Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of regional climate model formulation and resolution on simulated precipitation in Africa

Abstract. We investigate the impact of model formulation and horizontal resolution on the ability of Regional Climate Models (RCMs) to simulate precipitation in Africa. Two RCMs (SMHI-RCA4 and HCLIM38-ALADIN) are utilized for downscaling the ERA-Interim reanalysis over Africa at four different resolutions: 25, 50, 100, and 200 km. In addition to the two RCMs, two different parameter settings (configurations) of the same RCA4 are used. By contrasting different downscaling experiments, it is found that model formulation has the primary control over many aspects of the precipitation climatology in Africa. Patterns of spatial biases in seasonal mean precipitation are mostly defined by model formulation, while the magnitude of the biases is controlled by resolution. In a similar way, the phase of the diurnal cycle in precipitation is completely controlled by model formulation (convection scheme), while its amplitude is a function of resolution. However, the impact of higher resolution on the time-mean climate is mixed. An improvement in one region/season (e.g. reduction in dry biases) often corresponds to a deterioration in another region/season (e.g. amplification of wet biases). At the same time, higher resolution leads to a more realistic distribution of daily precipitation. Consequently, even if the time-mean climate is not always greatly sensitive to resolution, the realism of the simulated precipitation increases as resolution increases. Our results show that improvements in the ability of RCMs to simulate precipitation in Africa compared to their driving reanalysis in many cases are simply related to model formulation and not necessarily to higher resolution. Such model formulation related improvements are strongly model dependent and can, in general, not be considered as an added value of downscaling.
Antioxidant Activities of Caffeic Acid and Its Related Hydroxycinnamic Acid Compounds

Hydroxycinnamic acid compounds are an important source of antioxidants due to their ubiquitous occurrence in the plant kingdom and their characteristic activities. In this study, we compared the antioxidative and free radical scavenging activities of caffeic acid (CA), caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), ferulic acid (FA), ferulic acid phenethyl ester (FAPE), rosmarinic acid (RA), and chlorogenic acid (CHA) with those of α-tocopherol and BHT. In the Rancimat test, the addition of test compounds in lard significantly extended the induction time of lipid oxidation, and the activities in decreasing order were CA ∼ α-tocopherol > CAPE ∼ RA > CHA ≫ BHT > FA ∼ FAPE. When the lipid substrate was changed to corn oil, the effectiveness of antioxidants on the induction time was obviously decreased, and the potency order of antioxidants was changed to RA > CA ∼ CAPE ∼ CHA > α-tocopherol > BHT; FA and FAPE had no significant antioxidative effect in the corn oil system. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH.
Influence of implantation access on complication rates in pacemaker implantation: An analysis of quality insurance data

Purpose: According to older reports for implantation of pacemakers the access via vena cephalica (VC) is associated with less complications than the access via vena subclavia (VS), but the VS is still preferred. Valid data on head-to head comparisons between access via VC and VS regarding serious complications are missing. The aim of the analysis was to analyze potential associations between type of implantation access and complication rates on a representative dataset
Mechanisms underlying egg- sac opening in the subsocial spider Anelosimus cf. studiosus (Araneae Theridiidae)

Extended maternal care is one of the first steps towards sociality in spiders. Females of Anelosimus cf. studiosus care for their egg-sacs and open them to allow the emergence of the spiderlings, which they feed by regurgitation. In this paper we studied the mechanisms underlying egg-sac opening behaviour in this subsocial spider, by exchanging egg-sacs with different degrees of maturation between two groups of females. We also maintained isolated egg-sacs to test the ability of the spiderlings to emerge by themselves. Mothers always cared for the foreign egg-sacs because they were unable to recognize their own egg-sac. Egg-sac opening by foster mothers matched the timing at which the mothers would have opened their own egg-sacs. All the mothers ate eggs, but not larvae or nymphs. Spiderlings were unable to emerge by themselves. The timing of egg-sac opening seemed to depend mainly on an internal factor within the mother, but the exact moment of opening appeared to be adjusted by external stimuli generated inside the egg-sac (nymphal movements). Hence, because material factors rather than nynphal moviments are the major stimulers for egg-sac opening, this species would be unable to care for foreign egg-sacs making communal egg-sac care impossible and thus constraining evolution towards more social behaviour.
Dynamic body acceleration increases by 20% during flight ontogeny of Greylag Geese (Anser anser)

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Avian Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic Society Oikos This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Subject Editor: Thomas Alerstam Editor-in-Chief: Jan-Åke Nilsson Accepted 4 November 2019 00: 1–7, 2019 doi: 10.1111/jav.02235 00 1–7
How US Travel Restrictions on China Affected the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States

From the Abstract: Early in the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, President Trump imposed travel restrictions on the People's Republic of China (PRC) to slow its spread to the United States We use the synthetic control method (SCM) under eight different specifications to see whether the travel restrictions slowed the domestic spread of COVID-19 In most specifications, the travel restriction had no effect on the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States In two specifications, the travel restriction reduced the number of COVID-19 cases for up to 15 days after the ban was enacted Regardless of the intervention date or how the spread of COVID-19 is measured, we find that the travel restrictions did not delay the prevalence of COVID-19 or did so by 15 days at most COVID-19 (Disease);Travel restrictions;China
LÉVY CONSTANTS OF QUADRATIC IRRATIONALITIES

An irrational number α is said to have Lévy constant β(α) if the limit lim m→∞ 1 m log qm(α) =: β(α) exists where qm(α) denotes the denominator of the mth convergent of α. We give a new proof of the fact that the Lévy constants of quadratic irrationalities are dense in the interval [ log 1+ √ 5 2 , +∞). Communicated by Cor Kraaikamp
Tailoring Extension Efforts for Promotion of Diversified Crop Rotation Systems

We conducted a survey in the northern Great Plains to better understand farmer-preferred learning sources and formats, influential factors, and challenges related to adoption of diversified crop rotation systems. University Extension was ranked as the second most preferred learning source, lagging only behind other farmers. Most farmers listed short seminars and Extension fact sheets as their most preferred learning formats, and most viewed crop productivity and soil health as the most influential factors for new-practice adoption. Our findings can help Extension educators better facilitate future adoption of diversified cropping systems as a conservation practice.
MJBS 17(1).indd

Determining habitat characteristics and quality is important for conservation planning for threatened species of butterfl ies. We determined the vegetation in two Apollo butterfl y habitat types and recorded the species richness and abundance of vascular plants in 12 randomly chosen plots within our study site in the “Baruun Burkh” Mountains of the Khentii Mountain Range. We also recorded the movements of adult Apollo butterfl ies (Parnassius apollo and P. nomion) using mark-recapture methods. Apollo butterfl y habitats were heterogeneous within alpine shrub communities and meadows. Recapture results showed signifi cant diff erences between mean total distances moved by P. apollo (200.31 ±38.19 m; median = 125 m) and P. nomion (218.17 ±77.35 m; median = 131 m). The number of recaptures infl uenced mean total distance moved, with signifi cantly longer total movements for animals recaptured more times. The single largest movement between subsequent recaptures was 484 m for P. nomion and 543 m for P. apollo, whereas the largest total distance traveled (between all recaptures) was 728 m for P. nomion and 1,024 m for P. apollo. More research is required to conserve eff ectively these threatened butterfl ies. Chuluunbaatar, G. Boldbaatar, J. & Reading, R. P. 2019. Ecology of two apollo butterfl ies (Parnassius apollo Linnaeus, 1758 and Parnassius nomion Fischer de Waldheim, 1823) of the Khentii Mountain Range in Mongolia. Mong. J. Biol. Sci.,
222Rn progeny monitors

The use of the noble gas radon (222Rn) as a tracer for different research studies, for example observation-based estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes, has led to the need of high-quality 222Rn activity concentration observations with high spatial and temporal resolution. So far a robust metrology chain for these measurements is not yet available. A portable direct atmospheric radon monitor (ARMON), based on electrostatic collection of 218Po, is now running at Spanish stations. This monitor has not yet been compared with other 222Rn and 222Rn progeny monitors commonly used at atmospheric stations. A 3-month intercomparison campaign of atmospheric 222Rn and 222Rn progeny monitors based on different measurement techniques was realized during the fall and winter of 2016–2017 to evaluate (i) calibration and correction factors between monitors necessary to harmonize the atmospheric radon observations and (ii) the dependence of each monitor’s response in relation to the sampling height and meteorological and atmospheric aerosol conditions. Results of this study have shown the following. (i) All monitors were able to reproduce the atmospheric radon variability on a daily basis. (ii) Linear regression fits between the monitors exhibited slopes, representing the correction factors, between 0.62 and 1.17 and offsets ranging between −0.85 and −0.23 Bq m−3 when sampling 2 m above ground level (a.g.l.). Corresponding results at 100 m a.g. l. exhibited slopes of 0.94 and 1.03 with offsets of −0.13 and 0.01 Bq m−3, respectively. (iii) No influence of atmospheric temperature and relative humidity on monitor responses was observed for unsaturated conditions at 100 m a.g. l. , whereas slight influences (order of 10−2) of ambient temperature were observed at 2 m a.g. l. (iv) Changes in the ratio between 222Rn progeny and 222Rn monitor responses were observed under very low atmospheric aerosol concentrations. Results also show that the new ARMON could be useful at atmospheric radon monitoring stations with space restrictions or as a mobile reference instrument to calibrate in situ 222Rn progeny monitors and fixed radon monitors. In the near future a long-term comparison study between ARMON, Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 2242 C. Grossi et al.: Intercomparison of 222Rn and 222Rn progeny monitors HRM, and ANSTO monitors would be useful to better evaluate (i) the uncertainties of radon measurements in the range of a few hundred millibecquerels per cubic meter to a few becquerels per cubic meter and (ii) the response time correction of the ANSTO monitor for representing fast changes in the ambient radon concentrations.
A methodology to obtain model-error covariances due to the discretization scheme from the parametric Kalman filter perspective

Abstract. This contribution addresses the characterization of the model-error covariance matrix from the new theoretical perspective provided by the parametric Kalman filter method which approximates the covariance dynamics from the parametric evolution of a covariance model. The classical approach to obtain the modified equation of a dynamics is revisited to formulate a parametric modelling of the model-error covariance matrix which applies when the numerical model is dissipative compared with the true dynamics. As an illustration, the particular case of the advection equation is considered as a simple test bed. After the theoretical derivation of the predictability-error covariance matrices of both the nature and the numerical model, a numerical simulation is proposed which illustrates the properties of the resulting model-error covariance matrix.
Tracking Public and Private Responses to the Covid-19 Epidemic: Evidence from State and Local Government Actions

This paper examines the determinants of social distancing during the COVID-19 epidemic. We classify state and local government actions, and we study multiple proxies for social distancing based on data from smart devices. Mobility fell substantially in all states, even ones that have not adopted major distancing mandates. There is little evidence, for example, that stay-at-home mandates induced distancing. In contrast, early and information-focused actions have had bigger effects. Event studies show that first case announcements, emergency declarations, and school closures reduced mobility by 1-5% after 5 days and 7-45% after 20 days. Between March 1 and April 11, average time spent at home grew from 9.1 hours to 13.9 hours. We find, for example, that without state emergency declarations, event study estimates imply that hours at home would have been 11.3 hours in April, suggesting that 55% of the growth comes from emergency declarations and 45% comes from secular (non-policy) trends. State and local government actions induced changes in mobility on top of a large response across all states to the prevailing knowledge of public health risks. Early state policies conveyed information about the epidemic, suggesting that even the policy response mainly operates through a voluntary channel.
Ground-based FTIR O3 retrievals from the 3040 cm−1 spectral
range at Xianghe, China

Abstract. In this study, we present O3 retrievals from ground-based Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) solar absorption measurements between June 2018 and December 2019 at Xianghe, China (39.75° N, 116.96° E). The FTIR spectrometer at Xianghe is operated with indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) and indium antimonide (InSb) detectors, recording the spectra between 1800 and 11000 cm−1. As the harmonized FTIR O3 retrieval strategy (Vigouroux et al., 2015) within the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) uses the 1000 cm−1 spectral range, we designed an alternative O3 retrieval strategy in the 3040 cm−1 spectral range at Xianghe. The retrieved O3 profile is mainly sensitive to the vertical range between 5 and 40 km, and the degree of freedom for signal is 2.4 ± 0.3 (1σ), indicating that there are two individual pieces of information in partial columns between the surface and 20 km and between 20 and 40 km. According to the optimal estimation method, the systematic and random uncertainties of the FTIR O3 total columns are about 13.6 % and 1.4 %, respectively. The random uncertainty is consistent with the observed daily standard deviation of the FTIR retrievals. To validate the FTIR O3 total and partial columns, we apply the same O3 retrieval strategy at Maido, Reunion Island (21.08° N, 55.38° E). The FTIR O3 (3040 cm−1) measurements at Xianghe and Maido are then compared with the nearby ozonesondes at Beijing (39.81° N, 116.47° E) and at Gillot (20.89° S, 55.53° E), respectively, as well as with co-located TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) satellite measurements at both sites. In addition, at Maido, we compare the FTIR O3 (3040 cm−1) retrievals with the standard NDACC FTIR O3 measurements using the 1000 cm−1 spectral range. It is found that the total columns retrieved from the FTIR O3 3040 cm−1 measurements are underestimated by 5.5–9.0 %, which is mainly due to the systematic uncertainty in the partial column between 20 and 40 km (about −10.4 %). The systematic uncertainty in the partial column between surface and 20 km is relatively small (within 2.4 %). By comparison with other measurements, it is found that the FTIR O3 (3040 cm−1) retrievals capture very well the seasonal and synoptic variations of the O3 total and two partial columns. Therefore, the ongoing FTIR measurements at Xianghe can provide useful information on the O3 variations and (in the future) long-term trends.
Free radicals in biology and medicine

1. Oxygen is a toxic gas - an introductionto oxygen toxicity and reactive species 2. The chemistry of free radicals and related 'reactive species' 3. Antioxidant defences Endogenous and Diet Derived 4. Cellular responses to oxidative stress: adaptation, damage, repair, senescence and death 5. Measurement of reactive species 6. Reactive species can pose special problems needing special solutions. Some examples. 7. Reactive species can be useful some more examples 8. Reactive species can be poisonous: their role in toxicology 9. Reactive species and disease: fact, fiction or filibuster? 10. Ageing, nutrition, disease, and therapy: A role for antioxidants?
Brand connection platforms: customer engagement and branding in interactive media

Purpose – The present research aims to explore the relationship between customer engagement with the firm and brand image during the first purchase experience in a brand connection platform (BCP). It empirically studies whether cues included in the BCP and customer emotions elicited during interactions originate non-transactional (i.e. customer engagement and brand image) and transactional (i.e. purchase intentions) responses.
Apparent digestibility and availability coefficients for protein and amino acids in menhaden fish meal (MEN), pet-food grade (PBM-pet,) and feed-grade poultry by-product meal (PBM-feed) were determined for market-size (500 g) sun- shine bass in two consecutive trials using passive netting

1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center, Stuttgart, Arkansas, USA; 2 Aquaculture Research Center, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY, USA; 3 Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA; 4 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Abernathy Fish Technology Center, Longview, WA, USA
ADOLESCENT CIGARETTE USE: EFFECTS OF RACE/ETHNICITY AND SCHOOL RACIAL/ETHNIC COMPOSITION

Research has shown there exists substantial variability in substance use among U.S. schools but has been unable to separate variability due to differences among schools from variability due to differences among the populations that are served by schools. To disentangle the effects of explanatory variables operating at the levels of individuals, families, and schools, we applied multilevel models (mixed models or hierarchical models) to self-report data on daily cigarette use collected in the eighth and tenth grade panels of the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS). The response variable is cigarette initiation (first use), coded "1" if the adolescent initiated daily cigarette use (at least one cigarette per day) during the interval between the baseline NELS interview and the reinterview conducted two years later; and coded "0" if the adolescent did not smoke on a daily basis at either wave. The final model used 18 explanatory variablesincluding 7 individual, 4 family, and 7 school variablesand incorporated "cross-level interaction effects"interactions between school and family/individual variablesand variance components gauging differences among schools in the effects of individual and family variables. This paper focuses on a subset of the results, those pertaining to the effects of racial/ethnic minority status and the interactions between minority status and the racial/ethnic composition of students in the school. The findings support research showing that Asian/Pacific Islander, black, and Hispanic adolescents are substantially less likely than white non-Hispanic adolescents to report cigarette use. In each of the NELS eighth and tenth grade panels, API and black adolescents are less than half as likelyand Hispanics about three-fourths as likelyto initiate daily cigarette use as other adolescents. The findings go beyond previous research by showing that the deterrent effects of minority status on cigarette use are much larger among minority adolescents who attend predominantly minority schools. Especially in the NELS tenth grade panel, where the effect is to reduce cigarette risk by one-half, minority schools appear to reinforce the effect of an individual's minority status, so minority students are at even lower risk of cigarette use if they attend schools with a high percentage of minority students. The results also suggest that minority schools help to mitigate the adverse effects on cigarette risk of two social conditionsfewer than two parents living at home and school dropoutthat are prevalent within the largest racial/ethnic minority populations of the U.S.
How Do Hidden Champions Differ from Normal Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Innovation Activities?

Several studies have concluded that hidden champions have unique characteristics when they are compared with other small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, most of their research has limitations that they highlighted managerial perspectives such as marketing strategies or leadership in investigating their success factors with a qualitative analysis including case studies and interviews. Thus, this paper aims at examining the innovation of hidden champions by considering inclusive perspectives of both technological and managerial aspects to analyze their characteristics in a quantitative manner. For this, several factors to compare hidden champions and normal SMEs are suggested, concentrating on technological as well as managerial perspectives. In addition, statistical analyses such as t-test are performed to test several hypotheses related to hidden champions. The results of the analyses will provide useful implications in understanding the success factors of innovative SMEs and supporting such promising hidden champions in technological and economic perspectives.
Evidence of dramatic biodiversity loss in a wet biotope calls for urgent conservation strategies

Abstract The small lake “Lago di Corree”, located in the middle Volturno plain (Campania Region, Italy), is a biotope belonging to the Roccamonfina–foce Garigliano Regional Park. It is a “habitat island” in a landscape matrix characterised by intensive agriculture. In the present investigation, plant biodiversity loss, assessed by means of historical and recent field floristic surveys, is related to the lake dynamics and landscape transformation inferred using remote sensing (photointerpretation). A dramatic reduction of plant diversity, and the regional-scale local extinction of several aquatic species are reported