Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sea otter female and pup activity budgets, Prince William Sound, Alaska

In altricial mammals, mothers' care and attendance are essential for young to acquire survival skills. Despite the crucial importance of this early period for pup survival, not much is known about mother–pup behaviour and time allocation in the wild. To improve our understanding of the critical period of the sea otter development, a total of 240 30-minute focal follows of females with pups of different ages were conducted in four 6-hour-periods (dawn, day, dusk and night) from 4 June to 12 August 2008. Generalized linear models were used to investigate the impact of age, weather, tide and time of day on otters' behaviour. Pups significantly decreased resting behaviour and increased feeding, travelling, interacting and grooming behaviour with increasing age. Females with large pups fed and interacted significantly more, and travelled and groomed the pup less than females with small pups. Foggy conditions were associated with less resting on the water and increased travelling by pups. Tide did not appear to have an effect on sea otter behaviour. Grooming by pups occurred mainly during dawn in medium sized pups whereas large pups groomed themselves mostly during the day and night. Variations due to times of day tended to be apparent only in larger, i.e. older pups. Females and large pups were more active during the day. Mothers of smaller pups spent most of their active time travelling whereas females with large pups were mostly feeding. This study showed how sea otter females with pups adapted their behaviours as their pups grew and matured during the first months of life.
Plant Succession Due to Overgrazing in the Agropyron Bunchgrass Prairie of Southeastern Washington

During the period when southeastern Washington was settled by white man the bunchgrass prairies, which covered large areas in this region, were used chiefly for grazing cattle. This industry had scarcely become established when it was demonstrated that the deep loessal soils characteristic of the region were excellent for growing wheat. Starting about 1880 this new type of land use began to replace the earlier, and by about 1910 all areas except those on which cultivation was either impractical or impossible had been brought into cropland. The remaining areas, the so-called "scablands," where the soil is shallow, or stony, or the surface is too frequently interrupted by such outcrops, have remained as grazing lands and probably will be used in this manner in the future. Within the last few decades the livestock industry in this region has undergone a second great change due to the replacement of the cattle by sheep over most of the range lands. Wherever the soil of the non-agricultural land was deeper than about 1.5 dm. and was not sandy, the original bunchgrass cover was apparently identical with that of the deeper soils. As a result of long continued heavy grazing of these grasslands, the appearance and the forage value of the primeval prairie have been considerably changed. The bunchgrass, a climatic climax, has undergone a retrogression which in many cases has culminated in a biotic climax. The latter is as permanent as the present system of spring-fall sheep grazing. An excellent opportunity of studying this vegetational retrogression exists today in northeastern Franklin County and adjacent Whitman County. Here, in different areas, exist fragments of the climatic climax in essentially virgin condition, several stages of retrogression, and in some cases the end point in this biotic succession appears to have been attained.
Suppression of weeds by spring wheat Triticum aestivum increases with crop density and spatial uniformity

Summary 1. Recent advances in our understanding of the advantage of initial size in competition among individual plants (size-asymmetric competition) suggest that the potential for many crops to suppress weeds is much greater than generally appreciated. We hypothesize that this potential can be realized if: (i) the crop density is increased significantly and (ii) the crop is regularly (uniformly) distributed in two-dimensional space rather than sown in traditional rows. 2. We tested these hypotheses by sowing four varieties of spring wheat Triticum aestivum at three densities (200, 400 and 600 m ‐2 ) and in two spatial patterns (normal rows and a uniform grid pattern) in the presence of high weed pressure. 3. There were strong and significant effects of both crop density and spatial distribution on weed growth. Weed biomass decreased with crop density and was 30% lower in the grid pattern. 4. There was a negative linear relationship between above-ground weed biomass in early July and crop yield at harvest, so weed suppression translated directly into yield. The treatment with high crop density and the grid sowing pattern contained 60% less weed biomass and produced 60% higher yield than the treatment closest to normal sowing practices (crops sown in rows at 400 m ‐2 ).
Liquidity Risk of Corporate Bond Returns

We study the exposure of the U.S. corporate bond returns to stock market and treasury liquidity risk over the period 1973 to 2007. While investment grade bond returns rise when stockor treasury bond-market become illiquid, the speculative grade bond returns fall substantially. This exposure of corporate bond returns to aggregate liquidity risk is regime-switching in nature with the liquidity betas, especially of speculative grade bonds, rising to extremely high values during the “stress” regime. Variables that capture macroeconomic and financial market turmoil are able to predict the likelihood of being in the stress regime and explain realized bond returns in out-of-sample tests, including for the crisis period of 2008. These effects are robust to controlling for other systematic risks (term and default). Overall, the findings are consistent with timevarying liquidity risk of corporate bond returns and episodes of flight to liquidity when investors prefer more liquid and safer assets such as investment grade bonds to less liquid and riskier ones such as junk bonds.
Cysteinyl leukotriene receptor CysLT1 as a novel therapeutic target for allergic rhinitis treatment

Background: Cysteinyl leukotrienes (cys-LTs) play an important role in allergic rhinitis because CysLT1 receptor antagonists relieve the symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Objective: I overview the clinical pharmacology of CysLT1 receptor antagonists and their potential role in patients with allergic rhinitis. Methods: I review the evidence regarding the release of cys-LTs and localization of CysLT1 receptor on nasal mucosa, and evaluate the clinical efficacy of CysLT1 receptor antagonist in allergic rhinitis. Results/conclusion: Immunohistochemical studies show that in allergic rhinitis, the major target of CysLT1 receptor antagonists are the vascular bed and infiltrated leukocytes such as mast cells, eosinophils and macrophages. CysLT1 receptor antagonists provide a new opportunity for simultaneous management of allergic diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract.
The Effects of a Natural Antibiotic Alternative and a Natural Growth Promoter Feed Additive on Broiler Performance and Carcass Quality

SUMMARY The use of subtherapeutic levels of antibiotics in poultry feed improves performance and morbidity in broiler chickens. However, consumer pressure related to the potential development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has resulted in the development of nonantibiotic feed additives that may also improve broiler performance. Essential oils, organic acids, and phytogenic compounds enhance production of gastric secretions, stimulate blood circulation, and reduce levels of pathogenic bacteria. The objective of the current study was to assess the use of Biostrong 505+ and Biostrong 510 as natural growth promoters in broiler chickens. Assessment was based on the performance and carcass quality of broilers fed either a maximum-yield or a least-cost commercial broiler diet. The maximum-yield diet improved broiler performance and carcass quality. Biostrong 505+ can be used to improve feed conversion and breast yield when incorporated into diets devoid of antibiotics. This improvement in feed conversion and breast yield was accentuated when Biostrong 505+ was used in conjunction with a maximumyield diet. Biostrong 510 improved feed conversion when used in poultry diets containing antibiotics.
Effects of Inositol Tri-, Tetra-, Penta-, and Hexaphosphates on In Vitro Estimation of Iron Availability

The effects of inositol tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexaphosphates on iron solubility were studied in vitro. Pure inositol phosphates (0.125–10 μmol) were added to 1g of freeze-dried wheat roll and digestion was performed simulating physiological conditions. Soluble iron was used as an index of iron bioavailability. The pure inositol phosphate fractions were prepared by hydrolysis of sodium phytate and separation on anion exchange resin. The inositol phosphates were identified and quantified by HPLC. Addition of 10 μmol inositol hexa- and pentaphpsphate reduced iron solubility from 39% (reference) to 0.2% and 6%, respectively, while the same amount of inositol tetra- and tri-phosphate slightly increased the iron solubility. Thus, degradation of inositol hexa- and pentaphosphates seemed to significantly reduce the inhibiting effect on iron availability.
Recurrent Abdominal Actinomycosis With Multiple Organ Involvement: A Rare Clinical Presentation

Actinomycosis is a chronic granulomatous bacterial disease. It has a tendency to spread contagiously and suppurate forming granulation tissue, and multiple abscesses, which drain through skin forming sinus tracts. Sulphur granules discharging through sinus tracts are the characteristic features. Its varied presentation is always confused with malignancy rather than an infective process. We report an extraordinary case of recurrent abdominal wall actinomycosis spreading to the liver, right kidney, intestine,and pelvic organs because of discontinued treatment with penicillin. We emphasize the importance of long-term antibiotic treatment, which if deferred can lead to recurrence of the disease which could be life threatening at times. © 2018Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved. Acta MedIran 2018;56(11):732-735.
671. The association between the fat percentage of cows' milk and the size and number of the fat globules

Milk samples were collected, between 17 April and 30 May 1956, from fifty-six Ayrshire and forty Friesian cows, which had been calved for between 45 and 165 days, when they were running out at grass day and night. The results showed that differences in the fat percentages of their milk were accompanied by corresponding variations in the average diameter of the globules in both breeds and in the numbers of globules per cu.mm. in the Friesian cows. These changes were not significant for either variant because there were some individuals in which changes in fat percentage appeared to be accounted for by either an increase in fat globule diameter or an increase in the number per cu.mm. with correspondingly low figures for the other variant.
The impact of school choice on students' university entrance rank scores in Australia

This paper examines the impact on students' end of school achievement of choosing a new type of school for the final two years of high school (grades 11 and 12). In some regions of Australia, high schools end at 10th grade and students are required to choose a new school to attend for 11th and 12th grade, thus requiring all families to make a new choice between schools in the Government, Catholic or Independent school sectors. By comparing students from the same source schools who make different choices of schools to attend in 11th and 12th grade, the authors examine the impact of this choice of schools on the students' eligibility for university. This eligibility is measured by their Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) score awarded upon completion of 12th grade. We find that the educational aspirations, motivations and ambitions of students who choose to attend Independent schools for 11th and 12th grade are different to those who chose to attend Government or Catholic schools. Nevertheless, the positive effect of attending an Independent school on students' ENTER scores appears to reflect more than this selection effect.
Environmental Factors Affecting the Strength of Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) Year-Classes in Western Lake Erie, 1960–70

Commercial production of walleyes (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) from western Lake Erie declined from 5.9 million pounds in 1956 to 140,000 pounds by 1969. Since 1956, marked irregularity in year-class success has developed. Only four year-classes were considered good during 1959–70. The rate and regularity of water warming during the spring spawning and incubation periods in 1960–70 had a positive effect on the density of egg deposits and the resulting year-class strength. Rates of warming were not themselves detrimental, but rather the extended length of the incubation period in cool springs increased the exposure of eggs to such negative influences as dislodgment from the spawning reefs by strong current action generated by spring storms, or siltation and low oxygen tensions. The annual brood stock size had much less influence on year-class strength than did water temperature. Reproductive success was unrelated to fluctuations in size of suitable reef spawning area caused by changes in water level. App.
Regression modelling using priors depending on Fisher information covariance kernels (I-priors)

Regression analysis is undoubtedly an important tool to understand the relationship between one or more explanatory and independent variables of interest. In this thesis, we explore a novel methodology for fitting a wide range of parametric and nonparametric regression models, called the I-prior methodology (Bergsma, 2018). We assume that the regression function belongs to a reproducing kernel Hilbert or Kreĭn space of functions, and by doing so, allows us to utilise the convenient topologies of these vector spaces. This is important for the derivation of the Fisher information of the regression function, which might be infinite dimensional. Based on the principle of maximum entropy, an I-prior is an objective Gaussian process prior for the regression function with covariance function proportional to its Fisher information. Our work focusses on the statistical methodology and computational aspects of fitting I-priors models. We examine a likelihood-based approach (direct optimisation and EM algorithm) for fitting I-prior models with normally distributed errors. The culmination of this work is the R package iprior (Jamil, 2017) which has been made publicly available on CRAN. The normal I-prior methodology is subsequently extended to fit categorical response models, achieved by “squashing” the regression functions through a probit sigmoid function. Estimation of I-probit models, as we call it, proves challenging due to the intractable integral involved in computing the likelihood. We overcome this difficulty by way of variational approximations. Finally, we turn to a fully Bayesian approach of variable selection using I-priors for linear models to tackle multicollinearity. We illustrate the use of I-priors in various simulated and real-data examples. Our study advocates the I-prior methodology as being a simple, intuitive, and comparable alternative to similar leading state-of-the-art models.
Effects of wave exposure and depth on biomass, density and fertility of the fucoid seaweed Sargassum polyceratium (Phaeophyta, Sargassaceae)

Sargassum polyceratium is widely distributed around the island of Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles) where it inhabits strongly contrasting habitats. Changes in population structure have been followed in three bays with increasing levels of wave exposure at two depths: shallow (0 m) and deep (18 m). The effects of increasing wave exposure were investigated by studying three deep-water populations; and the effects of depth by studying shallow- and deep-water populations in the two calmer bays. Total density and stage density (reproductive thalli, juvenile thalli) were determined and total and individual thallus biomass was estimated non-destructively. In the most wave-exposed deep-water population thalli were twice as long with more than twice the biomass than in the calmest deep-water population. Total density and juvenile density were highest in the bay with intermediate wave exposure. Depth was an important factor at both the individual and population level. Shallow-water thalli had basal holdfast areas that were four times larger than those from deep water, and thallus biomass was positively correlated with holdfast area. Shallow-water juveniles invested more in the development of a holdfast and lateral growth than deep-water juveniles. Total biomass per quadrat was up to 10-fold higher in shallow- than in deep-water populations. In shallow-water populations reproductive thalli were present throughout the year whereas in deep-water populations they were present only during autumn and winter. We conclude that both wave exposure and depth affect population structure. Thalli were generally bigger and total biomass higher in the more exposed bay(s) and in shallower water, contradicting the general pattern in macroalgae of reduced size and biomass with increasing wave exposure.
Budgeting Strategies in Selected Federal Polytechnic Libraries in Nigeria

The study investigated budgeting strategies in selected Federal Polytechnic Libraries in Nigeria. Four research questions were raised and answered. The objectives of the research was to determine sources of funds for Federal Polytechnic Libraries in Nigeria, adequacy of budgeting allocation, types of budgeting system that are used, and to discover the level of polytechnic librarian involvement in the planning and budgeting for their libraries. A survey research method was adopted for this study and stratified random sampling technique was used to draw samples for the study. Questionnaire was developed and used to collect data from the samples. Data collected from the respondents was analysed using frequency distributions and percentages. The study discovered that the main sources of funds for polytechnic libraries in Nigeria were library grants and Education Trust Fund which recorded responses of (87.5%) and (22.5%) respectively. It was also identified that budget preparation and implementation were undertaken quarterly and executed by the library committees in all the sampled polytechnic libraries as recorded by (87.5%) and (63.4%) respectively. It established that the funds allocated to the colleges were inadequate as shown in the responses of (100%) of the respondents. The study concluded that there are not many researches in areas of budget strategies and implementation; whereas these are important areas in library financial management.
Impacts of Nonpoint-Source Pollution on the Structure of Diatom Assemblages, Whole-Stream Oxygen Metabolism, and Growth of Selenastrum capricornutum in the Red River Watershed of North-Central Tennessee

Abstract Assessments of stream biology are prerequisites to developing watershed management plans to improve ecological integrity. We sampled six streams in the Red River Watershed of North-Central Tennessee to evaluate the effects of non-point source pollution on diatom assemblages, primary production, and potential for excessive algal growth. We used diatom indices to assess the structure of diatom assemblages, changes of oxygen concentrations to evaluate primary production, and growth dynamics of the green alga Selenastrum capricornutum to evaluate the potential for excessive algal growth. The three most abundant diatom taxa collected were Nitzschia linearis (16%), Navicula reichardtiana (15%), and Navicula tripunctata (7%). Habitat impairment in all six streams is indicated by: (1) high Siltation Index values for diatom assemblages which indicate loss of biotic integrity as a result of excessive sediments from erosion, (2) high rates of whole-stream oxygen metabolism characteristic of eutrophic conditions, (3) low ratios of whole-stream gross primary production to respiration distinctive of heterotroph-dominated habitats often associated with poor quality water, and (4) high carrying capacities for Selenastrum capricornutum indicative of nutrient enrichment. High values of the Trophic Diatom Index and low values of the Pollution Tolerance Index of diatom assemblages at five of the six stream sites signify impairment due to eutrophication. The results reveal the impacts of excessive sediments and nutrient enrichment on the structure of diatom assemblages, oxygen dynamics, and potential for excessive algal growth in streams of the Red River Watershed.
Stock markets, banks and economic growth : time series evidence from South Africa

The paper examines the causal relationship between stock market development and economic growth in South Africa while controlling for the effect of banking variable. It applies vector error correction model (VECM), generalized impulse response function (GIRF) and variance decomposition (VDC). In the long-run, the finding suggests evidence of bidirectional causality between financial development and economic growth using bank credit to private sector (BCP). When stock market variables are used, turnover ratio (TR) and value of shares traded (VT); both indicate unidirectional causality from economic growth to stock market development. The generalized Impulse response function and variance decomposition indicate that financial development contains some useful information in predicting the future path of economic growth.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Coping with cancer and adversity : Hospital ethnography in Kenya

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva. nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
Resource Allocation for Search and Track Application in Phased Array Radar Based on Pareto Bi-Objective Optimization

To facilitate the ability of phased array radar to manage both its <italic>search and track</italic> (SAT) tasks simultaneously within a predetermined illumination time budget, a resource allocation (RA) scheme for integrated SAT application is built in this paper. We formulate the RA scheme as a bi-objective constrained optimization framework, and use Pareto's theory to determine its multiple Pareto optimal solutions. With these Pareto solutions, one can find a suitable tradeoff between SAT tasks, and correspondingly choose an illumination scheme, for an arbitrary application demand. By exploiting the unique structure of the bi-objective optimization problem, we strictly prove that the multiple Pareto solutions with cardinality <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M$</tex-math></inline-formula> can be obtained by parallelly solving <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M + 1$</tex-math></inline-formula> convex minimax problems. These problems are shown to correlate with the SAT tasks independently, and are correspondingly solved by the well-known linear programming methods and a proposed minimax solving algorithm, respectively. Finally, some numerical results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and reveal the intrinsic mechanism of the Pareto theory based bi-objective RA strategy.