Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A glaciochemical study of the 120 m ice core from Mill Island, East Antarctica

Abstract. A 120 m ice core was drilled on Mill Island, East Antarctica (65°30′ S, 100°40′ E) during the 2009/2010 Australian Antarctic field season. Contiguous discrete 5 cm samples were measured for hydrogen peroxide, water stable isotopes, and trace ion chemistry. The ice core was annually dated using a combination of chemical species and water stable isotopes. The Mill Island ice core preserves a climate record covering 97 years from 1913 to 2009 CE, with a mean snow accumulation of 1.35 m (ice-equivalent) per year (mIE yr−1). This northernmost East Antarctic coastal ice core site displays trace ion concentrations that are generally higher than other Antarctic ice core sites (e.g. mean sodium levels were 254 µEq L−1). The trace ion record at Mill Island is characterised by a unique and complex chemistry record with three distinct regimes identified. The trace ion record in regime A displays clear seasonality from 2000 to 2009 CE; regime B displays elevated concentrations with no seasonality from 1934 to 2000 CE; and regime C displays relatively low concentrations with seasonality from 1913 to 1934 CE. Sea salts were compared with instrumental data, including atmospheric models and satellite-derived sea-ice concentration, to investigate influences on the Mill Island ice core record. The mean annual sea salt record does not correlate with wind speed. Instead, sea-ice concentration to the east of Mill Island likely influences the annual mean sea salt record. A mechanism involving formation of frost flowers on sea ice is proposed to explain the extremely high sea salt concentration. The Mill Island ice core records are unexpectedly complex, with strong modulation of the trace chemistry on long timescales.
Development of the method of frequency­temporal representation of fluctuations of gaseous medium parameters at fire

The method of operative frequency-temporal representation of fluctuations of gaseous media parameters at an early stage of fire at premises was developed. The basic assumptions about the peculiarities of dynamics of hazardous factors of gaseous medium at early ignition at premises were stated. The authors created theoretical framework for development of the method, based on the fact that violation of equilibrium state of gaseous medium is translated by the medium to the zone of sensors’ localization and responds to emergence of an ignition in premises. The fire source in this case is considered a moving source of disturbances and parameters of the medium carry information about temporal and frequency shifts of disturbances. It was shown that these shifts of disturbances are characterized by the correspondent uncertainty function, which is an invariant with respect to the double Fourier transformation, determined by squared modulus of frequency-temporal energy density of the parameter. The proposed method is a further development of frequency-temporal representations of the Cohen class in case of fluctuations of gaseous medium parameters at early ignitions in premises. The main features of the method are its relative simplicity and the use of data in real time. The verification of the developed method was performed based on the experimental data of the main parameters of the gaseous medium at an early ignition of alcohol, paper, wood, and textiles in the simulation chamber.
Ecoepidemiology: a More Comprehensive View of Population Interactions

Models proposed for the description of population interactions with pathogenic agents are presented. We review some basic quadratic-interactions models, then move to more complex demographics, structured models, models involving several populations, delays, plankton dynamics, the Allee effect and group behavior. In most of these cases basic reproduction numbers are evaluated and commented.
CONNECTING THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF TRAIT‐MEDIATED INTERACTIONS

Trait-mediated interactions (TMIs), in which trophic and competitive inter- actions depend on individual traits as well as on overall population densities, have inspired large amounts of research, but theoretical and empirical studies have not been well con- nected. To help mitigate this problem, we review and synthesize the theoretical literature on TMIs and, in particular, on trait-mediated indirect interactions, TMIIs, in which the presence of one species mediates the interaction between a second and third species. (1) In models, TMIs tend to stabilize simple communities; adding further biological detail often reduces stability in models, but populations may persist even if their dynamics become mathematically unstable. (2) Short- and long-term changes in population density caused by TMIs depend even more on details, such as the curvature of functional responses and trade-offs, which have rarely been measured. (3) The effects of TMIs in multipredator communities depend in a straightforward way on the specificity of prey defenses. (4) Tritrophic and more complex communities are theoretically difficult; few general conclu- sions have emerged. Theory needs new kinds of experiments as a guide. The most critical needs are experiments that measure curvatures of trade-offs and responses, and experiments that (combined with theory) allow us to scale from short- to long-term responses of com- munities. Anecdotal evidence from long-term and large-scale studies suggests that TMIs may affect community dynamics at practical management scales; community models in- corporating TMIs are necessary and require closer collaborations between theory and ex-
Wealth inequality in Europe and the delusive egalitarianism of Scandinavian countries

Past sociological inequality research focused on (labor) market outcomes, while neglecting the even more important role of wealth. In our study we investigate the distribution of wealth among the elderly across Europe within the framework of Esping-Andersen’s typology of welfare states. Using SHARE data, our analyses suggest (1) that there is strong variation in the distribution of wealth between European countries, and (2) that patterns of wealth inequality differ strongly from patterns of income inequality. Surprisingly high levels of wealth disparity were found in the social democratic welfare regimes commonly known as very egalitarian societies. We conclude that Esping-Andersen’s scheme requires reconsideration because it is based on a one-sided understanding of social stratiﬁcation not accounting for the central role of wealth in the stratiﬁcation process.
Clone variation of seed traits, germination and seedling growth in Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. clonal seed orchard

A clonal seed orchard (CSO) of Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. at Hoshiarpur, India consisting of 20 clones originating from different agro-climatic conditions of four northern states (Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttarakhand) was the source of seeds for variability studies. There was lot of variation in seed size, seed weight, germination percent, germination value and growth rate in nursery of different clones over the years. Seed length, seed width and seed weight were positively correlated to each other but seed size had no effect on germination percent and germination value under laboratory conditions. However, seed weight was found positively correlated with germination percent in nursery with the seed lot of 2008 collection. The genetic parameters for seed traits and seedling growth also showed a wide range of variations in the orchard clones. Heritability values were found to be over 50 percent for seed weight and seed length. However, only seed weight showed high heritability value coupled with more genetic gain across the years, which indicate the presence of good amount of heritable additive component in seed weight. There was no consistency in the seed characters, germination and seedling growth parameters studied across the two years. Effect of clones was dominant and accounted for variation in seed size, seed weight, seed germination and growth parameters. Seed size or seed weight should not be used as criteria for grading of bulked seed lots of different clones, as it can narrow down genetic diversity by rejecting small seeds. The impact of these genetic differences in handling of seed lots during bulking and grading for mass propagation of nursery planting stock of D. sissoo is also discussed.
Screening of Tobacco Genotypes for Tolerance/Resistance to Striga gesnerioides infestation in Zimbabwe

Witch weed (Striga gesnerioides) is a root parasitic weed of tobacco and cowpea in Sub- Saharan Africa. It is very difficult to control and host plant resistance is the most promising effective method affordable to small-scale farmers. This study was done to screen local tobacco genotypes for tolerance and resistance to Striga gesnerioides infection. Laboratory screening experiments were conducted during the 2016/17 season using fifteen local tobacco genotypes. The experiments were done using an Agar gel technique at the University of Zimbabwe, with treatments replicated four times in a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD). All tobacco genotypes significantly (p<0.05) stimulated the germination percentage and there were significant differences (p<0.05) in the germination distance of Striga seeds. The tobacco genotypes K RK66 and T74 had the closest Striga germination distance and the lowest germination percentages of Striga seeds, indicating their ability to produce low germination stimulants (strigolactones). This study revealed that all the tobacco genotypes were susceptible to Striga infection except the genotypes K RK66 and T74 which showed some level of tolerance and could be adopted by farmers in Striga infested areas. Additional evaluations, targeting the parental lines of the tolerant cultivars and is recommended as further studies.
Economic Impacts of Aquatic Vegetation to Angling in Two South Carolina Reservoirs

Angler creel surveys and economic impact models were used to evaluate potential expansion of aquatic vegetation in Lakes Murray and Moultrie, South Carolina. During this study, average trip expenditures ranged from $14.60 to $247.57 depending upon angler category, angling location, and duration of the trip. Boat anglers remaining overnight had the highest trip expenditures. Anglers were asked their angling efforts at current level of aquatic plant coverage, at an intermediate level of coverage, and at former peak levels of coverage. Current coverage at Lake Moultrie is 20 ha and peak levels were 9,090 ha; current coverage at Lake Murray is 790 ha and peak levels were 1,336 ha. Based upon their experiences with aquatic vegetation, all categories of anglers preferred increased aquatic vegetation. Increasing plant coverage from current levels would increase angling effort by 11% to 14% and increase economic activity in selected economic sectors, such as lodging, by 18% to 63%. Expenditure data and economic impact models are an improved way, compared to summarized trip expenditures, to measure economic contributions of angling. Other groups such as pleasure boaters, water skiers, hunters, and homeowners along the lakes should be studied using similar methods. Taken together, such studies incorporate public preferences, perceptions, as well as economic benefits in the local economy and provide justification for aquatic plant management.
Increasing Shrub Use by Livestock in a World with Less Grass

Abstract Much of the world's rangeland is dominated by woody species. Competing land uses and continued encroachment of woody species into non–woody-dominated rangelands have reduced grasslands in many parts of the world. Land use conversions to fuel and feed global populations, especially the increasing number of middle class people seeking broader, meat-based diets, will certainly continue. Halting and/or reversing further encroachment of woody species into grasslands is slow, expensive, and in some cases not possible. Yet, global livestock numbers continue to increase to meet the growing demand for red meat and other livestock products. How do we reconcile a world with less grass and the concurrent increased demand for forages to feed livestock? Strategies and mechanisms are needed to safely enhance shrub use by ruminants in order to capitalize on a presently underutilized forage resource. A number of approaches are presently available (e.g., choosing appropriate species and breeds, providing dietary supplements and additives, behavior modification, genetic selection) to increase shrub consumption, and new technologies such as biochemical markers of shrub intake need to continue to be identified and developed. Such strategies could provide important means for rural communities to adapt to changing land cover and climate. Resumen La mayor parte de los pastizales del mundo están dominados por especies leñosas. El cambio de uso de suelo y la continua expansión de especies leñosas dentro de pastizales dominados por no-leñosas ha reducido los pastizales en muchas partes del mundo. La conversión de tierras para abastecer y alimentar la población global, especialmente con el aumento en el número de personas de clase media que buscan dietas basadas en carne ciertamente continuara. El vacilante y/o posible re vertimiento de la invasión de especies leñosas en los pastizales es lento, caro y en algunos casos imposible. De hecho, el número global de ganado continuara creciendo para cubrir la demanda de carne roja y otros productos derivados del ganado. ¿Cómo podemos conciliar a un mundo con menos pasto y la creciente demanda de forrajes para alimentar el ganado? Se necesitan estrategias y mecanismos que de manera segura promuevan el uso de arbustos por los rumiantes con el fin de capitalizar los recursos forrajeros subutilizados actualmente. Hay disponibilidad de puntos de vista (ejm. Seleccionar razas y especies apropiadas, proveer suplementos dietéticos y aditivos, modificar el comportamiento, selección genética) para aumentar el consumo de arbustos y nuevas tecnológicas tales como los marcadores bioquímicos en consumo de arbustos que se necesita continuar en la identificación y desarrollo de estos. Estas estratégicas pueden ofrecer importantes medios en las comunidades rurales para adaptar en la cambiante cobertura del suelo y el clima.
A Theory of Debt Based on the Inalienability of Human Capital

Consider an entrepreneur who needs to raise funds from an investor, but cannot commit not to withdraw his human capital from the project. The possibility of a default or quit puts an upper bound on the total future indebtedness from the entrepreneur to the investor at any date. We characterize the optimal repayment path and show how it is affected both by the maturity structure of the project return stream and by the durability and specificity of project assets. Our results are consistent with the conventional wisdom about what determines the maturity structure of (long-term) debt contracts.
Mineral Composition and Effect of Boiling Time on Vitamin C in Extract of Fresh and Dried Nigerian Vegetables with and Without Addition of Potash : Iree, Nigeria as a Case Study

Vitamin C content of six fresh and dried Nigerian vegetable extracts [ Venonia amygadlina (ewuro), Telfaria occidentalis (ugwu), Indian spinach (amunututu), Talinum triangulare (gbure), Amaranthus Spp (tete) and Solanum notrifiolum (gbagba)] at different cooking time with and without the addition of potash was investigated using standard methods. The study showed that gbagba was stable throughout with and without the addition of potash for fresh vegetables (3.99%) and gbure was also stable at all the cooking time with and without addition of potash (3.99%) for dried vegetables. Other vegetables such as ewuro, ugwu and tete were observed to be best eaten at two minutes of boiling. Calcium and sodium had their highest concentrations in gbagba (87.1±2.16 mg/kg and 115±2 mg/kg respectively. The highest level of potassium was obtained in tete with a value of 112±1 mg/kg. Two sample t-tests analysis using the Aspin-Welch unequal-variance revealed no significant difference at p < 0.05. Keywords: Vitamin C, Vegetables, Cooking time, Potash, Extraction
Scaling behavior of tethered crumpled manifold with inner dimension close to D = 2 : Resumming the perturbation theory

The field theory of self-avoiding tethered membranes still poses major challenges. In this we report progress on the toy-model of a manifold repelled by a single point. Our approach allo summation of the perturbation expansion in the strength g0 of the interactionexactlyin the limit of internal dimensionD → 2, yielding an analytic solution for the strong-coupling limit. This analy solution is the starting point for an expansion in 2 − D, which aims to interpolate to the well studie case of polymers ( D = 1). We give results to fourth order in 2 − D, where the dependence on g0 is again summed exactly. As an application, we discuss plaquette density functions, and pr Monte Carlo experiment to test our results. These methods shed light on the more complex p of self-avoiding manifolds.  2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PACS:68.35. Md; 05.40. -a; 11.10. -z
Institutional Investors and the Informational Efficiency of Prices

Using a broad panel of NYSE-listed stocks between 1983 and 2004, we study the relation between institutional shareholdings and the relative informational efficiency of prices, measured as deviations from a random walk. Stocks with greater institutional ownership are priced more efficiently, and we show that variation in liquidity does not drive this result. One mechanism through which prices become more efficient is institutional trading activity, even when institutions trade passively. But efficiency is also directly related to institutional holdings, even after controlling for institutional trading, analyst coverage, short selling, variation in liquidity, and firm characteristics. The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org. , Oxford University Press.
Identification of Drought, Heat, and Combined Drought and Heat Tolerant Donors in Maize

Low maize (Zea mays L.) yields and the impacts of climate change on maize production highlight the need to improve yields in eastern and south - ern Africa. Climate projections suggest higher temperatures within drought-prone areas. research in model species suggests that tol - erance to combined drought and heat stress is genetically distinct from tolerance to either stress alone, but this has not been confirmed in maize. In this study we evaluated 300 maize inbred lines testcrossed to CML539. Experiments were conducted under optimal conditions, reproduc - tive stage drought stress, heat stress, and com - bined drought and heat stress. Lines with high levels of tolerance to drought and combined drought and heat stress were identified. Signifi - cant genotype × trial interaction and very large plot residuals were observed; consequently, the repeatability of individual managed stress trials was low. Tolerance to combined drought and heat stress in maize was genetically dis - tinct from tolerance to individual stresses, and tolerance to either stress alone did not confer tolerance to combined drought and heat stress. This finding has major implications for maize drought breeding. Many current drought donors and key inbreds used in widely grown African hybrids were susceptible to drought stress at elevated temperatures. Several donors toler - ant to drought and combined drought and heat stress, notably La p osta Sequia C7-F64-2-6-2-2 and DTpYC9-F46-1-2-1-2, need to be incorpo - rated into maize breeding pipelines.
A Comparison of the Online Learning Activities and Learning Style Preferences of Young Adult Video Game Players and Nonplayers

A study is presented that compared the online learning activities and learning style preferences of video game players and nonplayers. A total of 1,258 students across seven postsecondary institutions near Seoul, South Korea, rated their experiences with video game play alongside their online learning activities and preferences toward learning styles that share characteristics with many of today’s games. Utilizing a causal-comparative approach, descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used to quantitatively examine the groups. At first glance, the findings revealed that the players were more involved in online learning activities than the nonplayers. Namely, the players (a) took more online courses and/or training per year; (b) shared ideas, documents, information, and/or knowledge online; (c) read and/or contributed to blogs; (d) used the Internet to complete school assignments; and (e) used email, instant message, chat (or other means) to communicate with instructors and peers. However, further examination revealed that the nonplayers held a stronger preference than the players for most of the learning styles examined. That is, the nonplayers preferred online courses and/or training that (a) presented graphics before text; (b) provided opportunities to multitask; (c) offered the ability to selectively access different parts of courseware, rather than linearly stepping through; and (d) were play- rather than work-centric. Although exceptions were found, on the whole, these findings suggest that arguments about today’s youth and their different learning preferences, as a result of exposure to and experience with technology, to include video games, may be premature and much more in-depth empirically supported research is needed before definitive conclusions can be safely drawn.
Rice Straw Ash-A Novel Source of SilicaNanoparticles

In this study chemical method of dissolution-precipitation was applied to produce amorphous silica nanoparticles from rice straw ash (RSA), the waste ma- terial of rice cultivation. The morphology, particle size, structure and area of spe- cific surface of synthesized amorphous silica nanoparticles were evaluated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and analysis technique for the measurement of the specific surface area of materials (BET). In addition, chemical composition of RSA, used and the synthesized silica nanoparticles was studied by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. The effects of sodium hydroxide concentration, precipitation reaction temperature and precipi- tation reaction duration on the area of a specific surface were determined through Design of Experiments (DOE) Technique. Results depicted that silica nanoparticles with particle size of 10-15 nanometers were successfully synthesized. Average area of a specific surface and purity were 327 m 2 /g and 99.5% respectively. The interac- tive influence of temperature and duration having the highest effect on the average area of the specific surface.