Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rainfall Chemistry and Potential Beneficial/Detrimental Impact to Indigenous Vegetation.

Abstract : This research project was designed to evaluate the effects of air pollutants on forests in southwestern Virginia. Extensive field studies utilizing tree coring techniques and open-top chamber experiments have shown that air pollutants for RAAP have periodically caused foliar injury to air pollution-sensitive trees and suppressed forest growth. Laboratory studies showed the genetic basis for interspecific differences in air pollution sensitivity and showed pollutants generally caused reductions in transpiration and photosynthesis. Field and laboratory studies carried out between 1974 and 1980 are reviewed in this report. More recent studies have documented patterns of ozone dispersion through the ridge-valley Appalachian Mountains. Higher elevation sites tended to have higher ozone concentrations. Rainfall chemistry has also been characterized for a station in southwestern Virginia. A rainfall simulator has been designed and built in order to reproduce rainfall in controlled laboratory experiments. This simulator provides natural-sized raindrops, distributes droplets evenly over a surface, and is chemically inert. Studies on defining the role of rainfall chemistry and ozone impact on plants are now underway.
Insights into the Possible Mechanism of Cyclosporine-Induced Chronic Nephrotoxicity; Arteriolopathy

Dear Editor, I read with great interest the recent contribution by Uz et al. (1) that demonstrated the protective effects of erdosteine on cyclosporine (CsA)-induced chronic nephrotoxicity in rats. The authors however, did not suggest the possible mechanism of nephrotoxicity or the recent reports concerning the action of antioxidants on nephrotoxicity. I would like to add some considerations on the noteworthy results using antioxidants based on the mechanism of CsA-induced chronic nephropathy. Excessive free radical production has been attributed to inadequate renal perfusion and hypoxia-reoxygenation injury is a well-known prerequisite for chronic nephrotoxicity by the calcineurin inhibitor. CsA-induced chronic nephropathy is characterized not only by vasoconstriction but also by the development of irreversible structural damage including arteriolopathy and tubulointerstitial fibrosis (2). Although most patients do not exhibit nephropathy as a result of vasoconstrictive effects (3) which is the acute unequivocal consequence of CsA (4), arteriolopathy is thought to predispose patients to interstitial fibrosis with tubular atrophy. Therefore, arteriolar vasoconstriction is responsible for both hypertension and compromised glomerular filtration rates that invariably lead to chronic kidney disease over time. Activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic CsA-induced nephropathy. As highlighted in recent reports, it has been suggested that aldosterone plays a central role in the pathogenesis of CsA-induced nephrotoxicity (2). Ryu et al. (5) found that CsA treatment increases plasma renin activity and intrarenal renin levels, which induces nephrotoxicity, and that the protective effects of green tea extract on CsA-induced nephrotoxicity may block the RAAS. Han et al. (6) revealed the effect of sirolimus on CsA and tacrolimus-induced nephrotoxicity using renal expression of the KLOTHO gene, which is an anti-aging gene. Defects in this gene are accompanied by arteriosclerosis, and it accelerates calcineurin inhibitor-induced nephrotoxicity by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Two principle mechanisms of action have been proposed for antioxidants; one is a chain-breaking mechanism by electron donation (vitamin), and the other is the removal of ROS initiators by quenching chain initiating catalysts (erdosteine, green tea extract) (7). Besides, isoproterenol, which is a sympathomimetic, showed some protective effects by stimulating endogenous melatonin production in CsA-induced nephrotoxicity (8). Therefore, further studies are necessary to elucidate which molecular mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of CsA-induced nephropathy with special emphasis on arteriolopathy or the RAAS.
Senior citizens: Digital immigrants in their own country?

Populations are aging at a rapid pace in the majority of western countries. At the same time, these countries are increasingly becoming more digitalized and information is supplied to a growing extent in digital form. To what extent is there an actual problem for senior citizens who are looking for accessible information? Is age the deciding factor for the way they make use of old and new media to gain access to information or are there other explanations for their information search behaviour? The results of the empirical studies presented in this article show that the Dutch citizens, young and old, are spread across a ‘digital spectrum. (Lenhart & Horrigan, 2003), rather than facing one another across the much-touted age-based ‘digital divide’. Prensky’s (2001) ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ do not appear to exist in the Netherlands, at least as far as their information seeking behaviour is concerned. This article will show that not only age but life stages, to some extent socialization and (as people start to age older) age-related functional limitations also play a role. Adopting a multi-channel approach and designing information sources by the principle of dynamic diversity could offer a solution.
Improving Health and Wealth by Introduction of an Affordable Bacterial Starter Culture for Probiotic Yoghurt Production in Uganda

In rural Africa, income generating activities of many households heavily depend on agricultural activities. In this paper, we present the results of a multi-year intervention whereby dairy farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs were taught to convert their milk into a probiotic yoghurt using an innovative bacterial starter culture and basic equipment. This intervention creates additional sources of income and employment for people involved in the delivery of milk as well as production, distribution, and sales of yoghurt. Besides the economic benefits, the consumption of the probiotic yoghurt can contribute to reduction of the incidence and severity of diarrhea, respiratory tract infections, atopic diseases, alleviate the symptoms of stomach ulcers, and decrease the uptake of aflatoxins in the body. With minimal external financial support, 116 communities or small entrepreneurs have been able to start, expand, and maintain a business by production and sales of probiotic yoghurt. Applied business models and success rate in terms of revenues and profitability varied per region and depended on location, culture, ownership structure, wealth status, and gender.
A Small Circle of Best Fit for Spherical Data and Areas of Vulcanism

The paper sets out to investigate a statistical problem in the geophysical field of plate tectonics which amounts to obtaining a small circle of best fit in some sense. We define a small circle of best fit. Using the maximum entropy principle, an appropriate distribution is constructed, leading to the setting up of a confidence zone for this small circle. Finally, detailed analyses for a set of data in the field of plate tectonics and for a set of data concerning secular variation of the palaeomagnetic field are given.
Testing Game Theory in the Field : Swedish LUPI Lottery Games

Game theory is usually di¢ cult to test precisely in the eld because predictions typically depend sensitively on features that are not controlled or observed. We conduct a rare such test using eld data from the Swedish lowest unique positive integer (LUPI) game. In the LUPI game, players pick positive integers and whoever chose the lowest unique number wins a xed prize. Theoretical equilibrium predictions are derived assuming Poissondistributed uncertainty about the number of players, and tested using both eld and laboratory data. The eld and lab data show similar patterns. Despite various deviations from equilibrium, there is a surprising degree of convergence toward equilibrium. Initial responses can be rationalized by a cognitive hierarchy model and convergence toward equilibrium by a simple learning-by-imitation model. jel classification: C72, C92, L83, C93. keywords: Population uncertainty, Poisson game, QRE, congestion game, guessing game, experimental methods, behavioral game theory, level-k.
GROWTH, YIELD AND QUALITY OF TOMATOES (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM MILL.) AND LETTUCE (LACTUCA SATIVA L.) AS AFFECTED BY GEL-POLYMER SOIL AMENDMENT AND IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT

Tomato and lettuce are amongst the most important fresh vegetables used in South Africa. However, growth, yield and quality of tomato and lettuce are constrained by water shortage and poor productivity of sandy soil. In South Africa, large parts of the agricultural land are in a semiarid region and water is becoming scarcer and more costly. Recognizing the fundamental importance of water-holding amendments like gel-polymers to enhance water use efficiency and soil physical properties, this study was carried out to investigate the effects of pure gel-polymer and fertiliser-fused gel-polymer soil amendments across five irrigation intervals on growth, yield and quality of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). The response of tomato growth, yield and quality to irrigation interval and gel-polymer soil amendments (pure gel-polymer and fertiliser fused gel-polymer) was conducted in a tunnel. The gel-polymer treatments were: control (sandy soil), two pure gel-polymer levels (8 and 16 g 20 L sandy soil, equivalent to 400 g and 800 g m) and two fertiliser fused gel-polymer levels (20 and 40 g 20 L sandy soil, equivalent to 1 kg and 2 kg m). Irrigation was either applied once daily or every second, third, fourth or fifth day, equivalent to 0.8, 1.25, 1.45, 1.88 and 2.29 L of water per 20 L bag of sand. University of Pretoria etd, Maboko M M (2006)
Resilient H∞ Filtering for Event-Triggered Networked Systems Under Nonperiodic DoS Jamming Attacks

This paper focuses on the resilient <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${H_{\infty }}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> filter design for event-triggered networked systems subject to nonperiodic denial-of-service (DoS) jamming attacks. In this paper, a new resilient event-triggered transmission strategy is first proposed to improve the efficiency of network resource utilization while counteracting the nonperiodic DoS jamming attacks. Then, by using a time-delay approach, the filtering error system is modeled as a switched system, which characterizes the effects of the event-triggering scheme and nonperiodic DoS jamming attacks simultaneously. Based on the established model, by using the piecewise Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional method, linear matrix inequality (LMI)-based sufficient conditions are formulated to achieve the globally exponential stability as well as the weighted <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${H_{\infty }}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> performance of the resulting switched system under the DoS jamming attacks. Consequently, the co-design method for the desired filter parameters and event-triggering parameters can be formulated provided that the above LMIs are feasible. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by a practical example.
Corporate Liquidity

Agency problems are an important determinant of corporate liquidity. For a sample of more than 11,000 firms from 45 countries, we find that corporations in countries where shareholders rights are not well protected hold up to twice as much cash as corporations in countries with good shareholder protection. In addition, when shareholder protection is poor, factors that generally drive the need for liquidity, such as investment opportunities and asymmetric information, actually become less important. These results strengthen after controlling for capital market development. In fact, consistent with the importance of agency costs, we find that managers actually hold larger cash balances when capital markets are better developed. Our evidence indicates that investors in countries with poor shareholder protection cannot force managers to disgorge excessive cash balances.
Canonical and non-canonical EcfG sigma factors control the general stress response in Rhizobium etli

A core component of the α‐proteobacterial general stress response (GSR) is the extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factor EcfG, exclusively present in this taxonomic class. Half of the completed α‐proteobacterial genome sequences contain two or more copies of genes encoding σEcfG‐like sigma factors, with the primary copy typically located adjacent to genes coding for a cognate anti‐sigma factor (NepR) and two‐component response regulator (PhyR). So far, the widespread occurrence of additional, non‐canonical σEcfG copies has not satisfactorily been explained. This study explores the hierarchical relation between Rhizobium etli σEcfG1 and σEcfG2, canonical and non‐canonical σEcfG proteins, respectively. Contrary to reports in other species, we find that σEcfG1 and σEcfG2 act in parallel, as nodes of a complex regulatory network, rather than in series, as elements of a linear regulatory cascade. We demonstrate that both sigma factors control unique yet also shared target genes, corroborating phenotypic evidence. σEcfG1 drives expression of rpoH2, explaining the increased heat sensitivity of an ecfG1 mutant, while katG is under control of σEcfG2, accounting for reduced oxidative stress resistance of an ecfG2 mutant. We also identify non‐coding RNA genes as novel σEcfG targets. We propose a modified model for GSR regulation in R. etli, in which σEcfG1 and σEcfG2 function largely independently. Based on a phylogenetic analysis and considering the prevalence of α‐proteobacterial genomes with multiple σEcfG copies, this model may also be applicable to numerous other species.
Pasture-Based versus Conventional Milk Production: Where Is the Profit?

Costs and returns of pasture-based dairy production are compared with those of conventional production using matching samples. Both whole-farm and dairy enterprise-level estimates are made using the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Resource Management Survey data. Conventional farms are matched to pasture-based farms on the basis of operation scale, scope, region, and farmer demographics and adoption of technology. Results show for pasture-based production lower net farm income on per-cow, per-hundredweight milk produced, and total bases. On an enterprise basis, results show for pasture-based production, higher net return over operating cost and lower net return over total cost per hundredweight milk produced.
CeRA: a router for symmetrical FPGAs based on exact routing density evaluation

We present a new performance and routability driven routing algorithm for symmetrical array-based field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). A key contribution of our work is the overcoming of one essential limitation of the previous routing algorithms: inaccurate estimations of routing density that were too general for symmetrical FPGAs. To this end, we formulate an exact routing density calculation that is based on a precise analysis of the structure (switch block) of symmetrical FPGAs and utilize it consistently in global and detailed routings. With an introduction to the proposed accurate routing metrics, we describe a new routing algorithm, called cost-effective net-decomposition-based routing, which is fast and yet produces remarkable routing results in terms of both routability and net/path delays. We performed extensive experiments to show the effectiveness of our algorithm based on the proposed cost metrics.
A Novel Planar Mode-Transducing Antenna Based on Metal-Only Transmitarray Surfaces

A novel mode-transducing antenna based on metal-only transmitarray surfaces is proposed in this paper. It provides a compact, low-cost planar antenna structure. To clearly demonstrate the performance of the proposed mode-transducing antenna, a prototype consisting of a TM<sub>0,1</sub> mode generator, a corrugated waveguide taper, and several transmitarray surfaces was designed, fabricated, and measured at the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$X$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band. The simulated and measured results show that the circular waveguide TM<sub>0,1</sub> mode can be converted into a mode with linear polarization using the proposed mode-transducing antenna. Furthermore, a gain of 23.4 dBi at the center frequency of 10.3 GHz and a 1 dB gain bandwidth of 9.7% has been achieved. The measured polarization purity is 98.57% at 10.3 GHz.
Life Cycle Assessment and Carbon Sequestration; the Environmental Impact of Industrial Bamboo Products

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the commonly accepted methodology to systematically assess the environmental impact of a product or material over the full life cycle, thus from the extraction of resources until the end phase of demolition or recycling (from cradle till grave). However, in LCA it is problematic to deal with the positive aspect of carbon sequestration in terms of environmental impact. The objective of this study is two-fold. The first objective is to gain a better understanding about the environmental impact of industrial bamboo products and their production process in terms of CO2 equivalent (carbon footprint) and toxic emissions (LCA). The second objective is to clarify how carbon sequestration on a global scale can be defined and calculated for bamboo products, and can be incorporated in the standard LCA calculations. The study concludes that industrial bamboo products, if based on best-practice technology (in this case production chain of Moso International), even when used in Europe can – depending on assumptions made actually be labelled as being CO2 neutral.
IMPACTS OF LAND USE CHANGES ON RUNOFF GENERATION IN THE EAST BRANCH OF THE BRANDYWINE CREEK WATERSHED USING A GIS-BASED HYDROLOGIC MODEL

A distributed hydrologic modeling and Geographic Information System (GIS) approach is applied to assess land use change impact, upon surface runoff generation from 1992 to 2000, on the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek Watershed. This watershed is located within Chester County, Pennsylvania, and it covers an area of 316 square kilometers (km 2 ). This watershed has experienced an increase in its urban areas as well as loss of its forest cover areas. Due to this change in the land use practices, the hydrologic processes of the watershed have been affected by an increase in the amount of surface runoff water generated from precipitation. Runoff estimates were calculated through an application of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The analysis of the model outputs indicated that subbasins within the study basin, facing urbanization, generate more surface runoff than subbasins with no significant land use changes. The application of the Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient was used to measure the relationship between forest cover and the amount of surface runoff water generated within the watershed. The analysis concludes that there is a significant and positive rank correlation between these two variables. It can be concluded that as forest cover areas decrease as a result of urbanization, surface runoff generated will increase.
Ecosystem Management Along Ephemeral Rivers: Trading Off Socio‐Economic Water Supply and Vegetation Conservation under Flood Regime Uncertainty

In ecosystems driven by water availability, plant community dynamics depend on complex interactions between vegetation, hydrology, and human water resources use. Along ephemeral rivers—where water availability is erratic—vegetation and people are particularly vulnerable to changes in each other's water use. Sensible management requires that water supply be maintained for people, while preserving ecosystem health. Meeting such requirements is challenging because of the unpredictable water availability. We applied information gap decision theory to an ecohydrological system model of the Kuiseb River environment in Namibia. Our aim was to identify the robustness of ecosystem and water management strategies to uncertainties in future flood regimes along ephemeral rivers. We evaluated the trade‐offs between alternative performance criteria and their robustness to uncertainty to account for both (i) human demands for water supply and (ii) reducing the risk of species extinction caused by water mining. Increasing uncertainty of flood regime parameters reduced the performance under both objectives. Remarkably, the ecological objective (species coexistence) was more sensitive to uncertainty than the water supply objective. However, within each objective, the relative performance of different management strategies was insensitive to uncertainty. The ‘best’ management strategy was one that is tuned to the competitive species interactions in the Kuiseb environment. It regulates the biomass of the strongest competitor and, thus, at the same time decreases transpiration, thereby increasing groundwater storage and reducing pressure on less dominant species. This robust mutually acceptable strategy enables species persistence without markedly reducing the water supply for humans. This study emphasises the utility of ecohydrological models for resource management of water‐controlled ecosystems. Although trade‐offs were identified between alternative performance criteria and their robustness to uncertain future flood regimes, management strategies were identified that help to secure an ecologically sustainable water supply. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Using return level in a statistical model for the joint distribution of the extreme values of equities

Taking risk for the sake of financial reward is a long accepted reality of investing; however it has been shown that investing using statistically more precise models of risk is associated with higher expected and realized returns. Two additional observations guide this research. Firstly, if financial returns are viewed as a frequency distribution, it is the downside or left hand tail of returns which most concerns investors. Secondly, for most investors the joint risk inherent in a collection of securities held (a portfolio) is of greater interest than the risk associated with any given single security. Thus the concern is the joint behavior of downside returns from a portfolio. In this research, the following hypotheses were examined: 1) Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distributions are suitable for describing the probabilistic nature of the “downside” return behavior of financial securities. 2) The three parameters of the GEV distribution, rather than being constant, are functions of financial indicators, and as such are time-varying.