Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bangkok

This paper explores tensions inherent in the role of Bangkok as both a cosmopolitan, outward looking metropolis and national capital of a country where ‘Outer Thailand’ selects governments, demanding a hinterland orientation from the metropolis. The situation is exacerbated by frequent changes of regime, often involving contestation in Bangkok’s open spaces. Although the original raison d’être of the city was as the national capital of Siam, the capital function has become less important since the mid‐20th century, presenting both risks, for example security, as well as benefits, such as monumental architecture, to residents of the metropolis. A fundamental misalignment has developed between Bangkok’s political and socio‐economic roles. In essence, this means that Outer Thailand puts governments in power, but residents of the metropolis play a key role in removing them from power.
Enzymatic improvement of the cooking quality of aged rice : a main mode of protease action

This study aims to improve the stickiness and brightness of cooked rice from aged rice grains by removing its albumins and globulins with proteases. In newly–harvested grains, the proteins were easily removed by extraction with water which contained minerals from rice. In aged grains, however, the proteins were already denatured and extracted with difficulty. Proteases hydrolyzed even the denatured proteins to make them extractable. As a result, starch granules on the surface of grains were liberated. Some proteases also hydrolyzed a starch granule-associated protein, and consequently, made the starch highly gelatinizable by heating. The protease treatment of aged grains was effective for two main reasons: liberation of starch granules and removal of the granule-associated protein. During cooking of rice the liberated starch without the associated proteins gelatinized to give rise to stickiness. The gelatinized starch is considered to form a more isotropic film on the surface of every cooked rice grain to.
POLLEN GRAIN PRESERVATION OF UNDERREPRESENTED SPECIES IN FOSSIL SPECTRA

Pollen grains of 10 genera significant in pollen analysis were placed in a Sphagnum bog, in peat stored in a laboratory, and in pond bottom sediment. The decomposition of both protoplasts and sporoderms of these pollen grains was followed for periods up to 2 years. Species of the same genus showed similar preservation characteristics. Acer, referred to in literature as underrepresented in pollen spectra, was severely degraded, becoming unrecognizable in pond sediment. In general the pond sediment was more destructive of sporoderms than was the Sphagnum bog. Species used in the study are listed in order of sporodermal degradation and classified by their tendency to fossilize in peat and in pond sediment.
Enhancement of Planktonic Rotifers by Microcystis aeruginosa Blooms: An Enclosure Experiment in a Shallow Eutrophic Lake

ABSTRACT Enclosure experiments with three treatments (sediment addition, sediment + nitrogen enrichment, sediment + phosphorus enrichment) and unfertilized controls were performed in shallow hypereutrophic Lake Donghu during the summer of 2000. Dense Microcystis aeruginosa blooms occurred in all the enclosures during the experimental period but not in the surrounding lake water. Generally, the dominant rotifers were Polyarthra vulgalis, Filinia longiseta, Proales sp. and Asplanchna sp. at the beginning of the experiment, followed by a shift to Brachionus calyciflorus, Trichocerca similis, Cephalodella catellina and Anuraeopsis fissa, and finally to F. longiseta, Proales sp. and Keratella cochleris. M. aeruginosa blooms strongly suppressed the larger Diaphanosoma brachyurum but enhanced the development of the smaller cladocerans and rotifers that probably efficiently utilized organic matter from M. aeruginosa through the detritus food chain. The smaller cladoceran and rotifers coexisted successfully throughout the experimental period.
Effects of Angiotensin II AT1–Receptor Blockade on High Fat Diet–Induced Vascular Oxidative Stress and Endothelial Dysfunction in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats

Abstract We examined the effects of angiotensin II AT1–receptor blockade with olmesartan on high fat (HF) diet–induced vascular oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction in normal salt (NS) diet–fed Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) rats. Treatment with NS + HF diet (32% crude fat, 0.3% NaCl) for 20 weeks significantly increased blood pressure in DSS rats. NS + HF diet–fed DSS rats also showed higher plasma levels of thiobarbituric acid–reactive substances, aortic superoxide production, and mRNA levels of p22phox and gp91phox in aortic tissues than NS diet–fed DSS rats. Furthermore, acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation of aorta from NS + HF diet–fed DSS rats was significantly reduced. In NS + HF diet–fed DSS rats, treatment with olmesartan medoxomil (10 mg/kg per day, p.o.) and hydralazine (25 mg/kg per day, p.o.) similarly decreased blood pressure. However, in these animals, only olmesartan normalized plasma levels of thiobarbituric acid–reactive substances, vascular superoxide in aortic tissues, and acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation. These data indicate that HF diet–induced hypertension is associated with vascular oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction in NS diet–treated DSS rats. Inhibition of angiotensin II AT1 receptors may elicit beneficial effects on HF-induced hypertension and vascular injury in subjects that have genetically enhanced sodium-sensitive blood pressure.
Research Poster Abstracts

Introduction/Aim: Concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) resulting from sports-related or whiplash injuries are a major public health issue. The extent to which neck soft tissue injuries co-occur in concussion events is not well-known nor is the extent to which the symptoms associated with these injuries contribute to post-concussion syndrome. Methods: 43 non-acute subjects were studied: concussion (16), whiplash (13) or controls (14). Subjects completed a pain scale (VAS), the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPCSQ). Three tests for cervical joint and myofascial dysfunction were conducted: joint restriction onmanual palpation; tenderness tomanual palpation and the Flexion-Rotation test (F-R test). Scores on all variables were compared by ANOVA or Chi-Squared testing with significance at p = 0.05. Results: 73% of concussion subjects had head impact; none occurred in the whiplash group. In both clinical groups, the pain VAS, NDI and RPCSQ scores were not statistically different. Significantly more upper cervical joint restrictions, tenderness and positive F-R tests were found in the concussion group vs. controls. Joint restriction and F-R test findings were similar between concussion and whiplash groups. Discussion/Conclusions: Our results provide preliminary support for similarity of symptoms and signs in both concussion and whiplash patients as well as similarly high levels of cervical joint and myofascial dysfunction in concussion subjects. Soft tissue injuries to the upper cervical spine should be assessed as early as possible in post-concussion management.
Mass regulation in juvenile Starlings: response to change in food availability depends on initial body mass

1. The adaptive mass-regulation hypothesis suggests that birds should respond to worsening or unpredictable foraging conditions by increasing body mass and energetic reserves. However, previous work on adult European Starlings, Sturnus vulgaris L. , has revealed that the response to worsening foraging conditions varies according to the seasonal status of the birds. Photosensitive birds respond to decreased time available to feed by increasing mass, whereas photorefractory birds regulate mass at a fixed level. Juvenile Starlings are in a state of photorefractoriness until puberty. In this paper, we examine whether photorefractory juvenile Starlings respond to worsening foraging conditions by regulating mass at a fixed level, like adults, or whether they increase in mass, in accordance with the adaptive regulation hypothesis. 2. Birds were divided into two treatment groups: control and food deprived. Control birds remained on food ad libitum throughout the experiment. Food-deprived birds had their food removed for 5h every other day over a 6-week period. The effects of these manipulations on the resulting changes in body mass and fat reserves were examined. 3. Food-deprived birds increased fat reserves and body mass in comparison with controls. However, the response to food availability depended on the initial body mass of the birds. Birds with the lowest initial mass exhibited the largest response to the manipulation. This may be because birds with low energetic reserves are more severely affected by changes in the availability of food. 4. Juvenile photorefractory Starlings show a response to changes in food availability that is unlike the response of photorefractory adults. We suggest that the mechanism of responding to environmental change, in addition to being modulated seasonally, may be age structured. We speculate that the function of this age effect may be related to the low competitive status of juvenile Starlings. This subdominant age-class may be displaced to less favourable feeding or roosting sites; as a result, they may have to respond flexibly to a rapidly changing and unpredictable energetic environment.
Evaluation of a high grain protein QTL from Triticum turgidum L. var. dicoccoides in an adapted durum wheat background

Grain protein concentration (GPC) is an important component of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) quality. The 'Langdon'-Triticum turgidum L. var. dicoccoides chromosome 6B substitution line [LDN(DIC-6B)] contains the high GPC quantitative trait locus "QGpc.ndsu. 6Bb. " We evaluated the effect of this quantitative trait locus on GPC, grain yield, and other agronomic traits in an adapted durum wheat background, verified its location on chromosome 6B and determined its relationship to the GPC locus previously identified. A recombinant inbred population consisting of 110 lines segregating for high GPC was developed from the LDN(DIC-6B) with two doses of adapted germplasm. This population was evaluated in the field for GPC at two locations in 1995, and for GPC, grain yield, and other agronomic characteristics at three locations in 1996. Segregation analysis for GPC showed a bimodal distribution, indicating a single genetic factor or a tightly linked gene cluster controlling high GPC. This high GPC locus was insensitive to environmental conditions. Grain protein concentration was not correlated with plant height, but was loosely correlated with grain yield and heading date. Quantitative trait locus analysis using simple regression and interval mapping procedures identified a locus flanked by Xcdo365 and Xmwg79 on chromosome 6B as having a major effect on GPC. This high GPC locus, which explained up to 72% of the phenotypic variance, accounted for a 15 g kg-1 increase in average GPC. Selection for the two markers flanking the GPC QTL would be highly effective in introgressing this QTL into durum wheat breeding programs.
Evaluation of Antioxidant Potential of Terminalia chebula. Fruits Studied in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Abstract Oxidative stress is believed to be a pathogenic factor in the development of diabetic complications. Recently, we have reported the antidiabetic activity of Terminalia chebula. Retz. (Combretaceae) fruits on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced experimental diabetes. The current study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant potential of Terminalia chebula. fruits on STZ-induced diabetic rats. Oral administration of ethanol extract of Terminalia chebula. fruit at a concentration of 200 mg/kg body weight for 30 days significantly controlled the alteration in the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, hydroperoxides, and both enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants. In addition, the treatment also resulted in a significant decrease in the levels of blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin. The results are comparable with glibenclamide, a known hypoglycemic drug. The presence of biologically active ingredients in the fruit extract may be responsible for the antioxidant properties of the Terminalia chebula. fruits, which in turn may be partially responsible for its antidiabetogenic properties.
Functional equivalence in plant‐animal interactions: ecological and evolutionary consequences

FORUM is intended for new ideas or new ways of interpreting existing information. Itprovides a chance for suggesting hypotheses and for challenging current thinking onecological issues. A lighter prose, designed to attract readers, will be permitted. Formalresearch reports, albeit short, will not be accepted, and all contributions should be concisewith a relatively short list of references. A summary is not required.
Ensemble covariances adaptively localized with ECO-RAP. Part 2: a strategy for the atmosphere

Abstract Part 1’s localization method, Ensemble COrrelations Raised to A Power (ECO-RAP), is incorporated into a Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF). Because brute force incorporation would be too expensive, we demonstrate a factorization property for Part 1’s Covariances Adaptively Localized with ECO-rap (CALECO) forecast error covariance matrix that, together with other simplifications, reduces the cost. The property inexpensively provides a large CALECO ensemble whose covariance is the CALECO matrix. Each member of the CALECO ensemble is an element-wise product between one raw ensemble member and one column of the square root of the ECO-RAP matrix. The LETKF is applied to the CALECO ensemble rather than the raw ensemble. The approach enables the update of large numbers of variables within each observation volume at little additional computational cost. Under plausible assumptions, this makes the CALECO and standard LETKF costs similar. The CALECO LETKF does not require artificial observation error inflation or vertically confined observation volumes both of which confound the assimilation of non-local observations such as satellite observations. Using a 27 member ensemble from a global NumericalWeather Prediction (NWP) system, we depict four-dimensional (4-D) flow-adaptive error covariance localization and test the ability of the CALECO LETKF to reduce analysis error.
Effects of algae on the Secchi transparency of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea

The mean transparency (37.5 m) measured by Secchi disk at “blue‐water” pelagic sampling stations in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea during 3 yr was greater than in most other seawater. Our measurements in the Mediterranean and those by others in the English Channel, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean obey the Lambert‐Bouguer law if it is specified that transparency depends on the vertical attenuation coefficient for downward irradiance in the waveband of underwater sunlight that has lowest attenuance. Mean downward irradiance (±95% C.L.) at the depth where a Secchi disk disappears, calculated from 187 paired estimates of transparency and attenuation coefficients from these oceanic regions, is 22±1% of surface irradiance in this waveband. This value is significantly larger than the value (18%) that has been used widely since an early study by Poole and Atkins, who calculated attenuation coefficients incorrectly.
MHC class I-dependent Vγ4+ pulmonary T cells regulate αβ T cell-independent airway responsiveness

Mice exposed to aerosolized ovalbumin (OVA) develop increased airway responsiveness when deficient in γδ T cells. This finding suggests that γδ T cells function as negative regulators. The regulatory influence of γδ T cells is evident after OVA-sensitization and -challenge, and after OVA-challenge alone, but not in untreated mice. With aerosolized Abs to target pulmonary T cells, we now demonstrate that negative regulation of airway responsiveness is mediated by a small subpopulation of pulmonary γδ T cells. These cells express Vγ4 and depend in their function on the presence of IFN-γ and MHC class I. Moreover, their effect can be demonstrated in the absence of αβ T cells. This novel type of negative regulation seems to precede the development of the adaptive, antigen-specific allergic response.
OH and halogen atom influence on the variability of non-methane hydrocarbons in the Antarctic Boundary Layer

Measurements of C2–C8 non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) have been made in situ at Halley Base, Antarctica (75◦35°S, 26◦19°W) from February 2004 to February 2005 as part of the Chemistry of the Antarctic Boundary Layer and the Interface with Snow (CHABLIS) experiment. The data show long- and short-term variabilities in NMHCs controlled by the seasonal and geographic dependence of emissions and variation in atmospheric removal rates and pathways. Ethane, propane, iso-butane, n-butane and acetylene abundances followed a general OH-dependent sinusoidal seasonal cycle. The yearly averages were 186, 31, 3.2, 4.9 and 19 pptV, respectively, lower than those which were reported in some previous studies. Superimposed on a seasonal cycle was shorter-term variability that could be attributed to both synoptic airmass variability and localized loss processes due to other radical species. Hydrocarbon variability during periods of hour-to-day-long surface O3 depletion in late winter/early spring indicated active halogen atom chemistry estimated to be in the range 1.7 × 103–3.4 × 104 atom cm−3 for Cl and 4.8 × 106–9.6 × 107 atom cm−3 for Br. Longer-term negative deviations from sinusoidal behaviour in the late August were indicative of NMHC reaction with a persistent [Cl] of 2.3×103 atom cm−3.Maximum ethene and propene of 157 and 179 pptV, respectively, were observed in the late February/early March, consistent with increased oceanic biogenic emissions; however, their presence was significant year-round (June–August concentrations of 17.1 ± 18.3 and 7.9 ± 20.0 pptV, respectively).
Marine downscaling of a future climate scenario for the North Sea

The SRES A1B scenario for the period 2072–2097 with the Bergen Climate Model (BCM) has been downscaled for the marine climate in the North Sea using the Regional Ocean Model System (ROMS). The results are compared to the 20C3M run for the period 1972–1997. The results show a warming of the North Sea, with a volume average of 1.4 ◦C, and a mean SST change of 1.7 ◦C. The warming is strongest in May—June. Geographically the strongest warming in the North Sea is found towards Skagerrak—Kattegat in the surface waters and in the central North Sea at 50 m depth. The downscaling show a weak increase in the Atlantic inflow to the North Sea. The BCM scenario has a change in the wind stress pattern in the Faeroe Island region. This strengthens the branch of Atlantic Water flowing west of the Faeroes and weakens the flux through the Faeroe—Shetland Channel. As a result both BCM and the downscaling show large changes in the temperature in this area, with weak warming and sometimes cooling south of the Faeroes and strong warming on the north side.
Chapter 9. Framing the Future for Children and Youth in the Risk Society

Abstract This chapter sets out to explore the six significant findings of this study by relating the interview content to the sociological risk literature. It examines thinking behind loss zones and gain zones and then moves on to look at individual versus collective risk and perceptions of risk. A child and youth care understanding is noted within the context of the Youth Encounter Project environments.
Decomposition of stumps 10 years after partial and complete harvesting in a southern boreal forest in Finland

We studied the decomposition of cut stumps of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. ), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), and birches (Betula pubescens Ehrh. and Betula pendula Roth.) 10 years after clear felling, low level retention felling, gap felling, and selection felling. Bulk density of wood, mass per surface area of bark, and mass of wood and bark for entire stumps were estimated. Using a single exponential model, annual decomposition rate constants (k) were calculated as 0.071, 0.052, and 0.041 ·year–1 for birch, spruce, and pine, respectively. The k values for wood decreased in the same order. For bark, the order was different: spruce bark decomposed slower than pine bark. Fragmentation accelerated mass loss. Pine and birch bark decomposed faster than pine and birch wood, whereas spruce showed the opposite tendency. The wood density and bark mass did not depend on retention levels. Diameter of stumps did not explain variation in decomposition either. The high importance of stumps for biodiversity.
Atmospheric CO2 variations over the last three glacial’interglacial climatic cycles deduced from the Dome Fuji deep ice core, Antarctica using a wet extraction technique

A deep ice core drilled at Dome Fuji, East Antarctica was analyzed for the CO2 concentration using a wet extraction method in order to reconstruct its atmospheric variations over the past 320 kyr, which includes three full glacial—interglacial climatic cycles, with a mean time resolution of about 1.1 kyr. The CO2 concentration values derived for the past 65 kyr are very close to those obtained from other Antarctic ice cores using dry extraction methods, although the wet extraction method is generally thought to be inappropriate for the determination of the CO2 concentration. The comparison between the CO2 and Ca2× concentrations deduced from the Dome Fuji core suggests that calcium carbonate emitted from lands was mostly neutralized in the atmosphere before reaching the central part of Antarctica, or that only a small part of calcium carbonate was involved in CO2 production during the wet extraction process. The CO2 concentration for the past 320 kyr deduced from the Dome Fuji core varies between 190 and 300 ppmv, showing clear glacial—interglacial variations similar to the result of the Vostok ice core. However, for some periods, the concentration values of the Dome Fuji core are higher by up to 20 ppmv than those of the Vostok core. There is no clear indication that such differences are related to variations of chemical components of Ca2×, microparticle and acidity of the Dome Fuji core.
On evaluating ocean models with atmospheric potential oxygen

We used observed and simulated atmospheric potential oxygen (APO) to evaluate simulated air-sea flux fields from 11 ocean global carbon cycle models. APO is defined in terms of atmospheric CO2, O2 and N2 so as not to depend on terrestrial photosynthesis and respiration. Hence, it is in principal suited to evaluate simulated air-sea fluxes of these gases.We forced two different atmospheric transport models, TM2 and TM3, with simulated air-sea fluxes from each of the 11 ocean models, and we compared resulting simulated latitudinal and seasonal variations in APO with observations. Differences between the two atmospheric transport models, which offer a first estimate of uncertainty due to atmospheric transport, are similar in magnitude to the average model-data differences and to the spread between the ocean models. Simulated annual mean meridional APO profiles qualitatively resemble the observations, although at individual stations there remain substantial differences between models and observations. The simulated amplitude of the seasonal APO variability was generally less than observed. We conclude that it is difficult to validate ocean models based on APO because shortcomings in atmospheric transport models and problems with data representativity cannot be distinguished from ocean model deficiencies.