Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Eco-Innovation and Firm Growth: Do Green Gazelles Run Faster? Microeconometric Evidence from a Sample of European Firms

This paper investigates the impact of eco-innovation on firms’ growth processes, with a special focus on gazelles, i.e. firms’ showing higher growth rates than the average. In a context shaped by more and more stringent environmental regulatory frameworks, we posit that inducement mechanisms stimulate the adoption of green technologies, increasing the derived demand for technologies produced by upstream firms supplying eco-innovations. For these reason we expect the generation of green technologies to trigger sales growth. We use firm-level data drawn from the Bureau van Dijk Database, coupled with patent information obtained from the OECD Science and Technology Indicators. The results confirm that eco-innovations are likely to augment the effects of generic innovation on firms’ growth, and this is particularly true for gazelles, which actually appear to run faster than the others.
Characterisation of two unique unifloral honeys from the boreal coniferous zone: lingonberry and mire honeys

Studies of unifloral honeys are rare in Finland, and thus there are no common traits accepted for their characterization. In our study lingonberry and mire were characterized. The physico-chemical, organoleptic and melissopalynological properties and phenolic composition of the honeys were analysed and the floral origin of the mire honey was considered. Lingonberry honey is reddish and has a flavour of toffee, whereas mire honey has very strong aroma and reddish colour. Both honeys have high electrical conductivity and pH when compared to Finnish polyfloral honeys. They are both rich in fructose, while the number of disaccharides in lingonberry honey is four and in mire honey six. Lingonberry honey has three unifloral specific phenolic compounds. Mire honey has no unifloral-specific phenolic compounds, and its floral origin is not clearly defined.
Self-determined motivation and life satisfaction in Portuguese veterans athletes

The aims of this work were to determine correlations and predictive variables, between the levels of motivation, basic psychological needs and life satisfaction of Portuguese veteran athletes. The sample consisted in 684 Portuguese veteran athletes of both genders, aged between 30 and 90 years (M = 43.78 DP = 8.61), competitors of various modalities. As instruments we used the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (BRSQ), the Basic Psychological Needs Scale Exercise (BPNES), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and Positives and Negatives Affections Scale (PANAS). It was applied the bivariate Pearson correlation test and multiple linear regression. The results showed that the veteran athletes present a good self-determination for the sport practice, being their welfare levels in life satisfaction related to the same self-determination, but rather dependent on the affections produced by sports. This study is presented as a contribution to understanding the role of sport in promoting wellness in veteran sports population.
Unilateral Global Bifurcation from Intervals for Fourth-Order Problems and Its Applications

We establish a unilateral global bifurcation result from interval for a class of fourth-order problems with nondifferentiable nonlinearity. By applying the above result, we firstly establish the spectrum for a class of half-linear fourth-order eigenvalue problems. Moreover, we also investigate the existence of nodal solutions for the following half-linear fourth-order problems: , , , where is a parameter, , , , , and , for . We give the intervals for the parameter which ensure the existence of nodal solutions for the above fourth-order half-linear problems if or where and . We use the unilateral global bifurcation techniques and the approximation of connected components to prove our main results.
A STUDY OF INFLUENCE OF MOTHER – TONGUE , TEACHER ’ S QUALIFICATION , GENDER AND EXPERIENCE ON PERFORMANCE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS IN KATSINA STATE

This study investigated the effect of the mother-tongue, teacher’s qualification, Gender and Experience on the pupils’ performance in primary school mathematics in Katsina State. The study employed a pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental and control group design. The population of the study is 71,351 primary four pupils of which 50,265 are male and 21,086 are female. In this research random sampling were adopted to select the four schools used in experimental and control group, while stratified random sampling were used to select boys and girls. The sample of the study consisted of 200 primary school pupils (122 boys, 78 girls) in Charanchi and Rimi Local Government in Katsina State. The subjects were classified into two groups. One experimental and the other as control. Both groups participated in the pre-test and post-test those were administered in the data collection process. Five hypotheses were tested in the study. The data obtained were analyzed at a significant level of P <0.05 using t-test. The major findings from the study were that (1). The use of mother tongue as medium of instruction enhanced the performance of pupils in Primary School Mathematics (2) Teacher’s experience has an impact on pupils’ performance in primary school mathematics. (3) Teacher’s qualification and gender were not a significant factor in determining the performance of pupils in Mathematics. On the basis of these findings, recommendations were made.
Ecological engineering and aquatic connectivity: a new perspective from beaver‐modified wetlands

SUMMARY 1. Habitat fragmentation and wetland loss due to anthropogenic causes are usually attributed to physical modifications of the environment; however, the loss of key species can compound these impacts and further reduce the connectivity of aquatic ecosystems. 2. Ecosystem engineers can play a critical role in modifying aquatic systems by altering the bed of ponds and streams, increasing water coverage and influencing biogeochemical processes within and adjacent to freshwater habitats. However, there is a paucity of research on how these organisms enhance connectivity among aquatic habitats, especially in otherwise isolated wetland systems. 3. In this study, we collected field data at natural and agriculturally impacted sites to quantify physical alterations to otherwise isolated, morainal wetlands modified by beavers, and to determine how these modifications might enhance connectivity. For finer-scale analysis, we collected and modelled bathymetric data for 16 wetlands, eight of which were occupied by beavers and eight abandoned by beavers. 4. We demonstrated that beavers actively increase the volume-to-surface area ratio of wetlands by almost 50% and that their digging of foraging channels increases average wetland perimeters by over 575%. Some channels were 200–300 m long, which enhanced the interface between the riparian zone and upland forests. A coarse estimate of soil displacement due to the digging of channels by beavers exceeded 22 300 m 3 within the total 13 km 2 natural area. Additional measures of wetland depth, basin complexity and basin circularity revealed other dramatic differences between wetlands with beavers and those without in both natural and agricultural landscapes. 5. Exclusion or removal of beavers could limit ecosystem processes and resilience, especially in areas with otherwise isolated aquatic habitats and limited connectivity. Conversely, reintroduction of such an ecosystem engineer into areas targeted for restoration could result in significant increase in habitat heterogeneity and connectivity.
INFLUENCE OF POROELASTICITY ON THE 3 D SEISMIC RESPONSE OF COMPLEX GEOLOGICAL MEDIA F

Elastic wave propagation in 3D poroelastic geological media with localized heterogeneities, such as an elastic inclusion and a canyon is investigated to visualize the modification of local site responses under consideration of water saturated geomaterial. The extended computational environment herein developed is a direct Boundary Integral Equation Method (BIEM), based on the frequency-dependent fundamental solution of the governing equation in poro-visco elastodynamics. Bardet’s model is introduced in the analysis as the computationally efficient viscoelastic isomorphism to Biot’s equations of dynamic poroelasticity, thus replacing the two-phase material by a complex valued single-phase one. The potential of Bardet’s analogue is illustrated for low frequency vibrations and all simulation results demonstrate the dependency of wave field developed along the free surface on the properties of the soil material.
Succession of Diptera on dead beech wood: A 10-year study

Summary This study describes the decomposition of dead beech wood and the succession of xylobiont Diptera. Branch wood (∅=4.3–11.5cm) was sampled from two beech trees felled by wind in autumn 1984. In each spring (1987–1995) 6 to 8logs were selected and placed individually in closed emergence traps to collect adult Diptera. Decay state of the logs was described by measuring relative density, water content, bark cover, moss cover, litter cover, carbon and nitrogen contents, C:N ratio, and residual weight. Overall, the environmental factors decreased or increased with log age as expected but variation within cohorts was considerable. For some common dipteran species clear temporal patterns of occurrence were identified, and it was also possible to relate abundances of some species to individual environmental factors. On the community level, mean number of individuals per log tended to increase with log age, suggesting that dead wood becomes a more rewarding food resource in the course of decomposition. Diversity of Diptera measured as the mean number of species per log increased with log age, indicating that resource heterogeneity increased with log age. Diversity of Diptera also increased with water content and moss cover but was negatively correlated with bark cover, C:N ratio, and relative density.
Parenthood and the polarisation of political attitudes in Europe

Becoming a parent can affect the lives of men and women by introducing salient new social roles and identities, altered social networks and tighter constraints on financial resources and time. Even though modern family life has evolved in many important respects, parenthood continues to shape the lives of men and women in very different ways. Given that parenthood can change the lives of men and women in profoundly different ways, it seems that it would bring about changes in the way women and men think about politics and policy issues. Using data from the Wave 4 of the European Social Survey, this article investigates how parenthood, and the distinctions of motherhood and fatherhood, influence attitudes. The findings suggest that parenthood can have a polarising effect on attitudes, and that the polarising effect is most evident in countries where there is less support from the state for parental responsibilities.
Towards an Inclusive Philosophy for Phylogenetic Inference

—We defend and expand on our earlier proposal for an inclusive philosophical framework for phylogenetics, based on an interpretation of Popperian corroboration that is decoupled from the popular falsicationist interpretation of Popperian philosophy. Any phylogenetic inference method can provide Popperian “evidence” or “test statements” based on the method’s goodness-of-t values for different tree hypotheses. Corroboration, or the severity of that test, requires that the evidence is improbable without the hypothesis, given only background knowledge that includes elements of chance. This framework contrasts with attempted Popperian justications for cladistic parsimony— in which evidence is the data, background knowledge is restricted to descent with modication, and “corroboration,” as a by-product of nonfalsication, is to be measured by cladistic parsimony. Recognition that cladistic “corroboration” reects only goodness-of-t, not corroboration/severity, makes it clear that standard cladistic prohibitions, such as restrictions on the evolutionary models to be included in “background knowledge,” have no philosophical status. The capacity to assess Popperian corroboration neither justies nor excludes any phylogenetic method, but it does provide a framework in phylogenetics for learning from errors—cases where apparent good evidence is probable even without the hypothesis. We explore these issues in the context of corroboration assessments applied to likelihood methods and to a new form of parsimony. These different forms of evidence and corroboration assessment point also to a new way to combine evidence—not at the level of overall t, but at the level of overall corroboration/severity. We conclude that progress in an inclusive phylogenetics will be well served by the rejection of cladistic philosophy. [Corroboration; likelihood; parsimony; philosophy of science; Popper; PTP; severe test. ] . compatibility alone must not make us attribute to the theory a positive degree of corroboration; the mere fact that a theory has not yet been falsied can obviously not be regarded as sufcient
Soil Chemical Properties and Nutrient Composition of Cocoyam Grown in an Organically Fertilized Soil

ABSTRACT Field experiments were conducted for two consecutive years to evaluate the influence of cow dung and rice husk application rates on soil chemical properties and nutrient composition of cocoyam cormels. The treatments comprised four rates each of cow dung and rice husk (0, 10, 20, and 30 t/ha) arranged as a factorial experiment using randomized complete block design with three replicates. The treatments were incorporated into the soil 2 weeks before planting of cocoyam each year. After 2 years of cropping, soil samples were collected from the respective plots and analyzed so also cocoyam cormels. Cow dung application positively and significantly (P < .05) affected soil pH, organic matter (OM), and the soil nutrients (r = 0.95, 0.98, and 0.94–1.00, respectively) while rice husk application significantly and positively influenced soil OM, nitrogen and phosphorus (r = 0.98, 0.95, and 0.98, respectively). Aside potassium content that was enhanced, cow dung application did not significantly affect the nutrient composition of the cocoyam cormels. However, 30 t/ha of applied rice husk caused significant reduction in crude protein and fiber contents but significant increase in carbohydrate. There was negative and significant correlation between rice husk and the cormels crude protein (r = −0.97). A total of 20 t/ha each of the organic fertilizers was found to be optimum for improving soil fertility and invariably yield without compromising the nutrient content of the cocoyam cormels.
Expression of proopiocortin and proopiomelanotropin during the life cycle of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)

The sea lamprey shows an important divergence in the proopiomelanocorticotropin (POMC) prohormone in that adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) are encoded on distinct genes, proopiocortin (POC) and proopiomelanotropin (POM), re- spectively. POC encodes nasohypophysial factor (NHF), ACTH, and β-endorphin while POM en- codes α- and β-MSH-like peptides (called MSH-B and MSH-A, respectively), and a second form of β-endorphin. The present study examined the variation in expression of these two genes during the life cycle of sea lampreys. Individual Northern blot analysis and pooled data from several Northern blots showed signifi- cant differential expression of POC and POM during the lamprey life cycle. While POC expression remained low over larval and metamorphic stages, POM expression rose substantially in stage 4 and stage 6 of metamorphosis. Both POC and POM expression levels increased in immediately post-metamorphic animals. The highest levels of POM expression were observed in larger juvenile adults and pre-spawners, whereas the highest level of POC expression was observed at the pre- spawning period. Statistical analysis showed POM expression to be much higher than POC expres- sion in immediately post-metamorphic animals prior to feeding. Northern analysis of total RNA isolated from various tissues in the pre-spawning lampreys, including brain, showed expression of POC and POM only in the pituitary. These observations indicate that the expression of POC and POM, which encode different sets of hormones, may be related to developmental and maturation events during the life cycle of the sea lamprey. J. Exp. Zool. 283:95n101, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Fatty acid oxidation (FAO) metabolic switch: metastasis in lymph nodes driven by yes-associated protein (YAP) activation.

The Hippo signaling pathway, which was first discovered in Drosophila , guides organ growth in many multicellular organisms by regulating the proliferation, differentiation, and death of cells (1,2). Because this pathway offers potential targets for anticancer agents, it is of great interest in biomedical research. The key effectors of the mammalian Hippo pathway are the yes-associated protein (YAP) of proto-oncogenes and its paralog, transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ).
32. CARBON, SULFUR, AND OXYGEN ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY OF INTERSTITIAL WATERS FROM THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN 1

Interstitial waters from six sites of the Western Mediterranean Basin (Sites 974‐979) were analyzed for stable isotopes of dissolved sulfate (δ34S, δ18O), water (δ18O), and dissolved inorganic carbon ( 13C), in addition to major and minor ions. Sulfate reduction rates (as determined by modeling sulfate profiles) are positively related to bulk sedimentation rates, which indicates a higher burial of metabolizable organic matter with increasing sedimentation rate. Bacterial sulfate reduction in th e deeper samples from Sites 974 and 978 is overprinted by a sulfate input from saline brines located at depth. Dissolution of gyp sum within the section cored was found at Site 975. The concentration and sulfur isotopic composition of pore-water sulfate (δ34S values up to +89‰ relative to the Vienna-Canyon Diablo troilite standard) are dominated by microbial organic matter oxidation with associated sulfate reduction. Therefore, most interstitial sulfate is enriched in 34S with respect to modern Mediterranean seawater (δ34S = +20.7‰; Site 973 surface seawater). Dissolved sulfate at Sites 974, 975, 977, and 979 is also enriched in 18O with respect to Mediterranean seawater (δ18O[SO 4 2‐] = +9.4‰ relative to Standard Mean Ocean Water). The sulfur and oxygen isotopic compositions of dissolved residual sulfate are positively correlated to each other. Microbiologically mediated oxy gen isotope exchange reactions lead to isotope shifts towards equilibrium between residual sulfate and interstitial H 2O with increasing degree of sulfate reduction. The results support the previous suggestion that δ18O‐δ34S relations of residual sulfate directly reflect sulfate reduction rates in marine sediments. The depth profiles of the carbon isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbonate species ( δ13C values between ‐0.1‰ and ‐22.6‰ relative to the Vienna Peedee Belemnite standard) reflect the in situ degradation of organic matter via sulfate reduction, followed by the formation of methane via in situ fermentation of organic matter, and probably carbonate dissolution and precipitation.
When up is down and down is up: Body orientation, proximity, and gestures as resources

This article is concerned with understanding situations in which speakers talk in the presence of scientific inscriptions (lectures in science classes, public presentations). Drawing on extensive video materials accumulated in middle and high school science classrooms and university lectures, we develop a framework for the resources speakers make available to their audience for understanding what the talk is about. We distinguish three situations according to the nature of reference to the phenomenon talked about: (i) talk is about phenomenon but mediated by reference to a two-dimensional (2-D) inscription; (ii) talk is about phenomenon but mediated by reference to a three-dimensional (3-D) inscription; and (iii) talk is directly about phenomenon. Associated with these three situations are different body orientations, distances from inscriptions, and types of gestures. When speakers laminate talk characteristic of two different types of situations, the orientation “up” can become “down” and “down” can become “up,” potentially leading to confusing statements.
Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation combined with chemoembolization in hepatocellular carcinoma: assessment of palliative treatment

Introduction: In palliation of hepatocellular carcinoma the best results are obtained in tumours not bigger than 3 cm with alcohol injections and thermoablation. Tumours exceeding 5 cm are most often treated with chemoembolization. Our experience with combination of chemoembolization and percutaneous thermoablation is presented below. Aim: Assessment of factors which influence outcomes and usefulness of this treatment method. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 25 patients with HCC. Four methods of visualization were applied: MRI, ultrasound, power Doppler and DSA done before the procedure, one day after, and repeated every 4 weeks. Completeness of the procedure, tumour size and vascularization as well as liver blood flow were assessed. Results: Forty-five combined procedures were performed. Complete remission was achieved in 5 (20%) cases. Foci of hepatocellular carcinoma were shown to shrink after exposure to combined therapy (p < 0.01). Smaller size tumours were statistically more likely to decrease with applied therapy (r = –0.41). Combination therapy proved to decrease blood supply of the tumour (p < 0.01). Conclusions: 1. Combination of chemoembolization and percutaneous thermoablation for non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma is relatively minimally invasive and allows for palliative therapy of the tumour. 2. Combination procedure inhibited tumour growth or decreased tumour size in all studied cases. 3. Complete response is unlikely with combination therapy and is as low as 20%. 4. Response to chemoembolization and thermoablation combination therapy depends on tumour size and not on tumour vascularization. 5. Contrast-enhanced MRI and ultrasound with power Doppler option are very helpful in monitoring of the patient after combination therapy.
The geometry of variations in Batalin–Vilkovisky formalism

We explain why no sources of divergence are built into the Batalin–Vilkovisky (BV) Laplacian, whence there is no need to postulate any ad hoc conventions such as "δ(0) = 0" and "log δ(0) = 0" within BV-approach to quantisation of gauge systems. Remarkably, the geometry of iterated variations does not refer at all to the construction of Dirac's δ-function as a limit of smooth kernels. We illustrate the reasoning by re-deriving –but not just 'formally postulating' – the standard properties of BV-Laplacian and Schouten bracket and by verifying their basic inter-relations (e.g., cohomology preservation by gauge symmetries of the quantum master-equation).