Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of improved Sea Surface Temperature representation on the
forecast of small Mediterranean catchments hydrological response to
heavy precipitation

Abstract. Operational meteo-hydrological forecasting chains are affected by many sources of uncertainty. In coastal areas characterized by complex topography, with several medium-to-small size catchments, quantitative precipitation forecast becomes even more challenging due to the interaction of intense air-sea exchanges with coastal orography. For such areas, quite common in the Mediterranean basin, improved representation of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) space-time patterns can be particularly important. The paper focuses on the relative impact of different accuracy levels of SST representation on regional operational forecasting chains (up to river discharge estimates) over coastal Mediterranean catchments, with respect to other two fundamental options while setting up the system, i.e., the choice of the forcing GCM and the possible use of a three-dimensional variational assimilation (3DVAR) scheme. Two different kinds of severe hydro-meteorological events affecting the Calabria Region (Southern Italy) on 2015 are analysed using the atmosphere-hydrology modelling system WRF-Hydro in its uncoupled version. Both the events are modelled using the 0.25° resolution Global Forecasting System (GFS) and the ECMWF's 16 km resolution Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) initial and lateral atmospheric boundary conditions. For the IFS-driven forecasts, also the effects of the 3DVAR scheme are analysed. Finally, native initial and lower boundary SST data are replaced with data from the Medspiration Project by IFREMER/CERSAT, having a 24 hour time resolution and 2.2 km spatial resolution. Precipitation estimates are compared with both ground-based and radar data, as well as discharge estimates with stream gauging stations data. Overall, the experiments highlight that the added value of improved SST representation can be hidden by other more relevant sources of uncertainty, especially the choice of the General Circulation Model providing boundary conditions. Nevertheless, high-resolution SST fields show in most cases a not negligible impact on the simulation of the atmospheric boundary layer processes, modifying flow dynamics and/or the amount of precipitated water, therefore emphasizing that uncertainty in SST representation should be duly taken into account in coastal areas operational forecasting.
ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING OF THE FISHERY RESOURCES AND ECOSYSTEMS IN THE STRAITS OF SICILY

The Workshop on Standardization of Trawl Surveys Protocol in the MedSudMed Project Area was held in Mazara del Vallo from 5 to 9 May 2003. Research institutes of all four MedSudMed Countries (Italy, Malta, Tunisia and Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) were represented as well as the project staff. The objective of the seminar was to provide all available information on the existing procedures to carry out national and international trawl surveys, compare them and agree on future common methodological protocols. The technical contributions regarded four relevant topics: planning of activities at sea and fishing gears, processing of the catches and biological sampling, collecting biological information on target species, and data management and processing. On the basis of these themes three working groups were constituted, who discussed respectively: planning of activities at sea and fishing gear, collecting biological sampling and data management. In short period the participants agreed to maintain most of the current procedures used in collecting data within the national programs and adopt procedures to standardize selected data to be stored in a regional data base to be used for preliminary common analysis.
Examination of Student Resistance Behaviors towards Physical Education and Sports Teachers in the Teaching-Learning Process

This study aims to identify the perceptions of examination of student resistance behaviors towards physical education and sports teachers in the teaching-learning process. For this purpose to define students’ resistance behaviors. In education, students’ resistance to teaching-learning processes affects the entire school community. Resistance behaviors during the teaching-learning process cause students to fail and create an important problem for teachers and administrators for preventing the formation of efficient learning environments, increasing the number of students showing similar resistance, and developing negative thoughts regarding school and the school community. For this purpose, to examine how physical education and sports teachers perceive students’ resistance behaviors throughout the school. Therefore, this study was designed as a descriptive study that reveals the current situation for 157 physical education and sports teachers working in the center of Şanlıurfa. In the study, Student Resistance Behaviors Scale Teacher Form SRBS-T which is a five-point Likert scale consisting of 25 items and four identifying factors that are “Hostile Attitudes towards Teacher Authority,” “Hostile Attitudes towards Teacher,” “Constantly Being Angry” and “Passive Resistance” was used. In analyzing the data, a t-test test was used in pairwise comparisons, and One-Way ANOVA tests were used in multiple comparisons. Tukey test was conducted to determine where the difference was in the group. In the study, the findings were statistically significant in the sub-dimensions of “Hostile Attitudes towards Teacher” and seniority, “Passive Resistance” and “Passive Resistance” at the school level. İn this study showed that there is no significant difference between genders in the sub-scales of SRBS-T and total scores. In addition “Hostile Attitudes towards the Teacher” sub-dimension were found to be significantly different in teachers with 16-20 years of seniority from other teachers. In the “passive resistance” dimension, teachers with 11-15 years of seniority had significantly higher scores than other teachers.
Modulation of the anatomical and physiological responses of in vitro grown Alcantarea imperialis induced by NAA and residual effects of BAP

Abstract During in vitro propagation, cytokinins (CKs) and auxins (AUXs), such as 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), are often used to induce adventitious shoots and roots, respectively. However, it is not clear how CKs affect plants over a long period of in vitro propagation as well as the synergy of direct exposure to AUX with previous CK treatments. The aim was to assess the physiological and anatomical responses of Alcantarea imperialis in function of the interaction of both previous BAP treatments and direct NAA exposure during in vitro propagation. Plants previously grown in vitro were transferred to media containing 0, 5, 10 or 15 μM BAP. After 60 days, the adventitious shoots from each previous BAP treatment were subcultured in media with 0, 2 or 4 μM NAA. Pigment content, anatomical and growth traits were assessed in the plants from each treatment. Both previous BAP treatments and direct NAA exposure altered the anatomy and pigment contents of plants as well as their growth traits. BAP induced negative effects over the long term on physiological status as well as changed the plants’ anatomy. NAA supplementation in the medium can partially reverse the negative effects induced by BAP. The application of 2 μM NAA during in vitro rooting improved the plants’ quality.
Effect of Upper Respiratory Care Protocol on the Incidence of Ventilator-associated Pneumonia for Critically Ill Patients

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most frequent ICU-acquired infections and a very challenging infection as it continues to complicate the course of 8% to 28% of patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Upper respiratory care protocol was assumed to prevent aspiration and subsequent VAP. Aim of the Study: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of upper respiratory care protocol on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia for critically ill patients. Materials and Methods: A quasiexperimental design was used in this study. Setting the study was conducted at El-fayoum university hospital. The study subjects; A Purposive sample of two groups Group I, consisted of 30 patients received upper respiratory care protocol care protocol (study group) Group II, includes 30 patients received hospital routine care (control group). Tools of the study consist of two tools, the first tool was Patient Assessment sheet, and the second tool was VAP Assessment Tool. Results: It was found that VAP decreased among study group patients (20%) compared with control group patients (83.3%) with a statistically significance difference (X2 =24.093, P=0.000). Also. There were no statistically significant relations between VAP development for both groups and their sociodemographic and health data. Conclusion this study concluded that upper respiratory care protocol effective in reduce aspiration and ventilator associated pneumonia among critically ill patients. Recommendations: Replication of the study using a large probability samples acquired from different geographic areas. Continued research regarding safety and efficacy of upper respiratory care protocol and its effect on hemodynamic parameters.
Uncertainty Towards the Disease of Family Caregivers of Patients in Palliative Care: A Scoping Review

Objective: To know the development of the scientific evidence on the uncertainty towards the disease of family caregivers of patients in palliative care. Materials and methods: A descriptive scoping review. A search was conducted in the Embase, ScienceDirect, Medline, Academic Search Complete, Scopus databases, during the 2000-2019 period. The following MeSH terms were used: uncertainty, palliative care, end of life, nursing and caregiver. Fifty articles were selected after the criticism process. Results: Five thematic nuclei emerged: characterization of uncertainty in the caregiver, factors influencing uncertainty, resources to manage uncertainty, uncertainty assessment, and therapies and interventions to approach uncertainty. The higher scale of evidence is found in the characterization of uncertainty in the caregiver, and the voids direct the development of Nursing interventions on the uncertainty of the caregivers of individuals in palliative care. Conclusions: Although the factors influencing uncertainty towards the disease of the caregiver are widely explored, the evidence on the interventions that may help to reduce uncertainty towards the disease is still limited.
Studying Market Reactions to Fintech Acquisitions in North America and Europe: The Impact of Fintech Classification of Target Firms on the Acquirers’ Cumulative Abnormal Returns

This study examines the short-run effects of Fintech acquisition on the acquirer’s announcement returns, focusing on whether the impacts are moderated by the Fintech classifications of the target firm. With a total sample of 99 transactions conducted by 86acquirers from 2009 to 2018, it is documented that in general, Fintech acquisition generates value for the acquirers, consistent with some previous technological and Fintech acquisitions studies, i.e. Dranevet al. (2019), Maet al. (2019) and McCarthy & Aalbers (2016). Moreover, Fintech categories of the targets indeed have different influences on the acquisition performance.In specific, two of the most prominent classifications, namely alternative lending/investment technology and payments/billing tech,unexpectedly lower the short-term announcement returns of the acquirers. Oversupply of products, triggered by the strong competitions between players in these segments, are supposed to be the main driver of the negative returns. Secondly, the healthcare Fintech improves the bidder short-term announcement returns, and the gain is relatively high compared to the other categories. The technologies needed by both consumers and suppliers of healthcare are highly similar with the technologies required byusers of insurance. As such, healthcare-related Fintech companies are assumed to have characteristics that are very much alike with insurance providers. The most important trait is that the claims they have to pay are very few compared to the total funds they raise from premiums paid by clients. This is believed to be the reason behind the gains of the takeovers of healthcare Fintech.Meanwhile, the growing responsibility of consumers towards their healthcare costs, their constant search for higher transparencies in it, and the nations of observation where healthcare service is highly popular in developed nations, are believed to supportthe satisfyingperformance. This research also controls for many other determinants of the acquirer’s gains, ranging from deal-specific, firm-specific and financial data of the acquiring companies that are proposed by prior mergers and acquisitions (M&A) researchers. However, the only significant control variable is the relative deal size. It positively affects the acquirers’ CAR, indicating thatthe acquirer short-term returns increase in the relative size of deal values, supporting Asquith et al. (1983), Moeller etal. (2004), and Masulis et al. (2007).
Short Communication: Stimulatory effect of Curcuma mangga on immune response against Staphylococcus aureus

Yuandani, Nugraha SE, Laila L, Silaban SD, Ramadhani F. 2020. Short Communication: Stimulatory effect of Curcuma mangga on immune response against Staphylococcus aureus. Nusantara Bioscience 12: 109-113. Recently, the ethanol extract of Curcuma mangga Val. rhizomes were found to have immunomodulatory activity by enhancing phagocytic ability. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of C. mangga rhizomes on antibody titer and delayed-type hypersensitivity response in normal and doxorubicin-induced rats against Staphylococcus aureus. The extract was administered orally at doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weight (bw) to rats for 72 hours prior to sensitization of Staphylococcus aureus, then continued for 14 days. Doxorubicin (4.67 mg/kg bw) was administered on days 8 and 11 to suppress the immune system. The antibody titer of normal and immune-suppressed rats after the treatment with C. mangga ethanolic extract was significantly higher than the rats with negative control (P<0.05). Ethanol extract of C. mangga also demonstrated stimulation on delayed-type hypersensitivity response which was indicated by the increase of paw volume. The extract at dose of 400 mg/kg bw showed higher immunostimulatory activity than Levamisole as a positive control. The results indicated that the ethanol extract of C. mangga shows immunostimulatory activity, confirming its potential to be developed as a therapeutic agent.
Effect of soil applications anti-salinity agent on growth, yield and fruit quality of superior seedless grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.)

Grapes rank the top fruit crop all over the world and the second crop after citrus in Egypt. This study aims to elucidate the effect of some anti-salinity agents' application namely magnetic iron, humic acid and Uni-sal on overcome salt hazard that affect grapevines growth and production during the two successive seasons of 2017 and 2018. This study was applied in a private orchard located at Atfih, Giza Governorate, Egypt on five-years old superior seedless grapevines grown in sandy loam soil that irrigated using drip irrigation system. The vineyard was planted at 2 × 3 meters apart and supported to the gable trellis system. Winter pruning system was carried out at the end of December in both seasons using cane pruning system, leaving 112 buds (10 fruiting canes x 10 buds + 6 renewal spurs x two buds). Seven treatments were performed as follows: Control (untreated vines), magnetic iron application at concentration (200 and 250 g/vine), humic acid (7 and 10 L/feddan) and Uni-sal (5 and 7 L/feddan). The obtained results appeared that all treatments had improved all growth parameters. Yield, cluster weight, berry weight and size, total soluble solids, total soluble solids/total acidity were increased. Whereas total acidity was reduced affecting by all treatments as compared with control plants in the two studied seasons. In sum, magnetic iron, humic acid and Uni-sal soil applications alleviated the negative effects induced by salinity stress in Superior Seedless trees productivity, by modulation of distinct growth and yield responses.
Département des Sciences Économiques de l'Université catholique de Louvain Capital Market Frictions and the Business Cycle

We augment a RBC model with capital and labor market frictions. We follow the approach of Wasmer and Weil (2004) which model market imperfections as search processes: firms must sequentially find a match with a bank first and then with a worker in order to start production. We show that the interactions between labor and capital market frictions may generate a financial accelerator or decelerator, depending on a parameter condition. We compare our model with US National Accounts data and with the empirical findings of Dell’Ariccia and Garibaldi (2005): we find that the financial accelerator as well as real wage rigidities help in improving the statistical properties of the model.
Optimization for Agrobacterium Tumefaciens-mediated Transformation System for Exogenous Genes of Tobacco

[Objective] In order to establish optimized Agrobacterium tumefacien-mediated transformation system for exogenous genes of tobacco. [Method] The pre-culture time of tobacco explants and the co-culture conditions of Agrobacterium tumefacien-tobacco leaf disc was chose as testing elements,the remaining operating made by usual steps. [Result] Experimental results showed that the appropriate pre-culture time of tobacco leaf disc was 35-40 h under 27 ℃. The optimal co-cultured conditions of Agrobacterium tumefacien-tobacco leaf disc was 30-45 h under 22-24 ℃,and the best condition was 45 h under 23 ℃,then cultured within selection medium. [Conclusion] The study can provide theoretical basis for transformation of exogenous gene of tobacco.
Indonesian Consumers’ Intention of Adopting Islamic Financial Technology Services

With the rise of Halal Lifestyle in the digital era, Islamic Financial Technology (henceforth FinTech) has increasingly become impactful to economic growth. Islamic FinTech companies are in a dire need to figure out factors that influence the adoption and acceptance of the technology to promote their business. Addressing the issue, this study examines consumers’ intention of using Islamic Fintech services. An online survey was employed to elicit the required data from 75 Indonesian consumers of Islamic FinTech services. The results of data analysis by means of SEM-PLS depicted that perceived usefulness and interpersonal influence were two key factors driving the consumers to use Islamic FinTech services. The results further revealed that compatibility positively influenced perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, which in turn, affected the consumers’ attitude. Moreover, it was also noted that attitude and internet self-efficacy as perceived behavioral control in decomposition of theory of planned behavior had no significant impact on consumers’ intention. The results of this study theoretically provide a basic model of consumers’ intention in the context of Islamic FinTech. At the same time, FinTech industry users can use the results of the present study as references to come up with appropriate strategy to deal with the market needs.
Comparative Study of Post-Marriage Nationality Of Women in Legal Systems of Different Countries

The basis of all mathematical activity is problem-solving. One of the important factors that can help students find new knowledge and strategies in solving problems is creativity. This study aims to describe the increased creativity of elementary school students in solving math problems through the use of Scratch media in the mathematics learning process in the classroom. This research is action research conducted in three cycles. Each cycle consists of four basic steps: planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The subjects in this action research were 25-grade students in one of the elementary schools in Palangkaraya City. The research was conducted from July to November 2019. Data collection was carried out by means of observation and giving tests. Observations were made to obtain data about student activities in the process of implementing actions through observation sheets, where the data collection process was assisted by collaborators. Giving tests are carried out to measure students' creativity in solving math problems. The success criterion used in each action cycle is when students classically have reached the minimum category of creative enough (level 3) at least 75%. The data validation technique used triangulation techniques and data analysis techniques used descriptive analysis techniques. The results showed an increase in creativity from pre-cycle to the third cycle, namely: precycle by 16%, cycle I by 52%, cycle II by 68%, and cycle III 76%. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that learning mathematics through the use of Scratch media can increase creativity in solving math problems of elementary school fifth-grade students with an increase of 60%.
Status and distribution of available micronutrient in Udic Kanhaplustults of Bauchi local government area, Bauchi state

A study was conducted to assess the status and distribution of available micronutrient (Zn, Mn, Cu and Fe) in Udic Kanhaplustults of Bauchi local government area, Bauchi state. A total of 12 composite soil samples were collected at 0-15 and 15-30 cm depths from six different, purposively selected representative locations (Yelwa Tudu, Yelwa Makaranta, Gwallameji, Lushi, Bayara and Mararaba Liman Kataghum). The soil samples were bulked together to form a composite sample for each site and was analyzed using standard procedure. The results showed that the soil texture ranged from sandy loam to loam and the mean values were 0.22, 0.25, 2.25 and 1.81mg/kg for Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn respectively. The extractable micronutrient distribution was not significantly influenced by depth but varied significantly (P<0.05) with locations. The soils across the location were generally below the critical limiting especially Zn content and would benefit immensely from zinc application. However, the contents of Cu, Fe, and Mn were rated low to medium in all the locations considered except for Yelwa Tudu where Fe content was high. Therefore, for sustainable and efficient food production, supplementary application of these elements is suggested and application of organic matter to improve the overall fertility of the soil and to reduce the possible development of plinthic/petroplinthic layers.
‘Through the looking-glass’: addressing methodological issues in analyzing within- and between-sector differences in employee attitudes and behaviors

Abstract Many studies have investigated potential differences in employee attitudes and behaviors across sectors. However, empirical evidence in this regard remains largely inconclusive or even contradictory. Although theoretical explanations may exist, it cannot be ruled out that there are issues pertaining to methodological choices at play as well. The aim of this contribution is to explore whether two issues, one related to the justification of interpreting the public sector as a homogenous one and one to controlling for measurement invariance, influence conclusions of comparative research. Using a Dutch data set containing 1,998 respondents, we tested the impact of these two issues on four concepts that have gotten much attention in employee level comparative research, namely work satisfaction, organizational commitment, proactivity toward self-development, and public service motivation. Our findings demonstrate that differences exist within the public sector and that lack of measurement invariance affects results, which, in turn, affect conclusions regarding within- and between-sector comparisons. We therefore recommend that scholars recognize these issues before conducting comparative research.