Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection of differences in soil carbon and nitrogen stocks between paired dairy and drystock pastures

Soil is the largest terrestrial store of carbon (C) with some 2000 Pg to a depth of 1 m compared to 500 Pg in the atmosphere. Maximizing storage of C in soil is not only important for reducing atmospheric CO2 concentrations but also for maintaining soil quality. Recent research has shown that land use management is a key factor in determining the storage of C in pastoral systems. Barnett et al. (2014, AEE 185:34-40) used a paired pit approach to sample 25 adjacent dairy and drystock pastures to a fixed depth of 0.6 m and showed that soils under drystock sites had about 8.6 t.ha -1 more C in the top soil than adjacent dairy sites (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between land uses when C was accumulated to 0.6 m. The main objective of this research was to test a potentially more accurate method for estimating differences in C stocks between sites sampled by Barnett et al. (2014), with a second objective being to better understand the effect of dairy and drystock grazed pastures on soil C and N stocks. A third objective was to investigate the effect of dairy and drystock managed pastures on earthworm abundance and biomass. A synthesis of recent literature showed that measuring differences in soil C stocks is difficult, given the high variability of soil C over small spatial scales. However, careful consideration to sampling methodology and statistical analysis can greatly improve the detection of differences in soil C stocks. Twenty three paired dairy and drystock sites were sampled to a depth of 0.6 m by taking 5 soil cores from each of two plots (5x5 m) within a paddock of each land use and soil C/N and soil mass were determined. Seventeen of the paired dairy and drystock farms were sampled from 3 points in each paddock between August and November 2013 for earthworms. Samples were sorted and earthworms were classified to species level. To a depth of ~60 cm (C stocks adjusted for equivalent soil mass), drystock sites had 1.6 t ha -1 more C than dairy sites but this was not significant. However, when soil layers were analysed separately, drystock sites contained more C (4.1 ± 2.1 t C ha -1 ) in the top 10 cm (P=0.06) and dairy farms had significantly more C (3.7 ± 1.7 t C ha -1 ) in the 25-60 cm layer (P=0.04). The difference in the relative distribution of soil C in dairy and drystock sites may be due to the greater size and concentration of dairy urine patches which can solubilise C in the top-soil and redeposit dissolved C lower in the profile. When comparing whole-profile C stocks between dairy and drystock sites, the two-plot coring approach would have been able to detect a true difference of 9.3 t C ha -1 , had it occurred, compared to 13.6 t C ha -1 for the pit approach (P<0.05). For the purpose of providing information for future sampling, power analysis was also conducted and revealed that with 23 paired sites, the pit approach could detect a significant difference (P<0.05) of 16 t C ha -1 with 66% certainty. In
Regional patterns of soil sulfate accumulation: relevance to ecosystem sulfur budgets

Analysis of soils from Walker Branch, Camp Branch, and Cross Creek, Tennessee, Coweeta, North Caroline, and Hubbard Brook, New Hamsphire support the hypothesis that watershed sulfur accumulation is due to inorganic sulfate adsorption in soils. Analysis of soils from lysimeter study sites at La Selva, Costa Rico, and Thompson Site, Washington produced similar results. In laboratory adsorption studies, only soils from Coweeta retained substantial (50 to 100%) additional amounts of sulfate in insoluble forms. Soil adsorbed sulfate content and sulfate adsorption capacity were positively correlated with sesquioxide content but negatively correlated with organic matter content. Organic matter apparently blocks sesquioxide adsorption sites, preventing sulfate adsorption in sesquioxide-rich A horizons and Spodosol B/sub 2/ir horizons. This blockage may account for the accummulation of adsorbed sulfate in B horizons in temperate and tropical soils and the susceptibility of New England Spodosols to leaching by H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/.
Genetic basis and timing of a major mating system shift in Capsella

at the self-incompatibility locus ( S -lo-cus). Theory predicts that S- linked mutations, and especially dominant mutations in SCR , are likely to contribute to loss of SI. However, few studies have investigated the contribution of dominant mutations to loss of SI in wild plant species. (cid:1) Here, we investigate the genetic basis of loss of SI in the self-fertilizing crucifer species Capsella orientalis , by combining genetic mapping, long-read sequencing of complete S- haplotypes, gene expression analyses and controlled crosses. (cid:1) We show that loss of SI in C. orientalis occurred < 2.6 Mya and maps as a dominant trait to the S- locus. We identify a ﬁxed frameshift deletion in the male speciﬁcity gene SCR and con-ﬁrm loss of male SI speciﬁcity. We further identify an S- linked small RNA that is predicted to cause dominance of self-compatibility. (cid:1) Our results agree with predictions on the contribution of dominant S- linked mutations to loss of SI, and thus provide new insights into the molecular basis of mating system transitions.
Nutrient Loads Estimation at Paddy Field Using CREAM-PADDY Model

A Modified CREAMS model, CREAMS-PADDY was developed to simulate the hydrology and nutrient transport at an irrigated rice paddy. The hydrology at a paddy was simulated by a daily water balance routine which reflects daily inflow, outflow, and water level changes. The soil erosion was simulated using modified USLE. The nutrient transport for total nitrogen and phosphorus were depicted for various phases of each constitute such as extraction, percolation, mineralization, and plant uptakes. Field monitoring was conducted to investigate the water quality changes at a paddy field at three times a week during the growing season of 1996. The proposed model simulates the water quality of the paddy reasonably well, and is found to be applicable to field conditions.
Clinical and genetic delineation of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) describes a group of progressive neurodegenerative disorders characterised by high brain iron and the presence of axonal spheroids, usually limited to the central nervous system. Mutations in the PANK2 gene account for the majority of NBIA cases and cause an autosomal recessive inborn error of coenzyme A metabolism called pantothenate kinase associated neurodegeneration (PKAN). More recently, it was found that mutations in the PLA2G6 gene cause both infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (INAD) and, more rarely, an atypical neuroaxonal dystrophy that overlaps clinically with other forms of NBIA. High brain iron is also present in a portion of these cases. Clinical assessment, neuroimaging, and molecular genetic testing all play a role in guiding the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of NBIA.
The Hiring Function Reconsidered: On Closing the Circle

This paper is concerned with the matching of job searchers with vacant jobs: a key component of the dynamics of worker reallocation in the labour market. The job searchers may be unemployed, employed or not in the labour force and we estimate matching or hiring functions including all three groups. We show that previous studies, which ignore both employed job seekers and unemployed job seekers who are considered to be out of the labour force, produce biased estimates of the coefficients of interest. By considering the only unemployment outflows into jobs and ignorant interdependencies with other flows, these studies overlook an important aspect of job matching. Our estimates on Australian data support a more general approach and produce models that dominate those proposed previously. We also provide clear ranking preferences amongst job seekers in the hiring process: those already in jobs are more successful than the unemployed who are, in turn, more successful than those not in the labour force. Together these results demonstrate that the disaggregate worker flows and their interdependence are key features of the labour market and should be included in studies of the hiring process.
Childhood social class and adult adiposity and blood-pressure trajectories 36 e 53 years: gender-speciﬁc results from a British birth cohort

Background In this study, the authors investigate gender-speciﬁc effects of childhood socio-economic position (SEP) on adiposity and blood pressure at three time points in adulthood. Methods Mixed models were used to assess the association of childhood SEP with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at ages 36, 43 and 53 years in a British birth cohort. Results The adverse effect of lower childhood SEP on adiposity increased between ages 36 and 53 years in women (BMI: trend test: p ¼ 0.03) and remained stable in men, but the opposite was seen for SBP, where inequalities increased in men (p ¼ 0.01). Childhood SEP inequalities in DBP were stable with age in both men and women. Educational attainment mediated some but not all of the effects of childhood SEP on adiposity and SBP, and their rate of change; adult social class was a less important mediator. public health policies aimed at social inequalities need to start early in life and take account of gender.
A Model of Focusing in Economic Choice

We present a generally applicable theory of focusing based on the hypothesis that a person focuses more on, and hence overweights, attributes in which her options differ more. Our model predicts that the decision maker is too prone to choose options with concentrated advantages relative to alternatives, but maximizes utility when the advantages and disadvantages of alternatives are equally concentrated. Applying our model to intertemporal choice, these results predict that a person exhibits present bias and time inconsistency when--such as in lifestyle choices and other widely invoked applications of hyperbolic discounting--the future effect of a current decision is distributed over many dates, and the effects of multiple decisions accumulate. But unlike in previous models, in our theory (1) present bias is lower when the costs of current misbehavior are less dispersed, helping explain why people respond more to monetary incentives than to health concerns in harmful consumption; and (2) time inconsistency is lower when a person commits to fewer decisions with accumulating effects in her ex ante choice. In addition, a person does not fully maximize welfare even when making decisions ex ante: (3) she commits to too much of an activity--for example, exercise or work--that is beneficial overall; and (4) makes "future-biased" commitments when--such as in preparing for a big event--the benefit of many periods' effort is concentrated in a single goal. JEL Codes: D03, D40, D91. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.
New directions for early literacy in a digital age: The iPad

In this paper, we discuss how iPads offer innovative opportunities for early literacy learning but also present challenges for teachers and children. We lent iPads to a Children’s Centre nursery (3-to 4-year-olds), a primary school reception class (4-to 5-year-olds) and a Special School (7-to 13-year-olds), discussed their potential uses with staff in pre-and post-interviews and observed how they were integrated into practice over a two-month period. We found variability in the ways iPads were used across the settings, but a commonality was that well-planned; iPad-based literacy activities stimulated children’s motivation and concentration. They also offered rich opportunities for communication, collaborative interaction, independent learning, and for children to achieve high levels of accomplishment. In some cases, this led teachers favourably to re-evaluate the children’s literacy competence, and enabled children to construct positive images of themselves in the literacy classroom. Practitioners particularly valued the opportunities iPads afforded to deliver curriculum guidelines in new ways, and to familiarise all students with touch-screen technologies.
Soil nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emissions from a tropical lowland and montane forest exposed to elevated nitrogen input

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is rapidly increasing in tropical regions, mainly due to enhanced agricultural use of N fertilizer, combustion of fossil fuels, biomass burning and cultivation of N-fixing plants. To date, the effects on forest soil emissions of climate relevant trace gases are poorly investigated. In this study, long-term N-addition experiments were used to achieve N-enriched conditions in old-growth montane and lowland forests in the Republic of Panama. Soil N-oxide and CO2 fluxes from the lowland control forest, which was not N-limited, were larger than from the N-limited montane control forest. These fluxes were compared to those measured after 1-3-years of N addition in the montane forest, and after 1-year as well as 9-11-years of N addition in the lowland forest.In the montane forest, first-time N additions caused rapid increases in soil N-oxide fluxes, accompanied by a substantial increase of the nitrification activity in the organic layer. N addition reduced the soil CO2 efflux during the high stem-growth period of the 2-3-year N-addition plots where stem diameter growth was promoted. In the seasonal lowland forest, first-time N additions caused only gradual and slight increases in soil N-oxide fluxes while those from the 9-10-year N-addition plots were substantially elevated. The ratio of soil N2O/NO fluxes was positively correlated with the water-filled pore space in the N-addition plots but not in the control plots. Despite an N-induced decrease in soil pH and base saturation, accompanied by an increasing aluminum content, soil CO2 efflux did not differ between the 9-11-year N-addition and control plots from these soils with high nutrient-supplying and buffering capacity.The 'soil-CO2 profile method' to calculate soil CO2 production from measured concentration profiles gave inconsistent results for the studied lowland site. An inverse model analysis revealed that the assumptions of the soil-CO2 profile method, i.e. that gaseous diffusion is the only relevant transport pathway and that CO2 is in steady state in gas and water phase, are not valid in well-structured soils with high water content. Under these conditions, the different diffusivities in inter- vs. intra-aggregate pores create permanent CO2 gradients. These drive exchange fluxes across water-filled pores that must be considered in the CO2 mass balance setup.
Assessing Factors that Contribute to Reduced Deforestation and Successful Community Forest Management in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve

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Aquatic Vegetation Restoration in Cooper Lake, Texas: A Case Study

Abstract : Aquatic plants improve water clarity and quality (James and Barko 1990) and reduce rates of shoreline erosion and sediment resuspension (James and Barko 1995). Further, aquatic plants provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat (Dibble et al. 1996) and serve as a food source for waterfowl and aquatic mammals. Native aquatic plants also help prevent spread of nuisance exotic plants (Smart et al. 1994), a role that has been of primary interest to the Aquatic Plant Control Research Program (APCRP). Because the research on aquatic plant establishment conducted under the APCRP represented the current "state of the art" (Smart et al. 1996), the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department solicited our involvement in the development of techniques (TPWD Aquatic Habitat Enhancement Initiative) for establishing aquatic plants for fish habitat improvement in Texas reservoirs. Because there is still much to learn regarding establishment of beneficial native plants, we elected to participate in this project and to incorporate testing and data collection in an attempt to further advance the science. This report documents the restoration project and describes what we learned in the process.
Investigation of the primary breakup length and instability of non-Newtonian viscoelastic liquid jets

The temporal instability and primary breakup length of a non-Newtonian viscoelastic liquid jet moving in an inviscid gaseous environment were carried out by solving a set of linearized Navier-Stokes equations and employing the linear viscoelastic model, respectively. The dimensionless dispersion equation that governs the instability was derived and solved by a numerical method. The effects of fluid properties on the instability and primary breakup length of viscoelastic liquid jets were carried out. It could be seen that by increasing the growth rate, the instability range and the primary breakup length of the viscoelastic liquid jets could result in an increase in the liquid Weber number and the ratio of gas to liquid density. Moreover, the significant findings are that an increase in the time constant ratio, and also the Ohnesorge number reduced both of the growth rates of disturbances and primary breakup length. Though, increasing the elasticity number resulted in a higher growth rate of disturbances and enhanced the breakup mechanism.
Post Market Analysis of Some Neem Products Sold in Nigeria

Context: The wide acceptability of herbal medicines as finished herbal products is hindered by the lack of quality control profile and total trust in the purity, safety efficacy and identity of the herbal product. Aim: The study evaluated the pharmacognostic, physicochemical, chromatographic properties and microbial load of commercially packaged neem products in Nigeria towards ascertaining its identity, content and purity. Settings and Design: Finished neem products were randomly purchased from different market sources and tested for compliance to already established standards documented by WHO, NHP, WAHP and USP. Materials and Methods: The macroscopic, microscopic, physicochemical and chromatographic properties of finished neem products were evaluated using standard procedures. Chemical-markers such as rutin and quercetin were quantified in the products using a validated HPLC method. Microbiological quality (bacterial and fungal counts) were assessed according to USP and WHO methods and guidelines. Descriptive statistics was used in the study. Results were represented in percentages and mean with respect to standard deviation where appropriate. Results: Macroscopic and microscopic evaluations showed the absence of adulterants and foreign matter and the presence of characteristic features of Azadirachta indica . Physico-chemical tests depicted varying results indicating differing sources of collection and possible soil types. Conclusion: The macro, microscopic, physicochemical, chemical and microbiological properties of neem products towards checks for identification and purity have been established. The neem products contained primarily Azadirachta indica and is considered safe for consumption. The results obtained are beneficial towards enriching current monographs of the neem products for commercialization.
Employee-Friendly Practices and Innovation

: We examine the inter-relationships among employee-friendly policies (EFP), innovation through R&D investment, and firm value. We hypothesize that firms with higher levels of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit are more likely to utilize EFP. Furthermore, we speculate that the value-EFP association is more pronounced in firms with high R&D intensity. Consistent with these assertions, we find that EFP is significantly and positively related to R&D investment and the number of patents. EFP is also associated with increased firm value at high levels of R&D investment and high numbers of patents. Furthermore, we find that firms investing more in R&D are more likely to treat their workers favorably and that markets react positively when such firms are recognized for their favorable treatment of employees. Our analysis, based on a large sample of U.S.-based firms and two different measures of employee-friendly policies, supports the assertion that EFP based on sustainable innovation and entrepreneurial mindsets contributes to value creation.
Study of Universal Thermal Comfort Index in Hosing Estate Public Space in Bangkok, Thailand

A lower external temperature increases comfort and reduces the chance of heat stress; it can be impacted by the density of the urban area, and this is an important issue for the residents in housing estate developments. Therefore, to sustainably reduce this issue, the external temperature is important to manage for urban public spaces’ development. This article reports the results of studies on increasing thermal comfort in public areas by adding different types of shading into computer programs, Rhinoceros and Grasshopper, to calculate the Universal Thermal Comfort Index (UTCI). Increasing the outdoor comfort can be done by adding shaded areas via large trees that can result in thermal reduction and humidity increase, but they do not obstruct air circulation. The result can be used as a guideline for the design of public spaces in housing estates to meet the outdoor comfort efficiently and support the users’ expectations.
The Maglemose culture : the reconstruction of the social organization of a mesolithic culture in Northern Europe

Subtitled the reconstruction of the social organization of a mesolithic culture in Northern Europe', this book is based on a structural analysis of the Ulkestrup Huts in Central Zealand. The distribution patterns of microliths and arrangement of hearths, bark floors and other patterned evidence are compared with all the available evidence from northern Europe to suggest some general patterns and possible future directions for research.
Variational water-wave models and pyramidal freak waves

A little-known fact is that, every week, two ships weighing over 100 tonnes sink in oceans, sometimes with tragic consequences. This alarming observation suggests that maritime structures may be struck by stronger waves than those they were designed to withstand. These are the legendary rogue (or freak) waves, i.e., suddenly appearing huge waves that have traumatised mariners for centuries and currently remain an unavoidable threat to ships, and to their crews and passengers. Thus motivated, an EU-funded collaboration between the Department of Applied Mathematics (Leeds University) and the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) supported this project, in which the ultimate goal, of importance to the international maritime sector, is to develop reliable damage-prediction tools, leading to beneficial impact in terms of both safety and costs. To understand the behaviour of rogue waves, cost-effective water-wave models are derived in both deep and shallow water. Novel mathematical and numerical strategies are introduced to capture the dynamic air-water interface and to ensure conservation of important properties. Specifically, advanced variational Galerkin finite-element methods are used to provide stable simulations of potential-flow water waves in a basin with wavemakers and seabed topography, which allows reliable simulations of rogue waves in a target area. For optimised computational speed, wave absorption is considered with a beach on which waves break and dissipate energy. Robust integrators are therefore introduced to couple the potential-flow model to shallow-water wave dynamics at the beach. Experimental validation of the numerical tank is conducted at Delft University of Technology to ensure accuracy of the simulations from the wavemaker to the beach. The numerical tank is designed for subsequent use by MARIN to investigate the damage caused by rogue waves on structures in order to update maritime design practice and to ensure safety of ships, therefore leading to a competitive commercial advantage across Europe.