Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex, Size and Interyear Variation in Flowering Among Dioecious Trees of the Malayan Rain Forest

In dioecious plants, intersex differences in the frequency and size dependence of flowering may often be important proximate determinants of a population's flowering sex ratio. Such differences have been little investigated among Southeast Asian rain forest trees, where dioecy is perhaps best represented in the world's flora. In this study we recorded flowering activity and sex of reproductive individuals in two separate flowering seasons for 2600 trees representing three species of Aporusa and two species of Baccaurea (all Euphorbiaceae) in a primary rain forest in peninsular Malaysia. We found neither sexually mixed trees nor sex switching of trees between years. Flowering sex ratios for the species of smallest stature, A. microstachya and B. parviJflora, consistently exhibited a significant degree of male bias, which was greater in years with lower overall levels of flowering in the population. Two-year cumulative sex ratios were significantly male biased in these two species and in a second relatively small-statured species of Aporusa. The size distributions for male trees broadly overlapped those of female trees in all species. In the smaller statured species, male trees displayed a significantly greater degree of relative size variation than did female trees, suggesting that male trees begin flowering at a smaller size, but also grow to a larger size, than do females. Also, males were significantly more likely to flower in both years than were females in the smaller species studied. Sexual dimorphism in the frequency and size dependence of flowering has previously been explained as a result of higher energy costs of reproduction in females than in males. We suggest that this physiological constraint is most likely to play a strong role in energy- limited environments. We therefore predict that, as found in this study, male-biased sex ratios and associated patterns of sexual dimorphism may generally be most pronounced among diminutive treelets of the rain forest understory.
Performance estimation of surface acoustic wave motor using simulation model of friction drive

The contact states of the slider and stator substrate greatly affect the drive performance of a surface acoustic wave motor. The contact states are determined by factors such as the friction coefficient, vibration amplitude, rigidity of the contact surface, contact time with the Rayleigh wave, and slider speed. A model was proposed that represented the relationship between these factors and the drive performance. However, guidance has not been provided on how these values should be changed to improve the drive performance. In this research, we use a friction drive model we proposed to analyze the effect of the changes in these parameters on the drive performance and to discuss the motor design and the drive conditions based on evaluations from the perspectives of the drive power, output, and efficiency. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 88(1): 37–47, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ ecjc.20079
Effectiveness of the Bacillus sp. SP-A9 Strain as a Biological Control Agent for Spring Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The SP-A9 strain of Bacillus sp. , which is most closely related to Bacillus subtilis, demonstrated excellent antifungal properties in laboratory analyses. The percentage of inhibition in the dual culture test was similar for all investigated phytopathogens (Fusarium culmorum, F. oxysporum and Monographella nivalis) at approximately 46%. The analyzed strain was found to be cellulolytic and strongly chitinolytic, and its biochemical properties indicate that it easily adapted to various environmental conditions. The strain's sporulation ability and high proliferation rate in acidic, alkaline, and highly saline environments (9% NaCl) further confirmed its adaptability to adverse conditions. In a pot experiment, the basic biometric parameters of spring wheat grain inoculated with Bacillus sp. SP-A9 were not modified, but a significant increase in grain yield was observed (by 18% in soil contaminated with F. culmorum and by 19% in soil contaminated with F. oxysporum). The increase in yield was correlated with the number of wheat plants, which suggests that the analyzed strain minimized the pathogen-induced inhibition of plant growth. Bacillus sp. SP-A9 can reduce economic losses resulting from diseases caused by fungi of the genus Fusarium and contribute to reduced use of crop protection chemicals, thus minimizing environmental pollution.
Cat and Dog Companionship and Well-being: A Systematic Review

Existing literature on pet-human relationships reports mixed evidence indicating both positive and negative impacts of pet possession. Based on specific inclusion criteria, including only considering pet ownership in terms of cats and dogs, this paper reviewed 11 empirical studies published in eight journal articles to explore whether pet possession has any impact on owner's health and well-being. Results of this review failed to demonstrate a clear relationship between pet possession and owner's well-being. Few studies report, that having a cat or dog promotes physical activity and overall fitness of the owners. Additionally, few studies claim pet-owner companionship impacts positively on the owner's psychological well-being in terms of decreased depression, anxiety and loneliness. No other areas within the general health of the owner were noted to benefit from cat or dog ownership. However, these findings need to be considered very cautiously because of the methodological flaws in pet-human well-being studies. Robust scientific enquiry is needed to claim the health benefits of pet possession.
Leaders' prototypical images of effective followers vs. followers' actual behavioral repertoire : an exploratory mixed-methods field study using survey- and video-data

Based on the idea that followers represent a crucial component in creating effective organizational outcomes, this study examines the extent to which leaders’ prototypical images of an effective follower matches the actual behavioral repertoire of effective followers. A mixed-methods design is adopted which entailed 1) minutely coded, video-based data of followers’ behavioral repertoire in the field (n = 1492), and 2) leaders’ effectiveness ratings as well as their images of an effective follower, the latter gathered via an open survey question. As expected, a large mismatch was revealed between leaders’ prototypical images of an effective follower (n = 113) and their followers’ actual behavioral repertoire. Whereas leaders’ perceptions were predominantly relation-oriented in nature, effective followers showed most frequently task-oriented behaviors. Also, an even larger mismatch seemed to exist between these so-called LIFTs and the ineffective follower behavioral repertoire. The specific behavioral differences between the most and least effective followers pertained to: individualized consideration; transactional; counterproductive; and showing disinterest type of behaviors. In the discussion, the results of this study are reflected on and some practical implications and limitations are highlighted. Finally, areas for future research are sketched.
Pupil Teacher ratio and its impact on academic performance in public primary schools in central division, Machakos county, Kenya.

The objectives of this study were (a) to assess the impact of PTR on academic performance in national examinations in public primary schools (b) establish if ideal PTR exist in public primary schools as recommended by TSC, UNESCO and other international standards. (c) to identify the major challenges faced in the attainment of appropriate PTR in the public schools in the Division. (d) to determine whether PTR influences academic performance. The study targeted the 78 public primary schools in which a total of 24 schools were sampled for the study. Descriptive survey design was used as the research design for the study. Questionnaires were used in collecting data for the study. The analysis involved use of simple regression to determine whether PTR predicts performance in national examinations. The relationship between PTR and performance was worked out using Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient R, the value of R calculated was -0.323. This negative correlation between the PTR and performance indicated that as PTR increases performance decreases and vice versa. A coefficient of determination R 2 of 0.104 was obtained. This revealed that 10.4% of the performance is due to PTR while the remaining 89.6 % is due to other intervening factors or error in the independent variable. An Anova table was generated (p<0.05) which indicated that the regression model applied was significantly good enough in predicting the outcome variable. A regression model [scores = 260.8-7.60(PTR)] was generated that could be used to predict the outcome variable. The findings of the study revealed that PTR significantly influences performance of pupils in national examinations. The study recommended to all Education sector stakeholders to pay adequate attention to PTR since it affects performance of pupils in Primary Schools. It recommended to the government to employ more teachers to lower PTR and ease teacher workload. It also recommended to the government and the MOE to review the Education Act to enable schools admit pupils on basis of PTR to avoid over enrolment and congestion in classrooms. Article visualizations:
Emerging Market Liquidity and Crises

Whereas conventional wisdom argues that markets shut down during crises, with sellers struggling to find buyers, we find that markets continue to operate during financial turmoil, even in narrow and volatile emerging economies. Simple event studies indicate that both trading volume and trading costs increase in crisis times. Prices change more with each dollar transacted (pushing the Amihud illiquidity measure up) and bid-ask spreads widen. More generally, econometric estimates show that large price downturns, typical of crises, are associated with higher trading activity and increased trading costs, with trading activity declining only later as crises progress. Thus, while trading activity tends to be negatively related to trading costs during tranquil times (and across securities), this relation appears to break down during crises. These results are consistent with the analytical literature on portfolio rebalancing by heterogeneous agents in times of crises.
Digital connections: transforming literacy in the primary school

Much has been written about the transformative influence of new technology on the school curriculum, but only a small number of studies have focused on the practical implications for primary literacy. The dominant paradigm seems less concerned with transformation, instead favouring a view of ‘technology as enrichment’. This case study examines the possibilities of transformation through an electronically mediated partnership between two primary schools in the North of England. Children's digital texts are analysed alongside interview and observational data in order to document what transformation might look like in practice. The study illustrates how technology can be used to promote new literacy practices in the classroom, through the production of new kinds of texts. It also documents the emergence of peer‐based learning relationships and changing perceptions of the teacher's role.
Predicting effects of personality traits, self-esteem, language class risk-taking and sociability on Chinese university EFL learners' performance in English

Although the interactive effects of different variables in language learning have increasingly become the focus of recent research, the interaction of such variables as personality traits, self-esteem, language class risk-taking and sociability has not been much investigated. Hence, the present study explored the predicting effects of these variables on Chinese EFL learners’ performance in English at the tertiary level. A 68-item survey involving 934 first-year undergraduate non-English majors revealed that: (1) the majority were moderately extroverted, moderately inclined to anxiety and fears, and moderately prone to be influenced by social desirability but tended to be dependent and gentle; the participants were moderately satisfied with themselves and believed they were good and worthy; and the majority were moderately risk-taking and sociable in English class, (2) personality traits, self-esteem, language class risk-taking and sociability were generally significantly correlated with one another and with the students’ performance in English, and (3) overall self-esteem, language class risk-taking, language class sociability, and two personality variables – P (psychoticism) and L (lie) proved to be powerful predictors for the students’ performance in English. As such, personality traits, self-esteem, language class risk-taking and sociability are important factors affecting language learning outcomes.
Food Habits of Coyotes, Gray Foxes, and Bobcats in a Coastal Southern California Urban Landscape

Abstract. Many carnivores are sensitive to habitat fragmentation, and the capacity to shift diets may improve their ability to persist in urban areas. We collected and identified contents of a total of 119 scats from coyotes (Canis latrans), 58 scats from gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), and 31 scats from bobcats (Lynx rufus) within habitat fragments of varying size in the San Diego area in coastal southern California. Coyote diet was generalist, composed of mostly mammals but also anthropogenic items, fruit and seeds, birds, and invertebrates. Dietary breadth of coyotes was similar in small urban habitat fragments and larger sites, but composition differed, suggestive of the opportunistic habits of coyotes. Notably, domestic cats occurred in 29% of coyote scats in small urban fragments, implicating coyotes as a threat to cats. Like coyotes, gray foxes had an omnivorous diet consisting of mammals, fruit and seeds, invertebrates, and birds. As with coyotes, dietary breadth of gray foxes was similar in urban habitat remnants and larger control sites. Bobcats, not detected in small urban fragments, had a more specialized diet focused primarily on mammalian prey. Such resource specialization might limit bobcats' ability to exploit anthropogenic subsidies and hence persist in small urban patches, compared to more opportunistic carnivores such as coyotes and gray foxes.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Cellular Level In-silico Modeling of Blood Rheology with An Improved Material Model for Red Blood Cells

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Effects of Aromatherapy and Breathing Exercise on Aggression in Intellectual Disability

Background: The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of aromatherapy, breathing exercise, and the combination of both on aggression of adolescents with educable intellectual disability. Sample: 50 students (23 girls, 27 boys) aged 12-16 years with educable intellectual disability were selected from Special School of Mental Retardation Unit at J.M. Institute of Speech and Hearing, Indrapuri, Patna (Bihar) were assigned randomly to 4 groups, including aromatherapy, breathing exercise, combination, and control. Design: The true experimental design was used to carry out the present study. Tool: The B.D. GH) aggression inventory was used to measure the amount of aggression in pre-test and post-test. Intervention: During 8 weeks (2-sessions per week), aromatherapy group inhaled Lavender essence, breathing exercise group performed the selected breathing exercises, combination group inhaled Lavender and performed the selected breathing exercises, and control group did not perform any activities. Results: Two-way (group-test) analysis of variance with repeated measures of last factor were used to analyze data in p<. 05. According to the results, the amount of aggression and verbal and nonverbal aggression to others subscales decreased after 8 weeks of aromatherapy, breathing exercise, and combination of both, but there were no significant differences between the effects of various interventions. Conclusion: Interventions of aromatherapy, breathing exercise and the combination of both can be similarly effective to reduce aggression in adolescents with educable intellectual disability.
Prevalence of Salmonella Spp. in Backyard Chickens in Paraguay

The objective of this study was to (1) determine prevalence against Salmonella spp. and (2) investigate the risk factors with the positivity of the pathogens in backyard chickens in Paraguay. The field study was conducted between 31 March and 9 April 2009. A total of 50 smallholder farming households with chickens reared at backyards were initially selected from 25 of 52 administrative districts in San Lorenzo, Central Department, Paraguay. The required sample size of chickens was 400 in total. Data collection through questionnaire interviews about some selected poultry farming practices for each farm, together with cloacal swab sample collections for each chicken was implemented. The swab samples were examined microbiologically. Statistical analyses were used to describe the differences between the two chicken groups categorized according to positivity against Salmonella spp. The overall percentage of test-positive against Salmonella spp. was 3.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.9%-5.7%). The final logistic regression model indicated that free-range birds were more likely to have positivity against Salmonella spp. , compared with caged birds (odds ratio: 3.5, 95% CI: 1.2-10.3).
Galactocentric variation of the gas-to-dust ratio and its relation with metallicity

Context. The assumption of a gas-to-dust mass ratio γ is a common approach to estimate the basic properties of molecular clouds, such as total mass and column density of molecular hydrogen, from (sub)mm continuum observations of the dust. In the Milky Way a single value is used at all galactocentric radii, independently of the observed metallicity gradients. Both models and extragalactic observations suggest that this quantity increases for decreasing metallicity Z , typical of the outer regions in disks, where fewer heavy elements are available to form dust grains. Aims. We aim to investigate the variation of the gas-to-dust ratio as a function of galactocentric radius and metallicity, to allow a more accurate characterisation of the quantity of molecular gas across the galactic disk, as derived from observations of the dust. Methods. Observations of the optically thin C 18 O (2–1) transition were obtained with the APEX telescope for a sample of 23 massive and dense star-forming regions in the far outer Galaxy (galactocentric distance greater than 14 kpc). From the modelling of this line and of the spectral energy distribution of the selected clumps we computed the gas-to-dust ratio and compared it to that of well-studied sources from the ATLASGAL TOP100 sample in the inner galactic disk. Results. The gradient in γ is found to be 0.087 +0.047 -0.025 dex kpc -1 (or equivalently γ ∝ Z -1.4 +0.3 -1.0 ). The dust-to-metal ratio, decreases with galactocentric radius, which is the most common situation also for external late-type galaxies. This suggests that grain growth dominates over destruction. The predicted γ is in excellent agreement with the estimates in Magellanic clouds, for the appropriate value of Z .
Fault zone monitoring with passive image interferometry

SUMMARY The technique of passive image interferometry applies interferometric methods to correlation functions of seismic noise to monitor small temporal variations of the Earth interior. We computed the autocorrelation function of seismic noise recorded at a single seismometer located in the vicinity of the source region of the Mw = 6.6 Mid-Niigata earthquake. Analysing the temporal evolution of the autocorrelation function, which is interpreted as the source‐ receiver collocated elastic wave Green’s function, we detect a sudden decrease of relative seismic velocity in the Earth crust of −0.6 per cent that coincides with the occurrence of the earthquake. This drop of seismic velocity is likely to be caused by the change of stress in the source region of the earthquake.
Who framed Roger Rabbit? Multiple choice questions answering about movie plot

This paper introduces an approach to the task of multiple-choice question answering based on a combination of string similarities. The main idea of this work is to run a logistic regression over the concatenation of different similarity measures. Evaluating our model on the MovieQA plot data-set we obtain 79.76% accuracy, outperforming prior state-of-the-art results.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FIRMS AND ACADEMIC RESEARCH GROUPS ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTANCE OF UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY LINKAGES

This paper examines factors that affect the geographical distance of university-industry linkages by analysing specific characteristics of both sides of the collaboration firms and universities. Previous studies have provided important evidence related to this issue; however, they have used data from either firms or universities. Therefore, this paper contributes to existing research on this issue by using information on both collaboration partners. For this purpose, data from the Directory of Research Groups in Brazil are used to estimate an empirical model. The main results indicate that higher absorptive capacity and bigger firms tend to collaborate with research groups that are more geographically distant. Further, on the university side, high-performance and larger research groups tend to attract firms that are more geographically distant as collaboration partners. Long-distance collaborations therefore usually occur when firms require high absorptive capacity and when they cannot find high-quality local universities.
Adoption of improved maize variety among farm households in the northern region of Ghana

Abstract This study aims to identify the determinants of adoption of improved maize variety (IMV) among farmers in the northern region of Ghana and subsequently assess the factors influencing the intensity of IMV adoption. The study used two econometric techniques to address its objectives. Firstly, a multinomial logit was employed to identify factors affecting the adoption of IMV. Secondly, Tobit regression was used to analyze the determinants of the intensity of IMV adoption. A fractional regression model through the procedure proposed by Papke and Wooldridge was also used to test the robustness of the results obtained from the Tobit model. Results from the study revealed that variables such as the age of the household head, household size, level of experience, farm workshop attendance, the number of years in formal education, access to agricultural credit, membership of a farmer-based organization, availability of labor and extension contacts influence the adoption of IMV. Moreover, variables such as years in formal education, household size, distance to farm plots, attendance of demonstration fields, membership of a farmer-based organization, farm size, and previous income are significant determinants of the intensity of IMV adoption. The study has implications for achieving food security and poverty reduction through agricultural productivity growth.