Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of different phosphorus sources by the bloom-forming cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and Nodularia spumigena

ABSTRACT: A laboratory experiment was conducted to study differences in the use of varying phos-phorus sources by the bloom-forming filamentous cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and Nodularia spumigena . Axenic strains were grown in typical bloom-time light regimes under phos-phate-replete, added organic phosphorus phosphate-depleted and completely phosphorus-depletedconditions. Responses to the treatments differed clearly. A. flos-aquae growth was dependent on anample supply of inorganic dissolved phosphorus, whereas N. spumigena grew equally well in alltreatments. Cellular N:P ratios showed high plasticity for both species and phosphorus deficiency didnot seem to affect nitrogen fixation of either species. Regarding bloom formation, the results callattention to the importance of the omnipresence, eurythermal growth and deeper vertical positioningof A. flos-aquae in comparison to N. spumigena . N. spumigena is able to form and sustain bloom bio-masses relying on cellular phosphorus storage and effective remineralization of organic phosphoruscompounds.KEY WORDS: Filamentous cyanobacteria ·
Influence of boundary conditions on the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation during the last glacial maximum

Based upon coupled climate simulations driven by present day and glacial boundary conditions, we demonstrate that although the ice sheet topography modifications during the glacial period are primarily placed in the Northern Hemisphere (NH), a climate simulation that employs the ICE-5G glacial topography delivers significantly enhanced climate anomalies in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) as well. These conditions, in association with climate anomalies produced by the modification of the atmospheric CO 2 concentration characteristic of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) interval, are shown to be the primary forcing of the SH climate during this epoch. Climate anomalies up to -6°C over the Antarctic region and -4°C over South America are predicted to occur in respect to present day conditions. Accompanying the SH cooling in the LGM simulation there exists a remarkable reduction in the specific humidity, which in turn enforces the overall Southern Hemisphere cooling due to the weaker greenhouse capacity of the dry atmosphere.
The Impact Of Macroeconomic And Institutional Variables On Foreign Direct Investment Flows In Emerging Markets

Ozet Bu calismanin amaci “gelisen ekonomilere” (yukselen piyasalar) yonelen Dogrudan Yabanci Yatirim (DYY) hareketlerinde sosyal, siyasal ve iktisadi kurumlarin rolunu incelemektir. Gelismekte olan ulkelerde pazarin buyuklugu, iktisadi buyume performansi gibi makroekonomik degiskenlerin yani sira, kurumsal degiskenler de DYY hareketlerinde onemli rol oynamaktadirlar. Bu calisma yukselen piyasalarin neden farkli miktarlarda DYY cektigini (DYY dagiliminin bolgelere ve ulkelere gore esit olmamasi) siyasal ve sosyo-ekonomik kurumlarin farkliliklari ile aciklamaktadir. Calismada, yaptirim mekanizmasi, siyasal ve ekonomik istikrar, sivil ve politik haklar ve yolsuzluk gibi kurumsal degiskenlerin yabanci yatirim motivlerini ne yonde etkiledigi ampirik olarak incelenmeye calisilmistir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Dogrudan Yabanci Yatirimlar, Kurumsal Iktisat, Yukselen Piyasalar. Abstract The major focus of this study is on the relationship between political, social and economic institutions and Fo reign Direct Investment (FDI) in Emerging Markets. We believe that macroeconomic factors such as market size and growth rates affect FDI flows in a positive way; plus, we assert that one should also look a t the quality of institution s, in order to understand the uneven distribution of FDI in developing countries, especially in emerging economies. Explanations for distribution of FDI flows are either nonexistent or generally ad hoc, therefore, this study explores ho w differences in social economic and political institutions help explain these cross-country variatio ns in FDI flows. This study tries to empirically verify the argument that institutional factors such as enforcement mechanisms, political and economic stability, civil and political rights and corruption are critical in explaining the behavior of the foreign direct investment inflows in emerging markets. Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment, Institutional Economics, Emerging Markets
Temporal shifts in weapon focus: Comparing retrograde and anterograde effects

When an eyewitness suffers an impairment of memory for a criminal’s face because the criminal used a weapon during the commission of the crime, this impairment is called the weapon focus effect. Literature provides two explanations for how this effect arises: some implicate the narrowing of attentional cues to the weapon during the commission of a crime because arousal of the victim increases, while others claim that the weapon is merely a novel object in most everyday contexts, and novel objects demand more attention than contextually appropriate ones. The current study employed a simulated crime paradigm taking place in a bar where a criminal brandished either a drinking glass (normal object), a rubber chicken (novel object), or a gun (weapon). Timing of the object’s presentation was also manipulated such that it was visible before, after, or during the time when the culprit’s face was visible. Target-present and target-absent lineups, cued-recall questions, and retrospective identification confidence questions were administered. The weapon focus effect was found on diagnosticity ratios of lineup selections when objects were presented after the face such that the glass was more diagnostic of suspect guilt than the gun or the chicken. When objects were presented in tandem with the face, the glass was only more diagnostic of guilt than the gun. Eyewitness confidence suffered most when the chicken was seen. Implications for current theories of weapon focus and public policy are discussed. This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. Thesis Director: _______________________________________ Dr. James Michael Lampinen Thesis Committee: _______________________________________ Dr. Denise Beike _______________________________________ Dr. Mathew Feldner THESIS DUPLICATION RELEASE I hereby authorize the University of Arkansas Libraries to duplicate this thesis when needed for research and/or scholarship. Agreed __________________________________________ William Blake Erickson Refused __________________________________________ William Blake Erickson
A Simmelian approach to space in world politics

Assumptions regarding space and spatiality exist in all major theoretical traditions in international relations, from realism to constructivism, but the mutual constitution of space and social interaction in the study of world politics requires further conceptual development in its own right. This article suggests a preliminary research agenda for the study of space and social relations in IR by lending insight from Georg Simmel’s classical sociology of space. Simmel’s approach offers scholars of contemporary world politics an innovative conceptualization of the relations between physical and symbolic space (‘the physical-symbolic axis’) and between space and time (‘the spatio-temporal axis’); and a set of practical analytical tools to apply in IR research by defining the foundational qualities of space (exclusivity, divisibility, containment, positioning, and mobility) and suggesting a typology of distinct sociospatial formations: organized space, governed space, fixed space, and empty space. The article discusses the potential of Simmel’s nuanced relational approach to contribute to the contemporary study of world politics, and demonstrates its utility in two particular areas of research: the study of unbundled sovereignty and mobility in late modernity; and the study of empty spaces in IR.
Adsorption of 4-Toluene Sulfonic Acid on Modified Bentonite : Optimization by Response Surface Methodology

Adsorption of 4-toluene sulfonic acid (4-TSA) onto modified bentonite (ODTMA-bentonite) was carried out. ODTMA-bentonite was synthesized by placing quaternary ammonium surfactant (octadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide) on Cankiri sodium bentonite (CNa-B) having a cation exchange capacity of 85 meq/100 g clay. Response surface methodology based on a 5-level, 4-variable central composite rotatable was used to evaluate the effects of important parameters on the adsorption of 4-TSA on ODTMA-bentonite. Temperature (25-45 °C), agitation rate (30-170 rpm), the amount of organobentonite (0.1-1.5 g) and initial 4-TSA concentration (100-500 mg/l) were chosen as process variables for the optimization. Of these parameters, initial 4-TSA concentration and the amount of organobentonite had significant effects compared with temperature and agitation rate. The optimum values for the tested variables in selected ranges for the maximum adsorption of 4-TSA onto ODTMA-bentonite were found to be an adsorption temperature of 45 °C, an agitation rate of 170 rpm, an organobentonite level of 1.5 g and an initial concentration of 500 mg/l. The coefficient of determination (R2) for the model is 0.987. Probability value is 1.635 x 10-10 (P - value < 0.01). This p-value demonstrates a very high significance for the regression model. The predicted maximum adsorption in the selected ranges of 4-TSA on ODTMA --bentonite was 428 mg/l. An actual experimental value of 421 mg/l was obtained.
Assessing the applicability of Emiliania huxleyi coccolith morphology as a sea‐surface salinity proxy

Culture experiments were used to assess the applicability of Emiliania huxleyi coccolith morphology as a palaeo‐sea‐surface salinity (SSS) proxy. Coccolith morphology was dependent on salinity over a range reflecting present day marine conditions; both coccolith size and the number of coccolith elements increased linearly with increasing salinity. Using regression analysis, the effect of salinity on coccolith morphology was compared to those previously observed in sediment core‐top and plankton data. No significant differences were found between the slopes of these data, suggesting that salinity is the primary control on E. huxleyi coccolith size and element number in the ocean. However, the intercepts of the culture data were significantly higher. A combination of experimental and literature analysis indicated that temperature and nutrients were unlikely to be the causes of this discrepancy. Literature analysis also highlighted that coccolith size data from marginal environments displayed different intercepts to those from the open‐ocean data. This suggests that discrete morphotypes exist in these marginal locations. We, therefore, recommend that the original E. huxleyi coccolith morphology palaeo‐SSS transfer function requires further evaluation before being routinely applied.
Assessment of surface temperatures of buffalo bulls ( Bubalus bubalis ) raised under tropical conditions using infrared thermography

This paper aimed to evaluate the surface temperatures of buffalo bulls using infrared thermography, considering four distinct anatomical parts over time, and to correlate surface temperatures and thermal comfort indexes. The humid tropical climate (Köppen's Afi) was predominant in the research station where the experiment was performed and the trial lasted from April to August. Ten bulls (n=10) were evaluated every 25 days (morning: 6:00-9:00; afternoon: 12:00-15:00) and the parameters assessed were respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT), and the thermograms of surface temperature for orbital area (ORB), right flank (RF), left flank (LF) and scrotum (SCR). Climatological data was continuously monitored and the Temperature and Humidity Index (THI) and the Index of Comfort of Benezra (ICB) were calculated. The average values of THI were ≥78, and significant differences between shifts were observed (P<0.05). The ICB ranged from 1.96 to 2.25 and significant differences were observed for shifts and throughout the months (P<0.05). The averages of surface temperatures were RT=38.2±0.5°C, ORB=36.1±0.8°C, LF=33.5±2.5°C, RF=35.4±1. 7ºC and SCR=33.3±1.1°C, which exhibited significant differences for shifts and throughout the months (P<0.05). Positive correlations were obtained between THI and ORB (0.72), RF (0.77), LF (0.75) and SCR (0.41) (P<0.0001). The maximum temperature of ORB showed the highest correlation with RT (0.58, P<0.0001). Therefore, the surface temperatures are subject to climatic variations and increase throughout the day, due to the variation in thermal comfort indexes, and the maximum ORB temperature was the parameter most related to rectal temperature. Lastly, the results indicate that IRT may be a useful non-invasive and accurate tool to detect the variations in ORB, LF, RF and SCR temperature in buffalo bulls.
EFFECT OF DIFFERENT LEVEL OF NITROGENOUS FERTILIZER ON LARVAL AND POST LARVAL DEVELOPMENT OF PLUTELLA XYLOSTELLA (LINN.) INFESTING CAULIFLOWER

Nitrogen is one of the most critical chemical elements for plant and herbivores, profoundly influencing development and reproduction. The larval and post larval development of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Pluttelidae), were studied in relation to varying N fertilization levels (160, 80, 40 and 0 kg N/Ha.) in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.). The results showed that diamondback moth larvae grew faster gradually when fed with the increasing dose of N fertilization to host plant. However, the upper two levels of N i.e. 80 and 160 kg N/ha did show significant effect on larval development period and it did not influence the adult stage.
IMPLICATION OF TRIPS AGREEMENT IN TANZANIA: CASE STUDY OF PHARMACEUTICAL PATENT AND HIV/AIDS

This paper discusses implications of TRIPS Agreement in Tanzania with a special focus on Pharmaceutical Patents and HIV/AIDS. The TRIPS Agreement has brought opportunities for both South and Northern Countries, but it has seemed to benefit more those countries with Patent compared to those with no Patent. The Universal Declaration for human rights points out that the access to public health (health care) is the right of every human being, thus it expose the potential human rights that needs to be considered when implementing TRIPS Agreement in Developing countries. The analysis finds that, protection and enforcement of pharmaceutical process and products in Tanzania will form a basis of charging higher price to the essential drugs and technology transfer hence limits the access of low income earners to these drugs. Moreover, the paper finds that the enforcement of TRIPS in Tanzania will have two major impacts, first patents will show the way to higher drugs prices high hence restrict access to it, secondly, the patents will not promote Research and development on diseases that prevailing in Tanzania.i. e tropical diseases Moreover the findings have showed that those household families who are taking care of HIV/AIDS patients or where there are many people who are infected with this disease their income always decreases dramatically. Hence threaten to food security due to reduction of output. In relation to HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, the high price charged to these drugs does not mean that without patents everyone could have access to drugs; however there are those people who still will not afford even at below cost, factors such as lack of information, poor infrastructure and so on can act as an obstacles to them. Finally, the paper supports the consensus reached by other authors that Developing countries should adopt alternative measures (policy options) to have access to low price medicine (drugs), these policy options include parallel importation, full use of transition period and flexibilities, differential pricing and compulsory licensing.
Parameter subset selection in damage location

Methods to locate damage in structures, using a finite element model and low frequency measured vibration data, have attracted considerable interest. A large number of parameters are required to ensure that the damage location and mechanism may be modelled by at least one set of parameter values. Generally the identified parameter values are not unique and extra information must be incorporated into the identification. The finite element model of a damaged structure is likely to be in error at only a small number of sites. This is equivalent to requiring that only a subset of parameters are in error, and leads to the methods of subset selection. The standard method uses the sensitivity matrix based on the initial finite element model to choose the parameter subset. Many residuals used for damage location are nonlinear functions of the parameters, and this paper examines the relationship between the subset selection and the iteration required for the parameter estimation. Also measurements are often taken .
Equality-Efficiency Trade-off within French and German Couples – A Comparative Experimental Study

We present the results of an experiment measuring social preferences within couples in a context where intra-household pay-off inequality can be reduced at the cost of diminishing household income. We measure social norms regarding this efficiency-equality trade-off and implement a cross-country comparison between France and Germany. In particular, we show that German households are more inequality averse and are thus less efficient than French households. A decomposition of this difference reveals that approximately 40% is driven by diverging sample compositions in the two countries, while 60% of the initial French/German difference remains unexplained. Beliefs differ significantly from observed behavior in both countries. Efficient choices are overestimated in the German sample and underestimated in the French.
Effects of Calibration Sample Size and Item Bank Size on Ability Estimation in Computerized Adaptive Testing

This study aimed to investigate the effects of calibration sample size and item bank size on examinee ability estimation in computerized adaptive testing (CAT). For this purpose, a 500-item bank pre-calibrated using the three-parameter logistic model with 10,000 examinees was simulated. Calibration samples of varying sizes (150, 250, 350, 500, 750, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, and 5,000) were selected from the parent sample, and item banks that represented small (100) and medium size (200 and 300) banks were drawn from the 500-item bank. Items in these banks were recalibrated using the drawn samples, and their estimated parameters were used in post-hoc simulations to re-estimate ability parameters for the simulated 10,000 examinees. The findings showed that ability estimates in CAT are robust against fluctuations in item parameter estimation and that accurate ability parameter estimates can be obtained with a calibration sample of 150 examinees. Moreover, a 200-item bank pre-calibrated with as few as 150 examinees can be used for some purposes in CAT as long as it has sufficient information at targeted ability levels.
Testing Cross-sectional Dependence in Nonparametric Panel

In this paper we propose a nonparametric test for cross-sectional contemporaneous dependence in large dimensional panel data models based on the L2 distance between the pairwise joint density and the product of the marginals. The test can be applied to either raw observable data or residuals from local polynomial time series regressions for each individual to estimate the joint and marginal probability density functions of the error terms. In either case, we establish the asymptotic normality of our test statistic under the null hypothesis by permitting both the cross section dimension n and the time series dimension T to pass to infinity simultaneously and relying upon the Hoeffding decomposition of a two-fold U -statistic. We also establish the consistency of our test. We conduct a small set of Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the finite sample performance of our test and compare it with that of Pesaran (2004) and Chen, Gao, and Li (2009). JEL Classifications: C13, C14, C31, C33
Viewpoint: ungulate herbivory, willows, and political ecology in Yellowstone.

Contentions that willows (Salix spp.) on Yellowstone National Park's northern range have declined because of climatic change, fire suppression, reduced chemical defenses, or other natural factors are not supported by available data. Instead, willows have declined due to repeated browsing by an unnaturally large elk population. By established standards Yellowstone contains some of the worst overgrazed willow communities in the entire West, but that was not true in earlier times. Prior to park establishment, predation by Native Americans kept elk and other ungulate numbers low which, in turn, prevented herbivores from impacting Yellowstone's plant communities, as those animals do today. Finally, the condition of willows in the park is also a test of Yellowstone's "natural regulation" program, and that paradigm must also be rejected.
Evaluation of smear microscopy and geneXpert for the rapid diagnosis of pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis in a tertiary care hospital in North India: a descriptive prospective study

Background: Tuberculosis is a global health problem associated with high morbidity and mortality. Rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis is essential for early disease management. Conventional methods like microscopy and culture are associated with low sensitivity and longer time to positivity respectively. The GeneXpert is an integrated device for the rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its sensitivity to rifampicin. We evaluated the performance of gene expert MTB/ RIF assay for the diagnosis of pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Methods: A prospective cross sectional study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology. Samples were subjected to smear microscopy by ZN staining, culture on solid (LJ) and liquid media (BacT Alert) and GeneXpert assay. Results: 122 pulmonary samples and 153 extrapulmonary samples collected from 275 patients were included in the study. Out of these, 48 samples were positive by both culture and Xpert assay and 2 samples were culture positive only. Out of 225 culture negative samples, 3 were positive by GeneXpert. The sensitivity for GeneXpert was much higher compared to smear micrscopy (96 Vs 46% respectively). The Xpert assay also detected 3 rifampcin resistant cases. Conclusions: The test appeared to be as sensitive as culture for the detection of tuberculosis in smear positive, smear negative and extrapulmonary tuberculosis. We recommend the use of GeneXpert assay for the early detection of tuberculosis. We conclude that the test is simple and routine staff can perform the test with minimal training.
Business Strategy And Competitive Advantage In Family Businesses In Ghana: The Role Of Social Networking Relationships

The business strategy perspective argues that achieving competitive advantage hinges on pursing a coherent competitive strategy. Family businesses are also said to manifest a strong desire to develop enduring and committed social relationships with external stakeholders. This study examines the effect of business strategy on performance of family businesses and how their managerial social networking relationships with external entities moderate the business strategy–performance link. Using data from 54 family firms from Ghana, the findings indicate that: (1) the pursuit of the business strategies of cost leadership and differentiation create competitive advantage for family businesses; (2) social networking relationships with government bureaucratic officials and community leaders are beneficial to family businesses, but social networking relationships with political leaders is detrimental to family businesses; and (3) the benefit of business strategy to family businesses is moderated positively by networking with community leaders, but negatively by networking with political leaders.