height of approximately 1 m below the mean high water level. Canvey Island is protected against inundation by a network of flood defences. In 1953, the island was inundated by the “Great North Sea Flood” that breached the island’s flood defences and resulted in the deaths of 58 people and the destruction of several hundred houses. As part of the EC funded research project FLOODsite, work was undertaken to set up both a hydrodynamic and an agent-based loss-of-life model of Canvey Island for the 1953 flood. The objective of the work was to obtain a better understanding of the 1953 flood event and to analyse the consequences of breaches in the island’s flood defences in terms of loss of life and injuries. The work undertaken indicates that the agent-based life safety model can provide a scientifically robust method to assess loss of life, injuries and evacuation times for areas that are at risk from flooding in the UK.
Characterizing the quantum field theory vacuum using temporal Matrix Product states

In this paper we construct the continuous Matrix Product State (MPS) representation of the vacuum of the field theory corresponding to the continuous limit of an Ising model. We do this by exploiting the observation made by Hastings and Mahajan in [Phys. Rev. A \textbf{91}, 032306 (2015)] that the Euclidean time evolution generates a continuous MPS along the time direction. We exploit this fact, together with the emerging Lorentz invariance at the critical point in order to identify the matrix product representation of the quantum field theory (QFT) vacuum with the continuous MPS in the time direction (tMPS). We explicitly construct the tMPS and check these statements by comparing the physical properties of the tMPS with those of the standard ground MPS. We furthermore identify the QFT that the tMPS encodes with the field theory emerging from taking the continuous limit of a weakly perturbed Ising model by a parallel field first analyzed by Zamolodchikov.
Frequency domain curve fitting with maximum amplitude criterion and guaranteed stability

The problem is considered of fitting a stable rational transfer function to complex frequency response data minimizing a weighted maximum amplitude criterion. A solution for this problem is provided in both discrete and continuous time and for both SISO and MIMO systems by parametrizing the transfer function and solving a smooth nonlinear constrained optimization problem. The denominator is parametrized as a product of first and second-order polynomials. By adding linear constraints on the denominator parameters to the nonlinear programming problem the poles of the curve fit model are restricted to the stability region in the complex plane. To provide an initial estimate for the nonlinear optimization problem an iterative procedure is proposed where, in each step, a linear programming problem has to be solved.
The Teichmuller Space of an Entire Function

We consider the Teichmuller space of a general entire transcendental function f : C → C regardless of the nature of the set of singular values of f (critical values and asymptotic values). We prove that, as in the known case of periodic points and critical values, asymptotic values are also fixed points of any quasiconformal automorphism that commutes with f and which is homotopic to the identity, rel. the ideal boundary of the domain. As a consequence, the general framework of McMullen and Sullivan [McMullen & Sullivan 1998] for rational functions applies also to entire functions and we can apply it to study the Teichmuller space of f , analyzing each type of Fatou component separately. Baker domains were already considered in citefh, but wandering domains are new. We provide different examples of wandering domains, each of them adding a different quantity to the dimension of the Teichmuller space. In particular we give examples of rigid wandering domains.
A Simple Derivation of and Improvements to Jamshidian's and Rogers' Upper Bound Methods for Bermudan Options

The additive method for upper bounds for Bermudan options is rephrased in terms of buyer's and seller's prices. It is shown how to deduce Jamshidian's upper bound result in a simple fashion from the additive method, including the case of possibly zero final pay‐off. Both methods are improved by ruling out exercise at sub‐optimal points. It is also shown that it is possible to use sub‐Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the value of the hedging portfolio at intermediate points in the Jamshidian method without jeopardizing its status as upper bound.
Personal Construct Theory & Practice , 11 , 2014 RETURN TO THE MARKET PLACE : STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN PERSONAL CONSTRUCTION ON RECOVERY FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF AGORAPHOBIA

A group of women, who avoided travel away from their home, agreed to participate in a programme of therapy and assessment that extended over a period of one year. On recovery, they demonstrated a tightening of personal construction and a greater sense of closeness to others and a more positive view of others and themselves. A non-agoraphobic group of volunteer participants, who were otherwise equally depressed and displaying a similar profile of complaints, displayed contrasting changes. On recovery their personal construction loosened and their judgemental view of themselves and others did not change significantly on the measures used, save for their perceiving an increase in their own capacity to care for others. The agoraphobic participants placed greater emphasis upon a need to demonstrate caring and unselfish behaviours than did the non-agoraphobic participants. The results appeared to be consistent with the notion that a major disruption of core structure could be causally linked to the mobilisation of a set of protective responses that might underlie agoraphobic avoidance.
The Prevailing Practices and Challenges of Curriculum Reform in Ethiopian Higher Education: Views and Responses from Within

In reflecting on the recent educational change in Ethiopian higher education (HE), this article explores the nature of undergraduate curriculum reform in relation to student-centered pedagogy and continuous assessment method. To this end, the article uses a qualitative case study design collecting primary data from interviews with 4 senior managers and 4 education quality experts, and a focus-group with 6 teachers, and exploring secondary sources. The result shows that the forces, triggering curriculum reform are mostly external providing little room for internal factors and the development of curriculum from within the institution. The prevailing reform applied a government’s controlled, centralized, and a one-size-fits-all model. As study participants reported, the most challenging issues are implementation gaps, particularly the absence of a functional enactment zone for teachers. This happens because conformity and uncertainty, as well as the rapidity of change, have created tension for academics when implementing the reforms in their classrooms. This article provides some suggestions as to how these challenges might be overcome.
Repelled by virtue? The dark triad and eudaimonic narratives

ABSTRACT We propose that the dark triad of personality predicts how recipients respond to eudaimonic narratives (stories dealing with purpose in life, the human condition, and human virtue). Matched eudaimonic or noneudaimonic videos were presented via random assignment. The more individuals lack empathy and organize their world around self-promotion—reflected in the so-called dark triad of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—the more they perceived the eudaimonic stories (vs. control) to be inauthentic and corny (perceived corniness). This effect translated to a more negative overall evaluation of the eudaimonic videos (moderated mediation). Self-reported feelings of being touched, moved, and inspired (meaningful affect) were largely unaffected by the dark triad, suggesting that these personality factors do not disable emotional responses to eudaimonic narratives.
Stable oxygen and carbon isotope compositional fields for skeletal and diagenetic components in New Zealand Cenozoic nontropical carbonate sediments and limestones: a synthesis and review

Abstract The stable oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) of a precipitated carbonate depends mainly on the isotope composition, salinity, and temperature of the host fluid, whereas the stable carbon isotope composition (δ13C) reflects the source of CO2 for precipitation, such as meteoric or sea water, shell dissolution, or various biochemical origins, including microbial oxidation of organic matter and methane. Despite the potentially complex array of controls, natural waters tend to show a characteristic range of isotope values which in turn are mimicked or tracked by the carbonate minerals precipitated from them. Consequently, plots of δ18O versus δ13C for carbonate materials can help identify their depositional and/or diagenetic environment(s). Here we compile isotope results for about 800 samples of carbonate skeletons, bulk sediments, fossils, limestones, cements, concretions, and veins spanning a range of ages (latest Cretaceous to modern) and locations in temperate‐region New Zealand. Despite some ove.