Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Drought stress ecophysiology of shrub and grass functional groups on opposing slope aspects of a temperate grassland valley

Plant functional groups with contrasting growth strategies co-occur in semiarid ecosystems. In the northern Great Plains, woody shrubs and grasses interact competitively, with shrubs prevalent on mesic hillslopes. To understand topographic influences on physiological drought acclimation, we measured seasonal photosynthetic water use in C3 shrubs (Artemisia cana Pursh and Rhus trilobata Nutt.) and grasses (Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn. and Stipa viridula Trin. ) on north- and south-facing slopes. Relationships between abiotic controls and photosynthesis were similar on both aspects, indicating an absence of long-term photosynthetic acclimation to xeric, south-facing conditions. Acclimatory differences were observed between functional groups. Soil moisture depletion lowered intercellular:atmospheric CO2 ratio (Ci/Ca) and increased intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi = Amax/gs) in shrubs, but not grasses. Consequently, between-slope differences in net photosynthesis (Amax) and stomatal conductance (gs) oc.
A critical reflection on the research priorities for improving the health and social care to black and minority ethnic groups in Wales

Conceptual issues such as race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status and geographic location impact significantly on the level of access to information and on the utilisation, experience and satisfaction of health and social care provision. InWales, devolution has opened up new opportunities for assessing and addressing equality issues. In addition, policy shifts in Wales have led to a formalised amalgamation of health and social care policy making. It is within the context of these constitutional and policy changes that national research and support frameworks rooted in the health and social care needs of black and minority ethnic (BME) groups are being mapped. The aim of this paper is to detail one aspect of the findings of a scoping study conducted in 2005: the perceived priorities for and the challenges of improving the health and social care of black and minority ethnic (BME) groups in Wales. By reflecting on the main themes that emerged from the study, this paper offers a reflection on the national context within health and social care strategies for people from BME communities.
Tour Guiding Familiarization of 3rd year Tourism Management Students: An Experimental Learning towards Tour Activity Enhancement

The purpose of this study was to determine the overall perception of the 3rd year Tourism Management students on the Batis Aramin, Lucban, Quezon Tour by means of establishing the perceived value in experiential learning, identifying the most valuable activity, and how these affect their learning as Tourism students. This is a phenomenological study that allowed the respondents to fully express and expound on their lived experiences during the tour. The data were gathered using structured interview and focus group discussion to allow the respondents to freely narrate their experiences. They were pre-selected employing purposive sampling from those who actively participated in all the activities. Using thematic analysis, most of the responses revealed that students learn better when provided with “hands-on” and allowed to observe and collect a wide range of information. It was evidenced by the numerous responses in this study that the students learned the concrete experience of tour guiding and reflective observation about what they have learned during the tour. This study underscores the importance of allowing the students to become reflective learners and that taking into consideration of the students’ feedback constitutes a significant role in their learning and improvement of the tour guiding program of the school.
The Consistent 50% Excess Male Infant Mortality from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Other Respiratory Diseases is Evidence of an X-Linkage

The male excess of infant mortality is well known but without causal explanation. We have inadvertently discovered while investigating sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) that many causes of infant respiratory death have virtually the same male fraction as SIDS of about 0.61 male, subject to slight sampling variation. The only possible explanation for this consistency is that a recessive X-linkage is involved. We review the literature on infant mortality and propose that there exists a presently unidentified responsible X-linked gene that has a dominant allele with frequency p ≈ 1/3 and a corresponding recessive allele with frequency q ≈ 2/3, such that p+q=1. Either the dominant allele codes for an enzyme allowing anaerobic oxidation in respiratory control neurons or the recessive allele codes for a protein blocking anaerobic oxidation process in them. The gene and its alleles would only penetrate if, and only if, a susceptible infant attains an acute anoxic encephalopathy leading to critical respiratory control neuron death in the brainstem where the blood oxygen tension is the minimum in the entire body. Should the genetically susceptible infant dodge the potentially fatal anoxic condition, the gene may still penetrate later in childhood or adult life. Given an approximate 5% male birth excess, ~2/3 of the XY males will be at risk of having the recessive allele and q 2 ≈ 4/9 of XX females will be at similar risk. Therefore for ~1050 males born per 1000 females, ~700 males and ~444 females will be at risk with male fraction x ≈ 700/(700+444) ≈ 0.612. We show for 11 respiratory causes of death with over one half million cases, that the male fraction is ~0.604. It has not escaped our notice that a possible mode of prevention of SIDS may be possible.
Evidence from three‐dimensional seismic tomography for a substantial accumulation of gas hydrate in a fluid‐escape chimney in the Nyegga pockmark field, offshore Norway

In recent years, it has become evident that features commonly called gas chimneys provide major routes for methane to pass through the methane-hydrate stability zone in continental margins and escape to the ocean. One of many such chimneys lying beneath pockmarks in the southeastern Voring Plateau off Norway was investigated with a high-resolution seismic experiment employing a 2-D array of sixteen 4-component ocean bottom seismic recorders at approximately 100 m separation and a dense network of shots to define the 3-D variation of the chimney's structure and seismic properties. The tomographic model derived from P wave travel times shows that P wave velocity inside the chimney is up to 300 m/s higher than in the surrounding strata within the methane-hydrate stability zone. The zone of anomalously high velocity, about 500 m wide near its base, narrowing to about 200 m near the seabed, extends to a depth of 250 m below the seafloor. The depth extent of this zone and absence of high velocity beneath the base of the methane-hydrate stability field make it more likely that it contains hydrate rather than carbonate. If a predominantly fracture-filling model is appropriate for the formation of hydrate in low-permeability sediment, the maximum hydrate concentration in the chimney is estimated to be 14%–27% by total volume, depending on how host-sediment properties are affected by hydrate formation. Doming of the strata penetrated by the chimney appears to be associated with the emplacement of hydrate, accompanying the invasion of the gas hydrate stability zone by free gas.
Reference Values of CD4-Lymphocyte Counts in HIV Seronegative Pregnant Women in Buea, Cameroon

Pregnancy is a physiologically immunocompromised state, during which alterations in T-lymphocyte subsets may occur. Reference values for CD4 counts in pregnancy have not been established particularly in sub-Saharan populations. This study aimed at describing expected (‘normal’) values of CD4 counts in healthy HIV-negative pregnant women so these could serve as reference for assessing the progress of HIV disease in HIV-infected pregnant women. The study was conducted in antenatal clinics in the Buea Health District, Cameroon. All eligible women were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. Whole blood samples collected were tested for HIV using Determine 1/2 and SD Bioline HIV-1/2 3.0 rapid tests. The CD4+ absolute counts were assessed using the Partec Cyflow Counter and the CD4 easy count kit. A total of 279 women were analysed. Their ages ranged from 15 to 47 years. A vast majority (95%) of participants were in the second or third trimester of gestation. Slightly less than half (43%) were primiparous. The CD4 cell count ranged from 321 to 1808 cells/μl . This distribution was approximately normal with a mean of 851cells/μl, a median of 831cells/μl , and a standard deviation of 254cells/μl . The expected (‘normal’) range, covering 95% of the sample was 438-1532 cells/μl. Participants with malaria parasitaemia tended to have a lower CD4 count (lower on average by 115 cells/μl, P Keywords: CD4 counts, HIV-negative, pregnancy
Peripheral nervous system damage in hypothyroidism: current view on the problem (literature review)

The article presents the pathogenesis of polyneuropathy symptoms in patients with hypothyroidism, whereby the approaches to the pathogenetic therapy are substantiated. The article represents the most important aspects of hypothyroid polyneuropathy treatment according to the latest international guidelines and perspective scientific approaches to optimize the medical care for patients with this pathology.
Side-by-Side Management of Hedge Funds and Mutual Funds

We examine situations where the same fund manager simultaneously manages mutual funds and hedge funds. We refer to this as side-by-side management. We document 344 such cases involving 693 mutual funds and 538 hedge funds. Proponents of this practice argue that it is essential to hire and retain star performers. Detractors argue that the temptation for abuse is high, and the practice should be banned. Our analysis based on various performance metrics shows that side-by-side mutual fund managers significantly outperform peer funds, consistent with this privilege being granted primarily to star performers. Interestingly, side-by-side hedge fund managers are at best on par with their style category peers, casting further doubt on the idea that conflicts of interest undermine mutual fund investors. Thus, we find no evidence of welfare loss for mutual fund investors due to exploitation of conflicts of interest. The Author 2010. 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.
In vitro shoot proliferation competence of apple rootstocks M. 9 and M. 26 on different carbon sources.

Competence of two apple rootstocks M. 9 and M. 26 for in vitro shoot proliferation was appraised using a miscellany of carbon sources i.e., sorbitol, sucrose, glucose and mannitol which were employed @ 0, 5, 15, 25, 35 and 45 g l -1 . The most auspicious outcome was achieved by sorbitol @ 35 g l -1 (T9) being the optimal carbon source for both the genotypes. M. 26 had a positive interaction with sorbitol at this concentration to produce the best caulogenic response in terms of a paramount shoot length (3.01 cm) and an overriding fresh weight increment (402 mg) whereas M. 9 at the same concentration gave an eminent shoot number (9.8). Sucrose and glucose also had a positive carryover effect on apple shoots to some extent but proved to be inferior to sorbitol. Results yielded by mannitol were highly indigent in comparison to other carbon sources. Rootstocks exhibited an inconsistency regarding their aptitude for shoot proliferation. M. 26 was recognized as a better rootstock with an acquisition of 1.05 cm shoot length and 154.6 mg fresh weight while M. 9 stood better with maximum shoot number of 2.3.
Relationship between Teachers’ Experience and Their Talk Richness: A Case Study of Iranian EFL Teachers

The purpose of the present study is to address the relationship between teachers' experience and the richness of their talk in an EFL classroom context. The participants were four male EFL teachers who were divided into two groups, namely inexperienced and experienced. To collect the required data for this study, the researcher observed the classrooms as a non-participant and made audio-recordings from one lesson of each teacher. Using the above-mentioned method, seven hours of naturally occurring data was obtained from the four teachers participating in this study. The measure of lexical variation which is a type-token ratio was used to assess the lexical richness of teachers talk. The findings showed that experienced teachers used less number of types and tokens in their talk in comparison to their inexperienced counterparts which is attributed to reasons such as different approaches of experienced and inexperienced teachers toward communicative approach, the teachers' own language learning experiences and background knowledge, the various teaching history of teachers, and different type of relationship between teachers and students.
Root confinement and irrigation frequency affect growth of ‘Rough lemon’ (Citrus limon) seedlings

Introduction. Root restriction occurs when seedlings are grown in increasingly small containers and it reduces plant growth in different ways. Therefore, the objectives of our study were to investigate the effects of varying container sizes and irrigation frequency on growth parameters of 'Rough lemon' (C. limon) plants Maseno, Kenya. Materials and methods. The treatments tested the effect of three container volumes (1.7 L, 2.7 L and 4.5 L) and three irrigation frequencies (every day (W1), every two days (W2) and every 3 days (W3)). The design of the experiment was completely randomized with three replications. Growth parameters studied were plant height, canopy height, shoot and root weight, number of leaves and shoot to root ratio. Results and discussion. Increasing container volumes generally increased the height of plants, height of canopy, weight of whole plants and weight of roots, but it did not affect number of leaves, stem diameter or shoot to root ratio. Irrigation frequency increased number of leaves, height of plants, height of canopy, stem diameter and weight of shoots and roots, but this factor had no effect on weight of whole plants. These findings are explained by reduced root restriction in the largest container volumes. Conclusion. Increasing container volumes from 1.7 L to 4.5 L and irrigation frequency from every 3 days to every day increases plant growth as expressed in the various plant growth parameters. Nigeria / Citrus limon / plant propagation / plant nurseries / planting stock / growth / container planting / irrigation
An Intersection–Union Test for the Sharpe Ratio

An intersection–union test for supporting the hypothesis that a given investment strategy is optimal among a set of alternatives is presented. It compares the Sharpe ratio of the benchmark with that of each other strategy. The intersection–union test takes serial dependence into account and does not presume that asset returns are multivariate normally distributed. An empirical study based on the G–7 countries demonstrates that it is hard to find significant results due to the lack of data, which confirms a general observation in empirical finance.
The occurrence of Metacyclops subdolus Kiefer (Crustacea: Copepoda) in subterranean waters of Greece with remarks on its systematic status

In the course of biological studies on the underground aquatic systems of Greece, carried out during 1974-1978 at the Zoological Institutes of the University of L' Aquila and Rome (Italy), besides other subterranean Crustaceans (Amphipods, Isopods, Syncarids, etc.), large samples of Cyclopids Copepods were obtained (Pesce and coil., 1978; Maggi and Pesce, 1978). Among these materials, which were submitted to me for study, numerous specimens of the supposedly rare and still doubtful hypogean species Metacyclops subdolus Kiefer were identified from samples of Attica and of the Island of Crete. (2) These records are noteworthy and of great systematic and biogeographic value, since until now this species was reported only from the type-locality, i.e. from the lightly brackish waters of the «L' Abisso», «Huco dei Diavoli» and «Zinzulusa» Caves, Otranteland, Southern Italy. Since 1938, when it was for the first time discovered by Stammer and described by Kiefer, M. subdolus has never been collected either from the type-locality or from other localities, and in the past some doubts were raised about its systematic validity (Ruffo, 1955; Pesce and coIl., 1978). The present collections from subterranean freshwaters of Greece, together with some other samples of the same species we recently obtained during our studies, still in progress, from the phreatic waters of the Southern Italy, type locality included (Pesce and coil., 1978), both enlarges its geographical range and helps to better define its systematic status and ecology. In the present paper, the new localities from Greece together with the main morphological and ecological features of the species are reported and briefly discussed and some remarks on its variability are demonstrated.
"Risk" in fisheries management: a review

Risk" has appeared more frequently in the fisheries management literature in recent years. The reasons for this are partly internal (scientists seeking better ways to advise fishery managers) and partly external (e.g., adoption of the precautionary approach). Though terminology varies, there is consensus that there are two stages in dealing with risk. The first (here called risk assessment) is the formulation of advice for fisheries managers in a way that conveys the possible consequences of uncertainty. This advice is in the form of an evaluation of the expected effects of alternative management options, rather than recommendations. Risk assessment has been undertaken in many fisheries, and there is general agreement as to how it should be done (although technical details differ). The second stage (risk management) is the way fishery managers take uncertainty into account in making decisions. Much fisheries risk management is informal, i.e., nonquantitative, undocumented, and loosely linked (if at all) with a risk assessment. The major reason for this is that the objectives of fisheries management are often conflicting and are rarely stated in a way that provides explicit direction to managers or scientists. Resume : Le mot risque est employe plus frequemment dans la documentation sur la gestion des peches au cours des dernieres annees. S'il en est ainsi, c'est en partie pour des raisons internes (les scientifiques cherchent de meilleures facons de conseiller les gestionnaires des peches) et en partie pour des raisons externes (p. ex., l'adoption d'une approche prudente). Bien que la terminologie varie, il y a consensus sur le fait qu'il existe deux niveaux lorsqu'on parle de risque. Le premier niveau (appele ici evaluation du risque) est la formulation d'un conseil a l'intention des gestionnaires des peches d'une maniere qui met en lumiere les consequences possibles de l'incertitude. Ce conseil prend la forme d'une evaluation des effets prevus de differentes options de gestion, plutot que de recommandations. L'evaluation du risque a ete entreprise dans le cas de nombreuses pecheries et, de facon generale, on s'entend sur la facon dont elle doit etre effectuee (bien que les details techniques varient). Le deuxieme niveau (gestion du risque) est la facon dont les gestionnaires des peches tiennent compte de l'incertitude lorsqu'ils prennent des decisions. Une grande partie de la gestion du risque dans le domaine des peches est informelle, c'est-a-dire, non quantitative, non documentee et liee vaguement a une evaluation du risque (si jamais elle l'est). La principale raison qui justifie cette situation, c'est que les objectifs en matiere de gestion des peches sont souvent contradictoires et qu'ils sont rarement formules d'une maniere qui donne des instructions explicites aux gestionnaires ou aux scientifiques. (Traduit par la Redaction)
Citation: Paterson, Elaine (2005) Quality New Development in English Market Towns: case studies examining the role of town planning. In: 19th Congress of the Association of European Schools of Planning, 13-17 July 2005, Vienna, Austria. URL:

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Impact of Psychological Contract on Job Behavior of Non- Executive Employees in Selected Government Organizations in Sri Lanka

This study discusses the impact of psychological contract on job behavior of non -Executive employees in selected government sector organizations in Sri Lanka. The main objective of this study is to find out whether there is a relationshipbetween psychological contract and job behavior. Hence, the research problem of this study is “how psychological contract impact on job behavior of non-executive employees in selected government sector organizations in Sri Lanka? ’ The data in this regard were collected from a randomly selected sample of 100 non-executive employees of selected government sector organizations and, for the purpose,astructured questionnaireconsisting of 46 questions/statements with 5 point Likert scale was used The data analysis was carried out under the univariate and bivariate analysers. There is a strong positive relationship among the all independent variables and job behavior of the non-executives in the government sector organizations in Sri Lanka. It is concluded that there was a strong positive relationship between the two variables: the psychological contract and the job behavior. It was recommended that there should be awareness in the management of the relationship between two variables and various programs that are used to enhance and sustain the favorable level of psychological contract of non-executive employees. Keywords: Executive Employees, Job Behavior, Psychological Contract