Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epifauna-dominated benthic shelf assemblages: Lessons from the modern Adriatic Sea

Abstract It has recently been proposed that the northern Adriatic shelf is a living laboratory in which to test the causes of the evolutionary shift from Paleozoic-like, stationary suspension feeders on the sediment surface to modern, infauna-dominated assemblages. The suggestion is that today's “Paleozoic” ecosystems, composed of a modern fauna, are a regular feature in environments of low nutrient levels and predation intensity. We, however, argue that a high-biomass epifauna is not restricted to oligotrophic settings in the northern Adriatic Sea and that predation intensities are instead at Mediterranean levels, which are neither pre-Cenozoic nor similar to those at high latitudes. Environmental requirements of modern, suspension-feeding epifauna do not support the low-nutrient hypothesis, and we suggest that this striking epifauna depends on the presence of stable hard substrata on the seafloor, is very sensitive to sediment input by flood events and storm-induced sediment resuspension, and is related to seasonally high productivity. Elevation above the sediment-water interface has the advantage of feeding from higher-tier levels and helps these organisms to survive hypoxia, which is a typical seasonal feature of the Adriatic shelf and of many ancient epeiric seas. We hypothesize therefore that the gradual disappearance of large, epicontinental seas, along with their low sedimentation rates and frequent bottom-water hypoxia during the Mesozoic, supported the replacement of the archaic epifauna by modern, bivalve-dominated infaunas.
Rhizobacteria cooperative effect against Meloidogyne javanica in rhizosphere of legume seedlings

Summary Root-knot nematodes are major pests of legume fields in Iran. This research evaluated the effect of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. phaseoli and Pseudomonas fluorescens CHA0 (stand alone and combination treatment) on galling and reproduction of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica, in legum (chickpea, bean, lentil, pea) seedling rhizosphere, and the growth properties of the host plants. The legumes seeds were sown in 1kg sterilized sandy loam soil. Inocula were 5 J2/g of soil, in the case of the nematode, while considering the bacteria 1×107 cfu/kg soil. A treatment of nematicide (cadusafos) was performed, as a commonly used nematicide in Iran, at 2g/kg soil. Two months after inoculation, the following parameters were recorded: the number of knots, egg masses and reproduction factor of the nematode, bacterial nodules per root, and growth properties of seedlings in the treatments (control, nematode, nematode+nematicide, and nematode+rhizobacteria). The greatest bacterial effect on the control of the nematode was observed in the rhizosphere of the bean treatments. Inoculation with Rhizobium in the soil decreased the galling on the legumes’ roots, and the combined inoculation with Pseudomonas and Rhizobium resulted in a higher decrease of the galling.
Stability of boron nitride bilayers: Ground state energies, interlayer distances, and tight-binding description

Department of Physics and Center of Physics, University of Minho, PT-4710-057, Braga, Portugal(Dated: January 21, 2011)We have studied boron nitride monolayer and bilayer band structures. For bilayers, the groundstate energies of the diﬀerent ﬁve stackings are computed using DFT in order to determine the moststable conﬁguration. Also, the interlayer distance for the ﬁve diﬀerent types of stacking in whichboron-nitride bilayers can be found is determined. Using a minimal tight binding model for theband structures of boron nitride bilayers, the hopping parameters and the onsite energies have beenextracted by ﬁtting a tight binding empirical model to the DFT results.
Changes in the basiC morphophysiologiCal parameters in the populations of PeloPhylax ridibundus ( amphibia : ranidae ) from anthropogeniCally polluted biotopes in southern bulgaria . part 1

Zhelev, Zh. M. , G. S. PoPGeorGiev and N. h. Mehterov, 2014. Changes in the basic morphophysiological parameters in the populations of Pelophylax ridibundus (Amphibia: ranidae) from anthropogenically polluted biotopes in southern Bulgaria. Part 1. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 20: 1202-1210 this study was conducted with the purpose to assess the condition of some vital organs (heart, spleen, kidney and gonads) of Pelophylax ridibundus populations that live in conditions of anthropogenic pollution in biotopes in southern Bulgaria, through analysing their relative weights: cardiosomatic index (CSi), spleenosomatic index (SSi), renosomatic index (rSi) and gonadоsomatic index (GSI). Populations from three biotopes were investigated: a relatively clean biotope (the control) and two polluted biotopes (with domestic sewage pollution and heavy metal pollution). We found that in both sexes, in conditions of pollution, the relative weight of the heart, spleen and kidney increased. in the population from biotope with heavy metal pollution, the relative weight of gonads was bigger.
Small-scale ontogenetic and diel vertical distributions of neritic copepods in Maizuru Bay, Japan

Ontogenetic and die1 vertical distributions of the dominant copepods Oithona davisae, Acartia spp. (A. hudsonica and A. ornorii) and Paracalanus crassirost~s were studied in Maizuru Bay, middle Japan. A consistent ontogenet~c pattern was found during daytlme for all the species: mean distribution depths moved upwards w t h later naupliar stages and downwards during copepodite development. Details of this pattern vary w ~ t h the species. Vertical distribuhon of P. crassirostris eggs is similar to that of the 1st naupliar stage (NI), while in Acartia egg distribution depends on adult females; Acartia N1 is always concentrated in water close to the bottom independent of egg distribution. This indicates that P. crassirostris eggs may drift unhl hatching while most Acartia eggs sink to the bottom before hatching. The ontogenebc distributional pattern observed in the daytime is generally obscured at night due to stage-specific nocturnal migrations.
Spectral induced polarization signatures of abiotic FeS precipitation

In recent years, geophysical methods have been shown to be sensitive to microbial-induced mineralization processes. The spectral induced-polarization (SIP) method appears to be very promising for monitoring mineralization and microbial processes. With this work, we study the links of mineralization and SIP signals, in the absence of microbial activity. We recorded the SIP response during abiotic FeS precipitation. We show that the SIP signals are diagnostic of FeS mineralization and can be differentiated from SIP signals from biomineralization processes. More specifically, the imaginary conductivity shows almost linear dependence on the amount of FeS precipitating out of solution, above the threshold value 0.006 gr under our experimental conditions. This research has direct implications for the use of the SIP method as a monitoring and decision-making tool for sustainable remediation of metals in contaminated soils and groundwater.
Allele Frequency and Genotype Distribution of 9 SNPs in the Kazakh Population

Background: Determining the allelic variants of xenobiotic biotransformation genes is important, especially for prescribing personalised drugs. Knowledge of the allele distribution in different populations may be considered when selecting the preferred medication regimen. The frequency of CYP2C9, VKORC1, CYP4F2, GGCX, CYP2D6 and CYP1A2 genes has been studied in many populations, but the populations in Central Asia have not yet been investigated. Methods and materials: Using real-time PCR and direct sequencing-based methods, the current study assessed the frequencies of 9 polymorphisms of genes encoding enzymes involved in drug metabolism in 450 healthy individuals from different regions of Kazakhstan and 575 healthy individuals from the West-Siberian region of Russia. Results: The allele frequencies in the Kazakh population were determined for CYP2C9*2 (0.02), CYP2C9*3 (0.03), VKORC1 c. 173+1369G>C, VKORC1 c. 173+1000C>T (0.72, ÐiYP4F2 (0.31), GGCX (0.04), CYP2D6*4 (0.07), CYP2D6*3 (0.01) and CYP1A2*1F (0.35). All alleles were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (p > 0.05). The allele frequencies in the Russian population were as follows: CYP2C9*2, 0.08; CYP2C9*3, 0.08; VKORC1 (c. 173+1000C>T), 0.40; VKORC1 (c. 173+1369G>C), 0.41; ÐiYP4F2 (c. 1297G>A), 0.24; GGCX (c. 1913+45G>C), 0.08; CYP2D6*3, 0.15; CYP2D6*4, 0.22; and CYP1A2*1F (c. -9-154C>A), 0.31. All alleles were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (p>0.05), except GGCX (p=0.04). Conclusion: The Kazakh population allele frequency was between the Caucasian and Asian populations for nearly all of the studied gene allele variants.
Technology flows, outsourcing and productivity:an analysis of UK trade and FDI

The literature on technology spillovers from trade and FDI is ambiguous in its findings. This may in part be because of the assumption in much of the work that trade and FDI flows are homogeneous in their determinants and thus in their effects. We develop a taxonomy of trade and FDI determinants based on R&D intensity and unit labour cost differentials, and test for the presence of spillovers from inward investment and imports on an extensive sample of UK manufacturing plants. We find that both trade and FDI have measurable spillover effects, but the sign and extent of these effects varies depending on the technological and factor cost differentials between the recipient and host economies. There is therefore an identifiable link between the determinants and effects of trade and FDI which the previous literature has not explored.
Towards a better understanding of the link between participation in decision-making and organizational citizenship behaviour : A multilevel analysis

In the present study, two models were tested that can improve understanding of the link between participation in decision-making and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). In Model 1, it is assumed that perceived supervisory support mediates the link between participation in decision-making and OCB. In Model 2, organizational commitment is presented as the mediator variable. The sample (N = 142) was drawn from employees from 10 departments of a medium-sized trade company in the Netherlands. To improve the reliability of the results, the data were subjected to multilevel analyses. Because no link was observed between commitment and OCB, Model 2 was rejected. In contrast, Model 1 was supported by the data, suggesting that participation in decision-making promotes employees’ sense of supervisory support to them, which made employees more likely to reciprocate by exhibiting OCB.
The effect of a copolymer inhibitor on baryte precipitation

Abstract In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments were used to study the effect of trace amounts of a commercial inhibitor on the (001) baryte surface during growth. The additive tested was a copolymer, used as a scale inhibitor in oil recovery (maleic acid/allyl sulfonic acid copolymer with phosphonate groups, partial sodium salt). The morphology of the growth was used to gain a better understanding of the inhibition mechanism. Without an inhibitor, barium sulfate growth occurred by 2D island nucleation and spreading. The addition of a small amount (0.1 ppm and 0.5 ppm) of copolymer inhibitor enhances 2D nucleation but blocks growth. Just I ppm of inhibitor blocks nucleation and growth by adsorption of a copolymer layer onto the baryte surface. Similarly in 3D studies, small amounts of inhibitor seem to act on growth and not on nucleation and larger amounts of copolymer act on both by adsorption of the copolymer to all baryte surfaces keeping the particles in their embryo stage.
Exploring Cyberfriendship Formation Among Malaysian Youth

Cyberspace has become a common place for youth to involve in online networking and to make new friends. This paper focuses on: a) the dynamics of cyberfriendship formation; b) the role of self-disclosure, alienation, and frequency of online interaction on formation of cyberfriendship; and c) the extent of satisfaction achieved from that relationship. A stratified random sample of 250 youth (Mean age = 21.16, SD = 1.36) studying in different undergraduate faculties from a large Malaysian university responded to self-tailored questionnaires. The results revealed that 85.6% youth have formed online friendship using multiple communication channels. Major findings of this research indicated that the combined use of communication channels (i.e., Instant Messengers, e-mail, and Social Networking Sites), together with preexisting face-to-face friendship and loneliness, mediated through online self-disclosure and frequency of online interaction contributed to the formation of cyberfriendship. In addition, loneliness was identified as a contributing factor for cyberfriendship formation among youth. Discussion includes implications of the present findings and suggestions for future research.
DEVELOPMENT OF FRUIT INCORPORATED INSTANT

A study was carried out to develop fruit incorporated instant wheat porridge using extrusion technology. Whole wheat was milled into grits and was mixed with fresh mango and guava pulp at different level from 10 to 50 per cent. The mixtures were dried to bring down the moisture content to 12, 15 and 18 per cent and processed using twin-screw extruder. The properties of extrudates (expansion ratio and density) and porridge (water absorption index, water solubility index, moisture content and sensory quality) were studied. After selecting the best fruit pulp and feed moisture content levels, the samples were prepared with added sugar at 20, 25 and 30 per cent. Increase in feed moisture content resulted in the decrease in expansion ratio and increase in density of the extrudates. Increase in fruit pulp level reduced the expansion ratio and increase the density. Water absorption index (WAI) increased and water solubility index (WSI) decreased with increase in feed moisture content. With increase in level of fruit pulp WAI decreased and WSI increased. Porridge extruded at 15 per cent moisture content with 30, 40 per cent mango pulp and 20, 30 per cent guava pulp was highly acceptable. Sugar level of 30 per cent was most acceptable. Fruit porridge stored in LDPE and aluminum laminate pouches at ambient temperature remained acceptable upto 6 months. Mass consumer acceptability scores found out to be 3.07 out of 4.00 for best porridge (extruded at 15 per cent moisture content with 30 per cent mango pulp and 30 per cent sugar). Keyword: Fruit porridge, wheat grits, extrusion, expansion ratio, density, water absorption index, water solubility index ______________________ ___________________ Signature of Major Advisor Signature of the Student
Dielectric properties of glycosuria at 0.2-50 GHz using microwave spectroscopy

In this study, we analyzed the dielectric behavior of urine among subjects with diabetes mellitus. The measurements were conducted using an open-ended coaxial probe at microwave frequencies between 0.2 and 50 GHz at room temperature (25 °C), 30 °C and human body temperature (37 °C), respectively. The strongest statistically significant difference in dielectric properties across different glycosuria groups (F (2, 41) = 8.681; p < 0.01) was reported at room temperature (25 °C). Dielectric constant increased with glycosuria level more than 500 mg/dl (>0.5%) at low frequencies. Dielectric constant correlated positively with glycosuria level at frequency above 40 GHz while loss factor correlated negatively with glycosuria level at frequency above 15 GHz. The experimental data closely matched the Debye model.
The Effects of Anger Management Skills Training on Aggression, Social Adjustment, and Mental Health of College Students

Anger is a sign that evokes aggressive behavior. Aggression can cause emotional, psychological or physical damage to others. This research aimed to determine the effect of anger management skills training on aggression, social adjustment, and mental health of students. This research is a pretest-posttest control group experimental study. The sample of this study was a group of 40 students, who had high aggression scores. The sample, was randomly divided and assigned to an experimental and a control group. The experimental group received the anger management skills training program in eight sessions, two sessions a week, each session 90 minutes. During this period, the control group received no intervention. Pretest and posttest measures were acquired in aggression, social adjustment, and mental health for both groups. Results showed significant differences between two groups in all measures. Compared with the control group, experimental group's aggression was decreased and their social skills, social adjustment, and mental health were improved. Research findings showed that college students training in anger management skills, improves their social adjustment, social skills, and mental health. All these improvements are attributable to reductions in their aggressive behaviors due to
The stable clustering ansatz, consistency relations and gravity dual of large-scale structure

Gravitational clustering in the nonlinear regime remains poorly understood. Gravity dual of gravitational clustering has recently been proposed as a means to study the nonlinear regime. The stable clustering ansatz remains a key ingredient to our understanding of gravitational clustering in the highly nonlinear regime. We study certain aspects of violation of the stable clustering ansatz in the gravity dual of Large Scale Structure (LSS). We extend the recent studies of gravitational clustering using AdS gravity dual to take into account possible departure from the stable clustering ansatz and to arbitrary dimensions. Next, we extend the recently introduced consistency relations to arbitrary dimensions. We use the consistency relations to test the commonly used models of gravitational clustering including the halo models and hierarchical ansätze. In particular we establish a tower of consistency relations for the hierarchical amplitudes: Q, Ra, Rb, Sa,Sb,Sc etc. as a functions of the scaled peculiar velocity h. We also study the variants of popular halo models in this context. In contrast to recent claims, none of these models, in their simplest incarnation, seem to satisfy the consistency relations in the soft limit.
ECO-INNOVATION: THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN RESEARCH

Eco-innovation is an approach that has the potential to deliver step change improvements in the environmental performance of products, but the uptake by industry to date has been disappointing. The paper presents a selective review of the academic literature, choosing examples of research that give a flavour of the key trends and interesting topics that are emerging from the eco-innovation body of knowledge. We conclude by suggesting 10 areas where we see potential for the engineering design research community to contribute to the advancement of eco-innovation.
Firms’ Financial Statements and Competitiveness: An Analysis for European Non-Financial Corporations Using Micro-Based Data

In the empirical analysis the use of micro-data often encounters confidentiality issues, especially when data are derived from different countries. One way to tackle this type of problems is known as “distributed micro-data analysis”, which proposes an aggregation of data with sufficient information on the distribution of the underlying micro-based data. In this paper we propose an inverse analysis, i.e. a methodology to mimic the anonymised firms’ micro-data starting from a distributed micro-dataset and using standard equations and assumptions about the distribution of the residuals that are most likely to reproduce the original micro dataset. As a result this paper offers an easy tool to analyse the firm-level financial ratios, such as firms’ leverage, profitability, and productivity performance of firms across country, sector and firm size even when firm-level data are not readily available.
Livelihoods Limitations: The Political Economy of Urban Poverty in Bangladesh

Frameworks for understanding urban poverty have taken an asset-based approach that assesses livelihoods strategies on the basis of a household’s portfolio of assets. Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh reveals the limitations of such approaches. Their narrow focus on households and depoliticized definition of social capital may capture experiences of urban poverty, but cannot reconcile these with the significance of the structural drivers of urban poverty. Our understanding of urban poverty must recognize the informal systems of governance that dominate resource distribution at the community-level and keep the resources necessary for household improvement confined to a relatively small elite. Excluded from the accumulation networks that provide a platform for household mobility for the well-connected, most urban poor households are reliant upon survival networks in their search for security. Only through extending our analysis beyond the household to explore their position within this local political economy can we recognize the significant limitations placed on their efforts to extend and improve their livelihoods.
International Conference on Teaching and Learning English as an Additional Language , GlobELT 2016 , 14-17 April 2016 , Antalya , Turkey English Teacher Training Programs in Denmark , Sweden and Turkey

Teachers play one of the most important roles in reaching learning objectives. The qualifications of teachers in an education system reflect the potential of that system and directly influence the learners’ achievement. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare Danish and Swedish English teacher training programs with that of Turkey and to reveal the similarities and differences to shed light on English teacher training in Turkey. Danish and Swedish English teacher training programs are analyzed, because these countries are ranked at the top by the average level of English skills amongst adults according to English Proficiency Index. The study is qualitative in nature and document analysis method is used to collect data about the relevant countries’ teacher training programs. The results of the study suggest that the duration for teaching practices and job-shadowing should be longer. In addition, graduation examination and submitting a project/thesis should be a requirement for the graduation. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of GlobELT 2016.
A study of cool white dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12

In this work we study white dwarfs where $30\,000\,\text{K} {>} \mathrm{T}_{\rm{eff}} {>} 5\,000\,\text{K}$ to compare the differences in the cooling of DAs and non-DAs and their formation channels. Our final sample is composed by nearly $13\,000$ DAs and more than $3\,000$ non-DAs that are simultaneously in the SDSS DR12 spectroscopic database and in the \textit{Gaia} survey DR2. We present the mass distribution for DAs, DBs and DCs, where it is found that the DCs are ${\sim}0.15\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$ more massive than DAs and DBs on average. Also we present the photometric effective temperature distribution for each spectral type and the distance distribution for DAs and non-DAs. In addition, we study the ratio of non-DAs to DAs as a function of effective temperature. We find that this ratio is around ${\sim}0.075$ for effective temperature above ${\sim}22\,000\,\text{K}$ and increases by a factor of five for effective temperature cooler than $15\,000\,\text{K}$. If we assume that the increase of non-DA stars between ${\sim}22\,000\,\text{K}$ to ${\sim}15\,000\,\text{K}$ is due to convective dilution, $14{\pm}3$ per cent of the DAs should turn into non-DAs to explain the observed ratio. Our determination of the mass distribution of DCs also agrees with the theory that convective dilution and mixing are more likely to occur in massive white dwarfs, which supports evolutionary models and observations suggesting that higher mass white dwarfs have thinner hydrogen layers.