Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Atmospheric HULIS: How humic-like are they? A comprehensive and critical review

A class of organic molecules extracted from atmospheric aerosol particles and isolated from fog and cloud water has been termed HUmic-LIke Substances (HULIS) due to a certain resemblance to terrestrial and aquatic humic and fulvic acids. In light of the interest that this class of atmospheric compounds currently attracts, we comprehensively review HULIS properties, as well as laboratory and field investigations concerning their formation and characterization in atmospheric samples. While sharing some important features such as polyacidic nature, accumulating evidence suggests that atmospheric HULIS differ substantially from terrestrial and aquatic humic substances. Major differences between HULIS and humic substances, including smaller average molecular weight, lower aromatic moiety content, greater surface activity, better droplet activation ability, as well as others, are highlighted. Several alternatives are proposed that may explain such differences: (1) the possibility that mono- and di-carboxylic acids and mineral acids abundant in the atmosphere prevent the formation of large humic "supramolecular associations"; (2) that large humic macromolecules are destroyed in the atmosphere by UV radiation, O 3 , and OH - radicals; (3) that "HULIS" actually consists of a complex, unresolved mixture of relatively small molecules rather than macromolecular entities; and (4) that HULIS formed via abiotic and short-lived oxidative reaction pathways differ substantially from humic substances formed over long time periods via biologically-mediated reactions. It should also be recalled that the vast majority of studies of HULIS relate to the water soluble fraction, which would include only the fulvic acid fraction of humic substances, and exclude the humic acid (base-soluble) and humin (insoluble) fractions of humic substances. A significant effort towards adopting standard extraction and characterization methods is required to develop a better and meaningful comparison between different HULIS samples.
The impacts of artisanal gold mining on local livelihoods and the environment in the forested areas of Cameroon.

This study assesses the impact of artisanal gold mining in the Ngoyla-Mintom Forest Massif (NMFM) on local livelihoods and the environment. The methodology for the research consisted in a literature review, visits to eight mining camps in the periphery of Mintom, interviews with 95 miners, focus group discussions with actors involved in activities related to gold mining, and stakeholder consultations. The results show that miners earn a minimum of XAF 80,000 (US$ 160) per month, which is about three times the average wage in Cameroon (XAF 28,216 or US$56) and as much as XAF 800,000 (US$ 1600) a month. Mining leads to the creation of many associated activities such as portering, catering and the intensification of hunting, collection of NTFPs, and fishing, among others. The most negative social impact of mining is associated with activities such as prostitution, which leads to the quick spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV/AIDS. Mining and its associated activities also have negative impacts on the environment such as destruction of fragile forest ecosystems especially swamps, diversion, sedimentation and pollution of small water ways, and soil destruction, although at a relatively small scale.
Etude géochimique des magmas acides d'Islande : mode de genèse, implications sur l'évolution géodynamique islandaise et sur la formation de la proto-croûte continentale

L'approche principalement geochimique menee (elements majeurs et en trace, 87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, etdelta 18O) a montre que : tout au long de l'histoire de l'Islande, le gradiant geothermique resultant de l'interaction ride-panache mantellique favorise la genese des magmas acide par fusion partielle de la croute metabasaltique au centre de l'ile et par cristallisation fractionnee en peripherie. En se basant sur le point precedent et des echantillons dates, un modele d'evolution geodynamique de l'Islande a pu etre etablit afin de rendre compte de la largeur anormalement elevee de l'ile. La comparaison des roches acides (roches "continentales") emises en Islande, a Hawai et a Kerguelen, avec celles de la croute continentale primitive (TTG) a montre que les plateaux oceaniques n'ont pas ete un environnement favorable lors de la genese de la croute primitive.
INFLUENCE OF TRADE UNION STRATEGY OF ADVOCACY ON TEACHERS’ WELFARE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of trade unions strategy of advocacy on teachers Kenya's public secondary schools in Nairobi County. The researcher based the study on the following objectives: Influence of trade unions strategy of advocacy on teachers‟ welfare; To establish the correlation between teachers‟ trade union advocacy and teachers‟ welfare in Public Secondary schools in Nairobi City County. The research used a descriptive survey approach. 2236 secondary school instructors, 87 public secondary schools, 11 KNUT, and 7 KUPPET officials made up the study's target group. A sample of 671 instructors and 26 secondary schools was taken from the target population of both teachers and schools, which was 30 percent. To participate in the study, teachers and schools were stratified by sub-County and chosen using a stratified random sample approach. Officials from KNUT and KUPPET were purposively sampled. Purposive samples were taken from a total of three KNUT officials and two KUPPET officials. Interview guides were used to gather information from the KNUT and KUPPET authorities. Tables, bar graphs, and pie charts were used to convey descriptive analyses of quantitative data. For interviews, verbatim transcriptions of the audio-recorded responses were used to provide direct quotations and conversations. A group of professionals in the field of educational administration determined the questionnaires' content validity through pilot testing. A test-retest methodology was used to determine the instruments' reliability, and the teachers' questionnaire's coefficient of stability was shown to be 0. 785.The National Council of Science and Technology gave its approval for data collection in Nairobi County. Before collecting data, a letter of introduction was presented in each school that was visited. Direct quotations and discussions from interview responses were included in the presentation. The results established that there was a significant agreement that teachers trade unions advocacy had positive influence on teachers‟ welfare (M=3.15, SD=1.361). Secondly, the study established that there existed a positive significant correlation between teachers‟ trade union strategy of advocacy and teachers‟ welfare (r=0.806**, p=0.0070.05). The concluded that teacher trade unions‟ advocacy influenced teachers' professional performance and had a significance influence on teachers‟ welfare.
Macroeconomic Conditions and the Puzzles of Credit Spreads and Capital Structure

This paper addresses two puzzles about corporate debt: the “credit spread puzzle” – why yield spreads between corporate bonds and treasuries are high and volatile – and the “under-leverage puzzle” – why firms use debt conservatively despite seemingly large tax benefits and low costs of financial distress. I propose a unified explanation for both puzzles: investors demand high risk premia for holding defaultable claims, including corporate bonds and levered firms, because (i) defaults tend to concentrate in bad times when marginal utility is high; (ii) default losses are also higher during such times. I study these comovements in a structural model, which endogenizes firms’ financing and default decisions in an economy with businesscycle variation in expected growth rates and economic uncertainty. These dynamics coupled with recursive preferences generate countercyclical variation in risk prices, default probabilities, and default losses. The credit risk premia in my calibrated model are large enough to account for most of the high spreads and low leverage ratios. Relative to a standard structural model without business-cycle variation, the average spread between Baa and Aaa-rated bonds rises from 48 bp to around 100 bp, while the average optimal leverage ratio of a Baa-rated firm drops from 67% to 42%, both close to the U.S. data. ∗I am grateful to the members of my dissertation committee: Monika Piazzesi (Chair), John Cochrane, Doug Diamond and Pietro Veronesi for constant support and many helpful discussions. I also thank Frederico Belo, George Constantinides, Gene Fama, Vito Gala, Raife Giovinazzo, Lars Hansen, Milt Harris, John Heaton, Steve Kaplan, Anil Kashyap, Robert Novy-Marx, Ioanid Rosu, Nick Roussanov, Morten Sorensen, Amir Sufi, and participants at the Chicago Finance Workshop and Finance Faculty lunch for comments. All errors are my own. Correspondence to hchen5@ChicagoGSB.edu. FRIDAY, Feb. 9, 2007 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, Room: ACC-310 FBE FINANCE SEMINAR SERIES presented by Hui Chen REVISED
Dynamic Asset Allocation Under Inflation

We develop a simple framework for analyzing a finite-horizon investor's asset allocation problem under inflation when only nominal assets are available. The investor's optimal investment strategy and indirect utility are given in simple closed form. Hedge demands depend on the investor's horizon and risk aversion and on the maturities of the bonds included in the portfolio. When short positions are precluded, the optimal strategy consists of investments in cash, equity, and a single nominal bond with optimally chosen maturity. Both the optimal stock-bond mix and the optimal bond maturity depend on the investor's horizon and risk aversion. Copyright The American Finance Association 2002.
Habitat characteristics of Mexican Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis lucida) in the canyonlands of southern Utah

Mexican Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis lucida) are a threatened species found in a variety of habitat types. Identifying habitat characteristics within these occupied sites can be challenging, making it difficult to produce an accurate species distribution model (SDM). With rare and elusive species, such as the Mexican Spotted Owl, constructing a distribution model with presence only data might be the best option, especially when absence data are limited. Here we constructed an ensemble of SDMs that decrease predictive uncertainty associated with the identification of suitable habitat for the owls. We first constructed three different species distribution models using background points as pseudo-absences: random forest, logistic regression, and maximum entropy. Area under the curve (AUC) and specificity for all models were comparable, suggesting high model performance. The logistic regression model indicated elevation, curvature, and surface ratio were significant variables affecting Spotted Owl presence. Curvature is a measure of tablelands, cliff tops, and canyons across the landscape. Surface ratio is a measure of topographic roughness and was used to identify areas with steep canyons. The logistic regression model also indicated deciduous forest, coniferous forest, and piñon-juniper woodland as significant vegetation types for predicting Spotted Owl presence. The random forest model selected surface ratio and curvature as the best variables for 11 predicting Mexican Spotted Owl presence. Maximum entropy ranked surface ratio, curvature, and geology as the most important predictor variables. The individual SDMs were then combined to generate a final ensemble model, which combines presence predictions for all three SDMs. The ensemble model provides robust predictions and allows managers to focus on areas of high conservation priority. These distribution models are the first step in designing effective sampling schemes for Mexican Spotted Owls in Utah. Managers are encouraged to use these distribution models for the selection of survey locations and conservation planning for Mexican Spotted Owls.
Pseudodifferential Operators on Manifolds with Fibred Boundaries

Let X be a compact manifold with boundary. Suppose that the boundary is fibred, φ : ∂X −→ Y, and let x ∈ C ∞ (X) be a boundary defining function. This data fixes the space of 'fibred cusp' vector fields, consisting of those vector fields V on X satisfying V x = O(x 2) and which are tangent to the fibres of φ; it is a Lie algebra and C ∞ (X) module. This Lie algebra is quantized to the 'small calculus' of pseudodifferential operators Ψ * Φ (X). Mapping properties including boundedness, regularity, Fredholm condition and symbolic maps are discussed for this calculus. The spectrum of the Laplacian of an 'exact fibred cusp' metric is analyzed as is the wavefront set associated to the calculus.
The Serum Metabolite Response to Diet Intervention with Probiotic Acidified Milk in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients Is Indistinguishable from that of Non-Probiotic Acidified Milk by 1H NMR-Based Metabonomic Analysis

The effects of a probiotic acidified milk product on the blood serum metabolite profile of patients suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) compared to a non-probiotic acidified milk product was investigated using 1H NMR metabonomics. For eight weeks, IBS patients consumed 0.4 L per day of a probiotic fermented milk product or non-probiotic acidified milk. Both diets resulted in elevated levels of blood serum L-lactate and 3-hydroxybutyrate. Our results showed identical effects of acidified milk consumption independent of probiotic addition. A similar result was previously obtained in a questionnaire-based evaluation of symptom relief. A specific probiotic effect is thus absent both in the patient subjective symptom evaluations and at the blood serum metabolite level. However, there was no correspondence between symptom relief and metabolite response on the patient level.
Snow Avalanches and Vegetation Pattern in Cascade Canyon, Grand Teton National Park

Snow avalanches in Cascade Canyon, Grand Teton National Park, have a significant effect on the region's vegetation mosaic, increasing the area's community diversity and creating a fragmented vegetation pattern. The structure and persistence of communities within avalanche tracks is a function of the frequency of avalanche occurrence. In many areas, shrub cover and conifer density increase as avalanche frequency increases. Conifers decrease in size yet increase in age as avalanches occur more often, a consequence of slower growth rates in trees within avalanche tracks. Because the probability of avalanche damage to conifers is related to the size of the tree, slow growth rates result in small trees that can survive many years in avalanche tracks, contributing to the persistence of the avalanche community. The canyon's vegetation patterns appear fairly stable due to the spatial and temporal consistency of avalanche occurrence and the persistence of communities in avalanche tracks. The primary effect avalanches have on this landscape is to increase the fragmentation of the vegetation patterns rather than to drive dynamic changes in the landscape mosaic.
Fluid flows created by swimming bacteria drive self-organization in confined suspensions

Significance The collective dynamics of swimming microorganisms exhibits a complex interplay with the surrounding fluid: the motile cells stir the fluid, which in turn can reorient and advect them. This feedback loop can result in long-range interactions between the cells, an effect whose significance remains controversial. We present a computational model that takes into account these cell–fluid interactions and cell–cell forces and that predicts counterintuitive cellular order driven by long-range flows. This prediction is confirmed with experimental studies that track the orientation of cells in a confined, dense bacterial suspension. Concentrated suspensions of swimming microorganisms and other forms of active matter are known to display complex, self-organized spatiotemporal patterns on scales that are large compared with those of the individual motile units. Despite intensive experimental and theoretical study, it has remained unclear the extent to which the hydrodynamic flows generated by swimming cells, rather than purely steric interactions between them, drive the self-organization. Here we use the recent discovery of a spiral-vortex state in confined suspensions of Bacillus subtilis to study this issue in detail. Those experiments showed that if the radius of confinement in a thin cylindrical chamber is below a critical value, the suspension will spontaneously form a steady single-vortex state encircled by a counter-rotating cell boundary layer, with spiral cell orientation within the vortex. Left unclear, however, was the flagellar orientation, and hence the cell swimming direction, within the spiral vortex. Here, using a fast simulation method that captures oriented cell–cell and cell–fluid interactions in a minimal model of discrete particle systems, we predict the striking, counterintuitive result that in the presence of collectively generated fluid motion, the cells within the spiral vortex actually swim upstream against those flows. This prediction is then confirmed by the experiments reported here, which include measurements of flagella bundle orientation and cell tracking in the self-organized state. These results highlight the complex interplay between cell orientation and hydrodynamic flows in concentrated suspensions of microorganisms.
The Anxiolytic Effect of Midazolam in Third Molar Extraction: A Systematic Review

Purpose To assess the efficacy of midazolam for anxiety control in third molar extraction surgery. Methods Electronic retrievals were conducted in Medline (via PubMed, 1950-2013.12), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2013, Issue 3), Embase (via OVID 1974-2013.12), and the System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE). The bibliographies of relevant clinical trials were also checked. Randomized controlled trials satisfying the inclusion criteria were evaluated, with data extraction done independently by two well-trained investigators. Disagreements were resolved by discussion or by consultation with a third member of the review team. Results Ten studies were included, but meta-analysis could not be conducted because of the significant differences among articles. All but one article demonstrated that midazolam could relieve anxiety. One article demonstrated that propofol offered superior anxiolysis, with more rapid recovery than with midazolam. Compared with lorazepam and diazepam, midazolam did not distinctly dominate in its sedative effect, but was safer. Two articles used midazolam in multidrug intravenous sedation and proved it to be more effective than midazolam alone. Conclusion It was found, by comparison and analysis, that midazolam might be effective for use for anxiety control during third molar extraction and can be safely administered by a dedicated staff member. It can also be used with other drugs to obtain better sedative effects, but the patient’s respiratory function must be monitored closely, because multidrug sedation is also more risky.
Entrainment, Drizzle, and Stratocumulus Cloud Albedo

Globally averaged cloud changes from GCMs on average show a doubling of the Twomey effect, which is the change in cloud albedo with respect to changes in droplet concentrations for fixed cloud water and droplet dispersion. In contrast, ship-track measurements show a much more modest amplification of the Twomey effect, suggesting that the GCMs are exaggerating the indirect aerosol effect. We have run large-eddy simulations with bin microphysics of marine stratocumulus from multiple field campaigns, and find that the large-eddy simulations are in much better agreement with the ship-track measurements. The inversion strength over N. Pacific stratocumulus (as measured during DYCOMS-II) is generally much stronger than over N. Atlantic stratocumulus (as measured during ASTEX), and we have found that the response of cloud water to increasing droplet concentration changes sign as the inversion strengthens. For the different environmental conditions, we will show the overall response of cloud albedo to droplet concentrations, and decompose the response into its contributing factors of changes in cloud water, droplet dispersion, and horizontal inhomogeneity.
EFFECTS OF SEED RATE, ROW SPACING AND FERTILITY LEVELS ON YIELD ATTRIBUTES AND YIELD OF SOYBEAN UNDER TEMPERATE CONDITIONS

A field experiment was conducted at Shalimar Campus during Kharif seasons of 2004 and 2005 on a silty clay loam soil, medium in available N and K, low in available P to study the production performance of soybean as influenced by seed rate, row spacing and fertility levels under temperate conditions. The experiment comprising 27 treatment combinations viz., 3 levels each of seed rate (40, 60 and 80 kg ha -1 ), row spacing (30, 45 and 60 cm) and fertility (40:60:40, 60:90:60 and 80:120:80 of N : P2O5 : K2O kg ha -1 ) was laid out in split plot design replicated thrice. Lower seed rate i.e. 40 kg ha -1 produced significantly higher number of branches plant -1 , test weight, number of pods plant -1 and seeds pod -1 . Contrary to this, seed and straw yield were found significantly superior under seed rate of 80 kg ha -1 over 40 kg ha -1 . The extent of increase was 21.75% for grain yield and 20.68% for straw yield. Whereas row spacing of 45 cm proved significantly superior over 30 cm and remained at par with 60 cm for grain and straw yield. The extent of increase in grain yield at 45 cm row to row spacing was 13.14% when compared to 30 cm row to row spacing. Application of N80 P120 K80 kg ha -1 significantly improved the growth parameters viz., number of pods plant -1 , grain and straw yield over N40 P60 K40 kg ha -1 . The extents of increase were 12.5% for grain yield and 7.36% for straw yield.
Paleochannels of the Delaware River on the mid-Atlantic shelf

Shallow seismic data recently collected from the inner and middle continental shelf off Delaware reveal what appears to be a relatively complete stratigraphic record of middle to late Pleistocene sea-level events. At least four separate paleochannels of the Delaware River that have been identified and traced across the inner and middle shelf can be projected to the major submarine canyons of the continental slope. These same channels can be traced landward through the modern Delaware Bay to the fluvial portion of the Delaware River; two of these paleochannels trend underneath the peninsula of Cape May. The relative ages of the channels have been inferred from superposition and cross-cutting relationships. Subsurface reflectors associated with these paleochannels can be traced laterally to define the shallow flanks of estuaries formed as the valley was flooded during a subsequent transgression. In two cases, the depositional margins identified in the seismic profiles coincide with distinct geomorphic boundaries on the seafloor, delimiting allostratigraphic units interpreted as Pleistocene estuaries that are preserved on the modern shelf. The complementary highstands for this system are preserved on the emergent coastal plain as shoreline complexes and paralic sequences. These data reveal a much more intricate preserved record than previously realized,more » and change substantially the current models for the Quaternary development of the shelf. « less