Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GENDERED LEISURE ACTIVITY BEHAVIOR AMONG NORWEGIAN ADOLESCENTS ACROSS DIFFERENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS GROUPS

The present paper explores gendered behavior based on participation patterns of leisure activities among adolescents across socio-economic status (SES) groups, aiming to increase knowledge and understanding of how gender socialization processes are expressed through boys’ and girls’ participation in leisure activities. Furthermore, the aim is to investigate whether such gendered behavior is associated with general levels of participation, and if there may be differences between low, middle, and high SES groups. The study used Norwegian nationally representative data of 15- and 16-year-olds from the World Health Organization's cross-sectional survey, Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2005/06 ( n = 3,273). Logistic regression analysis and propensity scores showed that adolescent boys and girls had clear gendered behavior patterns based on leisure activity participation in 27 different activities, and that boys and girls had about equal distributions on what was classified as typical (“boyish” or “girlish”), atypical, and neutral gender behavior. Furthermore, gendered behavior was correlated with higher levels of participation for both sexes, and it was more or less similar for boys and girls and for different socio-economic status groups. However, when investigating differences in distributions between SES groups, high SES girls were found to have a significantly higher prevalence of both “boyish” and “girlish” activity behavior, but less “gender-neutral” compared with girls in medium and low SES groups. There were no such differences for boys.
Heterogeneity in Regional Consumption due to Current Income Shocks: Testing the Permanent Income Hypothesis for German Panel Data

In this paper we analyse the role of current income shocks on regional consumption patterns for a panel of German regions (NUTS1 level) between 1970 and 2007. The basic workhorse model of the analysis is the Permanent Income Hypothesis, which has recently been subject to new methodological improvements regarding the specication of expectation formation. Using both a short-run as well as
Atratividade e preferência para oviposição de Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) biótipo B em genótipos de tomateiro

Tomato genotypes of different species were evaluated regarding to attractiveness and oviposition preference of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotype B under greenhouse conditions. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design, with a split-pot scheme and three replicates. Plant infestation was done at 40-45 days after seedling transplanting by introducing highly whitefly-infested soybean plants. The variables evaluated were adult number and egg number on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of the leaflets, during five weeks. Each observation was composed by the mean numbers obtained for three leaflets. Leaf area of each genotype was determined to estimate whitefly population per cm2. There were no significant differences among genotypes and evaluations regarding to the presence of live adult whiteflies on the adaxial surfaces of the leaflets. For the number of live adult whiteflies on the abaxial surface, the least attractive genotypes were LA716 (Lycopersicon pennellii) and PI134417 (L. hirsutum f. glabratum); LA1609 (L. peruvianum) was one of the most attractive ones. Great number of dead adult whiteflies was registered on LA716, due to the sticky secretion produced by the glandular trichomes that cover leaves and stalks, trapping whiteflies when they contact the leaflet. Similar behavior was verified for LA1739, LA1740, PI127826 (L. hirsutum), PI134417 and PI134418 (L. hirsutum f. glabratum). LA716 and PI134418 were the least preferred genotypes for oviposition. The preferred genotypes for oviposition on the abaxial surface of the leaflets were CNPH1039, Japao (L. pimpinellifolium) and LA1609.
Change Comes with Time: Substantive Interpretation of Nonproportional Hazards in Event History Analysis

Although methodologists have provided us ample notice of both the problem of nonproportional hazards (NPHs) and the means of correcting for them, less attention has been paid to the postestimation interpretation. The suggested inclusion of time interactions in our models is more than a statistical fix: These corrections alter the substantive meaning and interpretation of results. Framing the issue as a specific case of multiplicative-interaction modeling, I provide detailed discussion of the problem of NPHs and present several appropriate means of interpreting both the substantive impact and the significance of variables whose effects may change over time.
Anti-Oxidative Activity of Fruit Extracts of Some Medicinal Plants Used against Chronic Diseases (Diabetes, Hypertension) in Kankan, Guinea

Ethnobotanical surveys in Kankan (Guinea) led to an inventory of 78 plants used in the treatment of hypertension and diabetes. Among them, 31 plants producing edible fruits were selected. From these, 16 were anti- hypertensive, 8 anti- diabetic and 7 were used to treat hypertension as well as diabetes. The strongest anti-oxydative activity was observed in the hydro alcoholic fruit extracts of Tamarindus indica L. (116.75 %), Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst. ex A. DC. (111.75 %), Strychnos spinosa Lam. ( 111.71 %) and Aframomum melegueta ( 111.12 %). The alcoholic extracts of Cissus aralioides (Welw. Ex Bak. ), Cola cordifolia (Cav. ) R. Br. , Gardenia ternifolia, Syzygium guineense (Willd.) DC were devoid of any antioxidant activity.
ASSOCIATION OF VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY WITH HYPOTHYROIDISM IN NEPALESE POPULATION: A PILOT STUDY.

Mahesh Prakash Bhatta 1,2 , Bhupendra Raj Pandey 3 , Anupa Lamichhane 4 , Mahendra Prasad Bhatt 2,4 , Mukund Joshi 5 , Alneil M. Hamza 6 and Dipendra Raj Pandeya*. 1. Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Pokhara University, Pokhara, Nepal. 2. LifeCare Diagnostics and Research Center Dhangadhi Pvt. Ltd, Dhangadhi, Nepal. 3. United Reference Laboratory Pvt. Ltd. Pokhara, Nepal. 4. Gandaki Medical College Teaching Hospital and Research Center Pvt. Ltd. Pokhara, Nepal. 5. Seti Zonal Hospital, Dhangadhi, Nepal. 6. Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Al Jouf University, Al Qurayyat, Saudi Arabia. 7. Department of Biochemistry, Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal . Manuscript Info Abstract . Manuscript History
Decadal variability of soil CO 2 , NO, N 2 O, and CH 4 fluxes at the Höglwald Forest, Germany

Abstract. Besides agricultural soils, temperate forest soils have been identified as significant sources of or sinks for important atmospheric trace gases (N2O, NO, CH4, and CO2). Although the number of studies for this ecosystem type increased more than tenfold during the last decade, studies covering an entire year and spanning more than 1–2 years remained scarce. This study reports the results of continuous measurements of soil-atmosphere C- and N-gas exchange with high temporal resolution carried out since 1994 at the Hoglwald Forest spruce site, an experimental field station in Southern Germany. Annual soil N2O, NO and CO2 emissions and CH4 uptake (1994–2010) varied in a range of 0.2–3.0 kg N2O-N ha−1yr−1, 6.4–11.4 kg NO-N ha−1yr−1, 7.0–9.2 t CO2-C ha−1yr−1, and 0.9–3.5 kg CH4-C ha−1yr−1, respectively. The observed high fluxes of N-trace gases are most likely a consequence of high rates of atmospheric nitrogen deposition (>20 kg N ha−1yr−1) of NH3 and NOx to our site. For N2O, cumulative annual emissions were ≥ 0.8 kg N2O-N ha−1yr−1 in years with freeze-thaw events (5 out 14 of years). This shows that long-term, multi-year measurements are needed to obtain reliable estimates of N2O fluxes for a given ecosystem. Cumulative values of soil respiratory CO2 fluxes tended to be highest in years with prolonged freezing periods, i.e. years with below average annual mean soil temperatures and high N2O emissions (e.g. the years 1996 and 2006). Furthermore, based on our unique database on trace gas fluxes we analyzed if soil temperature, soil moisture measurements can be used to approximate trace gas fluxes at daily, weekly, monthly, or annual scale. Our analysis shows that simple-to-measure environmental drivers such as soil temperature or soil moisture are suitable to approximate fluxes of NO and CO2 at weekly and monthly resolution reasonably well (accounting for up to 59 % of the variance). However, for CH4 we so far failed to find meaningful correlations, and also for N2O the predictive power is rather low. This is most likely due to the complexity of involved processes and counteracting effects of soil moisture and temperature, specifically with regard to N2O production and consumption by denitrification and microbial community dynamics. At monthly scale, including information on gross primary production (CO2, NO), and N deposition (N2O), increased significantly the explanatory power of the obtained empirical regressions (CO2: r2 =0.8; NO: r2 = 0.67; N2O, all data: r2 = 0.5; N2O, with exclusion of freeze-thaw periods: r2 = 0.65).
A review of flavour formation in continuous beer fermentations

The attractive prospect of a continuous beer fermentation system consists mostly of the accelerated transformation of wort into beer. Although continuous beer fermentation has been studied as a promising technology for several decades, the number of industrial applications is still limited. The major obstacle hindering the extensive industrial exploitation of this technology is the difficulty in achieving the correct balance of sensory compounds in the short time typical for continuous systems. This paper offers an integral view on the particularities of continuous systems, which may impart beer a sensorial character distinct from conventionally fermented counterparts. The main groups of flavour active compounds are discussed from the perspective of possible control strategies by means of process parameters and strain selection.
Homotopy Perturbation Method for Fractional Black-Scholes European Option Pricing Equations Using Sumudu Transform

The homotopy perturbation method, Sumudu transform, and He’s polynomials are combined to obtain the solution of fractional Black-Scholes equation. The fractional derivative is considered in Caputo sense. Further, the same equation is solved by homotopy Laplace transform perturbation method. The results obtained by the two methods are in agreement. The approximate analytical solution of Black-Scholes is calculated in the form of a convergence power series with easily computable components. Some illustrative examples are presented to explain the efficiency and simplicity of the proposed method.
Means of confusion: how pixel noise affects shear estimates for weak gravitational lensing

Weak-lensing shear estimates show a troublesome dependence on the apparent brightness of the galaxies used to measure the ellipticity: in several studies, the amplitude of the inferred shear falls sharply with decreasing source significance. This dependence limits the overall ability of upcoming large weak-lensing surveys to constrain cosmological parameters. We seek to provide a concise overview of the impact of pixel noise on weak-lensing measurements, covering the entire path from noisy images to shear estimates. We show that there are at least three distinct layers, where pixel noise not only obscures but also biases the outcome of the measurements: (1) the propagation of pixel noise to the non-linear observable ellipticity; (2) the response of the shape-measurement methods to limited amount of information extractable from noisy images and (3) the reaction of shear estimation statistics to the presence of noise and outliers in the measured ellipticities. We identify and discuss several fundamental problems and show that each of them is able to introduce biases in the range of a few tens to a few per cent for galaxies with typical significance levels. Furthermore, all of these biases do not only depend on the brightness of galaxies but also depend on their ellipticity, with more elliptical galaxies often being harder to measure correctly. We also discuss existing possibilities to mitigate and novel ideas to avoid the biases induced by pixel noise. We present a new shear estimator that shows a more robust performance for noisy ellipticity samples. Finally, we release the open-source python code to predict and efficiently sample from the noisy ellipticity distribution and the shear estimators used in this work at https://github.com/pmelchior/epsnoise.
Effects of Natural Winter Browsing and Simulated Summer Browsing by Moose on Growth and Shoot Biomass of Birch and Its Associated Invertebrate Fauna

Plant responses to mammalian herbivores can be manifold. Browsing by large mammals such as moose may change plant growth and morphology, which, in turn, will change the food quality and availability for e.g. invertebrate herbivores sharing the same forage plant. Furthermore, the intensity and timing of herbivory may affect plant responses and future herbivore attack. In a field experiment, we tested whether simulated summer browsing and natural winter browsing by moose affects growth and morphology of birch Betula pendula, and whether possible changes had effects on abundance and defoliation by herbivorous invertebrates. The simulated summer browsing treatment was applied in two intensities (50% and 100% defoliation of long shoots) during two different periods of the growth season (mid-June and mid-July). Simulated summer browsing delayed the timing of budburst, reduced height and diameter growth and resulted in reduced defoliation by invertebrate herbivores indicating an induced defence. Winter browsing by moose reduced diameter growth, leaf biomass of short shoots but increased height growth, the abundance of aphids and defoliation by insect herbivores. The effects of herbivory on the timing of budburst, leaf biomass of long and short shoots and the abundance of aphids were more pronounced when the birches were both browsed in winter and artificially stripped. The timing of the artificial leaf stripping treatment was important for nearly all tested variables. Concluding, summer and winter browsing by moose can have opposing or additive effects on plant morphology and growth. Therefore, also indirect effects of mammalian herbivory on invertebrate communities feeding on the same plant may differ, depending on the browsing intensity, the season of browsing and even the timing of browsing within the same season.
Evaluation of Anti-Alzheimer Activity of Ampelopsis brevipedunculata and the Isolated Compounds

Medicinal plants are main target for discovery of new drugs for treatment of many diseases. This study evaluated anti-Alzheimer activity of methanol (80%) extract of Ampelopsis brevipedunculata aerial parts and the isolated compounds. Anti-Alzhemier activity for (1) 5, 7-dihydroxy flavanone (pinocembrin), (2) 5, 7-dihydroxy-3, 6, 4'-trimethoxy flavone (santin), (3) Acacetin (4'-methoxy apigenin), (4) Acacetin 7-O-α-rhamnoside, (5) Acacetin 7-O-β-glucoside, (6) Luteolin 7-O-α-rhamnoside, (7) Apigenin 7-O-β-glucoside, (8) Apigenin 7-O-β-glucuronide and A. brevipedunculata extract was detected according to Ellman’s method. The results showed that A. brevipedunculata extract and the compounds 2, 6 and 8 were active as anti-Alzheimer agents. The extract showed IC50 = 0.62 μg mLG1 while IC50 = 0.44 μg mLG1, IC50 = 0.32 μg mLG1 and IC50 = 0.56 μg mLG1 for the compounds 2, 6 and 8, respectively, neostigmine (IC50 = 1.87 μg mLG1) was used as positive control. These results showed that A. brevipedunculata extract and the isolated compounds can be promising agents for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in the future.
Are Secondary Schools In Northern Ireland Too Small? A Microeconomic Analysis Of School Size And Career Choice At Sixteen

Recent research suggests the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between school size and examination performance at 16 for English secondary comprehensive schools. Increasing from a small size, positive teacher-specialisation and related effects dominate negative personal-relationship effects and vice versa at large sizes. It is suggested that schools with around 1000 to 1500 pupils are optimal in this respect. Given the existence of such an examination-performance effect, it is possible that school size also affects career choice at sixteen in a similar way. However, the literature has not so far addressed this question explicitly. In this paper, I examine the possible importance of school size as an explanatory factor in career choice at sixteen for a sample of young people completing their compulsory education in Northern Ireland. The issue is of particular interest in the region because of the religious segregation of schools, which, other things being equal, is likely to reduce their average size relative to those in Britain. However, rather than suggesting that NI schools are indeed too small, the results suggest they are close to their optimal size, at least in terms of discouraging early labour market entry. One possible explanation for this is that schools can operate successfully at a smaller scale because of the selective nature of secondary education in the region.
Theory of Scattering Frequencies Applied to Near-Trapping by Cylinders

At the last Workshop, Eatock Taylor et al. (2006) first attempted to investigate the time domain buildup to linear near-trapping by an array of cylinders, excited by a regular wave train generated by a wavemaker. The particular interest was the number of cycles required in practical terms to reach a steady state of near-trapping, following the startup of a wavemaker with an initial condition of still water. In the discussion, Meylan suggested that the buildup must be related to the imaginary part of the complex wavenumber corresponding to perfect trapping: i.e. the complex root of the coefficient matrix governing the solution of the diffraction problem for the array of cylinders. In this presentation we will provide the evidence for this suggestion, through use of the theory of scattering frequencies. Scattering frequencies, also called resonances and sometimes complex eigenvalues, are poles of the analytic continuation of the scattering operator (or the resolvant). They occur in many linear scattering processes, not just linear water waves. In the context of water waves they have been investigated by Hazard & Lenoir (1993)and Hazard & Lenoir (2002) for the case of arbitrary two-dimensional bodies (although calculations were presented only for special cases) and Meylan (2002) where the theory was developed to the point of giving a complete description of the motion in the timedomain but only for the very simple problem of a plate floating on water of shallow draft. We apply the theory of scattering frequencies to the simple case of scattering by bottom mounted cylinders. This reduces the problem to scattering by disks with Neumann boundary conditions for the two-dimensional Helmhotz equation. It avoids many of the difficulties associated with the analytic continuation because there is only a single wavenumber which can be treated as the parameter (as opposed to the frequency) so that the analytic continuation is relatively simple. This problem has also been studied by Evans & Porter (1997) who actually calculated the scattering frequencies (without naming them) but who did not make any further calculations. Interaction theory for cylinders
Physicochemical behavior of Riesling x Silvaner grapevine fruit under the high altitude conditions of Colombia (South America)

The Valle del Sol (Sun Valley) of the Boyaca department is a zone with temperate tropical climate conditions (2,500 m above sea level) that is suitable for the production of grapes for quality wine. The objective of this investigation was to study the physical and chemical behavior during growth and development of the grapevine fruit var. Riesling x Silvaner, produced for winemaking, in the municipality of Corrales (Boyaca, Colombia). To determine the physical and chemical characteristics of the fruit starting at 28 days after anthesis (daa), 14 weekly samplings were carried out, in each of which three clusters were taken from randomly selected plants. The development of the berry lasted 119 daa in which three stages were defi ned: herbaceous, veraison and maturation1. The herbaceous stage ended at 63 daa, the veraison period lasted 14 days and ended at 77 daa, whereas the maturation and ripening stage lasted 42 days; no period of overmaturity was observed. The behavior of the fresh mass, dry mass and diameter of the fruit followed a double sigmoid curve. During berry development, total soluble solids (from 5.03 to 23.73 °Brix at the harvest point), pH (from 2.88 to 3.71) and technological maturity index (from 2.27 to 21.84) all increased, whereas total titratable acidity decreased from 3.96 to 1.11%.
Evaluating the impacts of corruption on firm performance in developing economies: an institutional perspective

Conventionally, corruption is viewed as deleterious to firm performance. Analysing World Bank Enterprise Survey firm-level data across 132 countries and controlling for other firm performance determinants, this paper finds that paying corrupt public officials enhances firm performance. This is argued to be because developing economies are characterised by formal institutional imperfections (e.g., inefficient public administration and the weak rule of law). Making bribe payments compensates for these formal institutional imperfections. Examining the policy implications of this rational economic act for entrepreneurs, but which is deleterious at the aggregate country level for economic development and growth, the argument is that public authorities should shift away from increasing the costs of corruption by improving the risks of detection and penalties, and instead focus upon the formal institutional imperfections that lead to endemic corruption in the developing world.
Three-dimensional Quantum Supergravity and Supersymmetric Spin Foam Models

We show how super BF theory in any dimension an be quantized as a spin foam model, generalizing the situation for ordinary BF theory. This is a (cid:28)rst step toward quantizing supergravity theories. We investigate in parti ular 3-dimensional ( p = 1 , q = 1) supergravity whi h we quantize exa tly. We obtain a super-Ponzano-Regge model with gauge group OSp(1 | 2) . A main motivation for our approa h is the implementation of fermioni degrees of freedom in spin foam models. Indeed, we propose a des ription of the fermioni degrees of freedom in our model. Complementing the path integral approa h we also dis uss aspe ts of a anoni al quantization in the spirit of loop quantum gravity. Finally, we omment on 2+1 -dimensional quantum supergravity and the in lusion of a osmologi al onstant.
The Effect of Ownership Structure, Profitability, Leverage, and Firm Size on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), indicator used was the index of CSR disclosure with 64 companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange period of 2012 as the samples. This research used multiple regression analysis. The results show that institutional ownership, managerial and foreign has no effect on CSR. This indicates that the ownership structure could not improve CSR in the company. On the contrary, profitability has an influence on CSR. It indicates that companies with high profits have the fund flexibility to implement CSR programs that have been set. Moreover, corporate debt levels also affect the CSR with the negative direction. This means that companies with high debt levels will usually focus more on managing faced business risks rather than on CSR program. Last, company size has no effect on the company CSR.