Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity of atmospheric CO 2 and climate to explosive volcanic eruptions

Abstract. Impacts of low-latitude, explosive volcanic eruptions on climate and the carbon cycle are quantified by forcing a comprehensive, fully coupled carbon cycle-climate model with pulse-like stratospheric aerosol optical depth changes. The model represents the radiative and dynamical response of the climate system to volcanic eruptions and simulates a decrease of global and regional atmospheric surface temperature, regionally distinct changes in precipitation, a positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation, and a decrease in atmospheric CO2 after volcanic eruptions. The volcanic-induced cooling reduces overturning rates in tropical soils, which dominates over reduced litter input due to soil moisture decrease, resulting in higher land carbon inventories for several decades. The perturbation in the ocean carbon inventory changes sign from an initial weak carbon sink to a carbon source. Positive carbon and negative temperature anomalies in subsurface waters last up to several decades. The multi-decadal decrease in atmospheric CO2 yields a small additional radiative forcing that amplifies the cooling and perturbs the Earth System on longer time scales than the atmospheric residence time of volcanic aerosols. In addition, century-scale global warming simulations with and without volcanic eruptions over the historical period show that the ocean integrates volcanic radiative cooling and responds for different physical and biogeochemical parameters such as steric sea level or dissolved oxygen. Results from a suite of sensitivity simulations with different magnitudes of stratospheric aerosol optical depth changes and from global warming simulations show that the carbon cycle-climate sensitivity γ, expressed as change in atmospheric CO2 per unit change in global mean surface temperature, depends on the magnitude and temporal evolution of the perturbation, and time scale of interest. On decadal time scales, modeled γ is several times larger for a Pinatubo-like eruption than for the industrial period and for a high emission, 21st century scenario.
Effects of methanol extracts of Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. stem and Corchorus olitorius Linn. seed on male reproductive system of mice

SUMMARY The antifertility activity of methanol extract of Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. stem (MECR) and Corchorusolitorius Linn. seed (MECO) were studied on male Swiss albino mice. The extracts were found todecrease sperm count, percentage of motile sperm and testosterone level in treated mice whencompared with vehicle control after 17 days of treatment. The weight of gonads, epididymis weredecreased whereas no significant changes of the body weight of mice were observed aftermethanol extract treatments. The fertility test showed 100% negative result in MECR and MECOtreated mice at medium and high dose level of treatment. MECR and MECO in low (25 mg/kgand 15 mg/kg, respectively), medium (50 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg, respectively) and high (75 mg/kg and 25 mg/kg, respectively) dose level caused a simultaneous fall in testicular Δ5-3β–hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities which are involved intesticular steroidogenesis. Total cholesterol and ascorbic acid content in testis were increasedsignificantly in gonads. The activities of lactate dehydrogenase, malic dehydrogenase and ascorbic acidoxidase were reduced whereas that of carbonic anhydrase was increased significantly in the testisof MECR and MECO treated mice. All these observations indicate that the methanol extract of C.reflexa stem and C. olitorius seed produced antifertility activity in sexually matured male mice,which may be due to inhibition of gonadal steroidogenesis. This activity may be attributed due tothe presence of flavonoids and steroids, respectively.Key words: Cuscuta reflexa; Corchorus olitorius; male mice; reproductive system; MECR; MECO
Using Financial Information to Differentiate Failed vs. Surviving Finance Companies in Thailand: An Implication for Emerging Economies

This article combines qualitative and quantitative information from financial statements and auditors' reports with logistic models to differentiate failed from surviving finance companies in Thailand. Failed companies are those that were forced to suspend their operations in mid-1997. The results indicate that auditors' reports from the 1996 financial statements did not differentiate failed from surviving finance companies. On the other hand, the logistic regression models indicate that failed finance companies had lower profitability, lower foreign borrowing possibly due to their poorer credit rating, lower management quality, and smaller size. These models have relatively high predictive ability for failed finance companies and low expected costs of misclassification
Tectonic deformation in western Washington from continuous GPS measurements

The analysis of 3 years of continuous data from 7 permanent GPS stations along the western Washington section of the Cascadia Subduction Zone indicates that the direction of the observed horizontal velocities (with respect to station DRAO, nominally representing the stable North American continent) is roughly parallel to the relative plate convergence direction of the Juan de Fuca and North America plates and that their magnitude decreases away from the trench. Most of this deformation can be attributed to inter‐seismic strain accumulation due to the locking of the thrust interface. When the dislocation model predictions are subtracted from the observed velocities, there is evidence for an additional N‐S oriented contraction at a rate of ∼4 mm/yr over a distance of 250 km. This signal presumably represents a more long‐term deformation pattern than the periodic accumulation and release of elastic strain connected with subduction earthquakes and is most likely related to the occurrence of shallow earthquakes in western Washington that are characterized by predominantly N‐S oriented maximum principal stress.
Measuring the Behavioral Component of Financial Fluctuations: An Analysis Based on the S&P 500

We study the evolution of the behavioral component of the financial market by estimating a Bayesian mixture model in which two types of investors coexist: one rational, with standard subjective expected utility theory (SEUT) preferences, and one behavioral, endowed with an S-shaped utility function. We perform our analysis by using monthly data on the constituents of the S&P 500 index from January 1962 to April 2012. We assume that agents take investment decisions by ranking the alternative assets according to their performance measures. A tuning parameter blending the rational and the behavioral choices can be estimated by using a criterion function. The estimated parameter can be interpreted as an endogenous market sentiment index. This is confirmed by a number of checks controlling for the correlation of our endogenous index with measures of (implied) financial volatility, market sentiments and financial stress. Our results confirm the existence of a significant behavioral component that reaches its peaks during periods of recession. Moreover, after controlling for a number of covariates, we observe a significant correlation between the estimated behavioral component and the S&P 500 return index.
The effects of fluctuating climatic conditions and weather events on nutrient dynamics in a narrow mosaic riparian peatland

N tot , NO 3 -N, NO 2 -N, NH 4 -N, P tot , PO 4 -P, SO 4 , Fe, Ca, Al, K, Mg and dissolved O 2 concentrations, as well as water temperature, pH, Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP) and electric conductivity were measured in soil water and ground water sampled from different plant communities located along topo-edaphic gradients from moraine upland to stream valley in two small agricultural catchments in southeastern Estonia. The production rate and the N and P content in plant biomass were also analyzed. The mosaic soil and vegetation pattern had a significant influence on soil water quality. In the arable land, the mean annual concentration of total inorganic nitrogen (NH 4 -N + NO 2 -N + NO 3 -N) in piezometer water was 3-40 mg N 1 -1 but in the riparian grey alder forest (Alnus incana) total inorganic nitrogen never exceeded 1 mg N 1 -1 . The most significant reduction was in the average concentration of NO 3 -N content, which was reduced from 25 mg 1-1 under the arable land to 0.5 mg 1 -1 in both the alder forest and the sedge-dominated floodplain. The average P tot concentration also decreased under the alder stands, being 0.2-1.5 mg P 1 -1 in the arable land and less than 0.2 mg P 1 -1 in the alder forest. Wetland herb communities (Carex elata association, Filipendula ulmaria, Cirsium oleraceum and Aegopodium podagraria dominated communities) also had a significant influence on soil water quality, increasing the internal cycling of N and P within the peatland. The plant biomass (the sum of above- and below-ground biomass) of riparian and wetland communities accumulates up to 54.3 g N m -2 and up to 5.3 g P m -2 during the growth season. The following factors have the highest priority in weather-induced changes in the nutrient fluxes in riparian peatlands: (a) the duration of frozen surface, (b) snowpack peak water, (c) the precipitation pattern over the warm period, (d) the duration and continuity of certain weather, (e) the occurrence of night frost events and soil freeze-thaw cycles. When night frost events start, the importance of autumn rainfalls is enhanced, as the high water-table intensifies the denitrification process but also increases Ca, Mg, K, N and P losses released during the frost-thaw cycle.
Wave transmission in Hostun sand: multiaxial experiments

cubical cell which is being used to study the multiaxial stiffness of dry Hostun sand. The elements can be used to track wave transmission in both shear and compression modes both across from one side to the opposite side of the cube and diagonally from one side to an adjacent side and thus to deduce the elements of the cross-anisotropic stiffness matrix of the sand. Practicalities of the bender installation reduce the degree of redundancy in these deductions. An assessment of the evolution of elastic anisotropy under axially symmetric stress conditions is presented.
Essay written for the FQXi contest on the Nature of Time

Following a line of research that I have developed for several years, I argue that the best strategy for understanding quantum gravity is to build a picture of the physical world where the notion of time plays no role at all. I summarize here this point of view, explaining why I think that in a fundamental description of nature we must "forget time", and how this can be done in the classical and in the quantum theory. The idea is to develop a formalism that treats dependent and independent variables on the same footing. In short, I propose to interpret mechanics as a theory of relations between variables, rather than the theory of the evolution of variables in time.
Femtosecond Spin Dynamics Mechanism In Graphenes: The Bloch NMR-Schrödinger Probe

The mechanism of the femtosecond spin dynamics is still not properly understood. The remodeled Bloch-Schrodinger equation was incorporated into the Hamiltonian. The mechanism of the femtosecond dynamics was investigated under three quantum states. The spin relaxation mechanism operated in a single continuous time scale (>70ps) which was in variance with known postulate. The transient reflectivity was measured to be within an angular range of 18.6 o to 90.0 o at a pulse range of 1MHz to 6.5 MHz. Beyond the pulse intensity of -2.5, the system elapsed into a quasi-equilibrium state which explains the independence of the magnetic moment on the pulse intensity. Different possibilities of the femtosecond spin dynamics were worked out for future study.
Gender Differences in Serum Prolactin Levels in Drug Naïve First Episode Schizophrenia

Objective: To determine if there is a significant rise in serum prolactin (PRL) in acute psychosis related to disease process and weather there is a significant gender difference in the level of PRL and its correlation psychopathology. Procedure: Naturalistic study involved 60 consenting outpatients and inpatients in a tertiary psychiatric setting. Patient base was comprised of men (n = 30) and women (n = 30) with 83% in the age range of 21 - 40 years old. All subjects had confirmed first episode diagnosis set forth by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Patients were drug free and drug naive. Standardization for control was done using 15 control PRL samples obtained from healthy individuals. Methodology involved assessment by radioimmunoassay, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale at day 1, 3 weeks and again at 6 weeks. All patients were treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs. Results: Serum PRL was elevated on baseline in 75% of first episode psychosis schizophrenia, yet found to have a negative correlation to psychopathology at base week 3 and week 6 samples. Conclusions: Elevated serum PRL is not a potential indicator of acute schizophrenia. Levels are higher in females than in males, yet females respond better to treatment at a lower dose than males.
Exfoliation of graphene oxide and its application in improving the electro-optical response of ferroelectric liquid crystal

Near complete exfoliation and reduction of lyophilized graphene oxide (GO) has been carried out at temperature as low as 400 °C. The structural characterizations of the reduced GO have been performed using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The morphological studies were carried out using scanning electron microscopy. The synthesized GO finds an application in improving the switching performance of a liquid crystal (LC) mixture by remarkably modifying the physical properties, such as spontaneous polarization and rotational viscosity of the ferroelectric LC (FLC) material which in turn resulted into faster response of the FLC. The present study explores the possibility of low temperature thermal reduction of GO along with its application in improving the properties of LC based display systems.
of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society Title Regularity and Irregularity in French Inflectional Morphology Permalink

Can regular and irregular verb forms be accommodated by a single representational mechanism or is a dual mechanism account required? In a first experiment, we used a cross-modal repetition priming paradigm to investigate the mental representation of regular and irregular verb forms in French. Subjects heard a spoken prime (such as aimons) immediately followed by lexical decision to a visual probe (such as aimer). We contrasted four types of French verbs, varying in the phonological and morphological regularity of their verb form inflection. These were (i) regular verbs (aimons/aimer) (ii) verbs that undergo predictable phonological changes (sèment/semer) (iii) verbs to which sub-rules apply (teignent/teindre) and (iv) irregular verbs with idiosyncratic alternations (vont/aller). The infinitive forms of these verbs were presented as target in three prime conditions: preceded either by a regular form, an irregular/modified form (except for the regular verbs), or a control unrelated prime. Morphologically related primes, whether regular or irregular, significantly facilitated lexical decision responses for all four verb classes. The same pattern of results was observed in a second experiment using a masked priming paradigm. These results contrasted with English, where regularly inflected verbs prime their stems but irregular verbs do not. We argue that the pattern observed in French reflects the decomposability of French irregular forms.
Corporate Governance and Financial Performance of Bank in Asian Regions and Recommendations

This research analyzes the bank’s corporate governance with financial performance relationship in Asian regions. As we know, corporate governance helps to promote prosperity, financial performance and economic growth. In this research, we use multiple linear regression analysis and correlation matrix to explain the effect of explanatory variable; namely, Capital ( CAR ), Profitability ( PTC and ROAA ), Asset Size ( TA ) and Asset Quality ( NPL ) on a proxy variable which are the Corporate Governance ( CG ), Board Size ( BS ) and Board Meeting ( BM ). Findings are that there is statistically significant relationship between CAR, PTC and corporate governance. TA, NPL, ROAA are not statistically significant relationship between corporate governance. There is also statistically significant relationship between CAR, PTC and board size. TA, NPL and ROAA are not statistically significant relationship between board sizes. Besides, there is showed statistically significant relationship between PTC, TA, ROAA and board meeting. CAR and NPL are not statistically significant relationship between board meetings. Additionally, this study also finds that financial performance of banks in Year 2007-2008 (financial crisis) is statistically different from that of Year 2011-2012. Since banks faced slowdown in the US economy and financial crisis in Year 2007-2008. It shows that PTC and ROAA are no statistically significant difference. CAR, TA and NPL are statistically significant difference. The methods of banks use to improve corporate governance and financial performance via strengthen internal control and ensure compliance is important. It can help management to respond risk quickly and achievement of objectives.
PREVALENCE OF COMMONLY FOUND PATHOLOGIES ASSOCIATED WITH IMPACTED THIRD MOLARS BASED ON PANORAMIC RADIOGRAPHS

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of association of group of radiographically detectable pathologic conditions with impacted third molars on panoramic radiographs. Materials and Methods: 500 patients with fully/partially impacted third molars among outpatient visiting the department of Oral medicine and radiology were included in the study. Their panoramic radiographs were taken and following radiographic lesions were recorded in relation to impacted third molars: Caries on impacted third molars, caries on distal aspect of second molars, periodontal bone loss on distal aspect of second molars, pericoronal radiolucency, periapical radiolucency, odontoma and external root resorption of second molars. Results: Total number of radiographically detectable pathologies associated with 1118 impacted third molars in 500 patients was 184 with overall prevalence of 16.5%. The most common pathology seen associated with impacted third molars on panoramic radiographs was caries on distal aspect of second molar [32.6%] followed by periodontal bone loss on distal aspect of second molars [31.5%]. Prevalence of pathologies associated with impacted third molars was higher in males than in females. Prevalence of pathologies associated with impacted third molars increased with age. Prevalence of pathologies associated with impacted mandibular third molars was found to be higher than maxilla. Conclusion: Low prevalence did not offer support for the likely development of pathologic conditions to be an indication for third molar removal and before prophylactic removal of impacted third molar risk benefit ratio should be calculated.
Phytochemical Screening and Teratogenic Effect of Lyophilized Water Extracts from Ocimum sanctum L. (Holy Basil) and Tamarindus indica L. (Tamarind) Leaves in Danio rerio Embryos

The toxic and teratogenic effects of lyophilized water extracts of Ocimum sanctum and Tamarindus indica in Danio rerio embryos and their active phytochemicals were assessed and analyzed in this study. Analysis revealed that O. sanctum contained flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, and tannins while T. indica had flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, and alkaloids. In D. rerio assay, a 100% mortality was observed in embryos exposed to 5000 ppm and 10000 ppm of O. sanctum and to 10000 ppm of T. indica after 12 hours of exposure. At 48 hours of exposure, O. sanctum extract-treated embryos showed 25.00% and 58.33% mortality while T. indica had 8.33% and 33.33% mortality at 100 and 500 ppm concentrations of each extract, respectively. Embryos at 100 ppm or higher concentrations significantly recorded lower heartbeat rate while no heartbeat was observed in embryos at 1000 ppm or higher concentrations of O. sanctum and at 5000 ppm or higher concentrations of T. indica. Embryos exposed to 100 ppm and 500 ppm significantly recorded lower hatchabilities (66.67% and 16.67% for O. sanctum and 91.67% and 58.33% for T. indica, respectively) when compared to the control embryos. No hatched was noted in 1000 ppm of both plant extracts. Growth retardation, yolk deformity, and tail malformation were the most observed teratogenic effects of both plant extracts.
Swirski & Amitai ) ( Acari : Phytoseiidae ) at a low relative humidity

The nutritional suitability of date palm pollen for the predatory mite Cydnoseius negevi (Swirski & Amitai) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) was tested by assessing the development and life table parameters of the predator at two relative humidity levels, 35 and 60 % RH, at 30 °C in the laboratory. C. negevi successfully developed and reproduced when fed on a fresh date palm pollen diet at both humidity levels. However, at 35 % RH, the incubation period and development of immatures were significantly longer, female longevity and fecundity significantly decreased, and all life table parameter values were negatively affected. The results obtained in this study were compared with those of some previously published studies in the same field. The date palm pollen could be a suitable food source for the mass production of C. negevi. Moreover, the successful reproduction and development of C. negevi fed date palm pollen at low RH (35 %) makes it a good alternate food source in the field to conserve the population of the predator under local arid environmental conditions.