Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survival mechanisms of phytoplankton in conditions of stratification‐induced deprivation of orthophosphate: Northern Adriatic case study

Phytoplankton abundance in the northern Adriatic during the summer 2008 indicated that the system was highly productive, in spite of low orthophosphate (PO4) concentrations. Mechanisms by which phytoplankton adapted to PO4 deprivation during the summer stratification were studied. In upper, more productive waters, phytoplankton induced high alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) to obtain phosphorus (P) from the dissolved organic pool, and the P turnover time mediated by phytoplankton APA was very short (2 min to 1.5 h). High‐affinity enzymatic activity combined with high hydrolysis rates enabled metabolic flexibility to the phytoplankton in this heterogeneous and fluctuating environment. Another possible mechanism of adaptation to the PO4 deficit during the summer was a shift toward smaller cells. The smaller nanophytoplankton, supported by higher surface : volume ratios, were presumably able to produce more alkaline phosphatase, an exoenzyme bound to the cell surface. Progressive decrease of large cells and increase of smaller cells in the phytoplankton community during summer supported this hypothesis. In upper waters with low PO4 concentrations, phytoplankton reduced their P demand by a preferential synthesis of non‐phospholipids. In bottom waters, phytoplankton abundance was markedly lower than in upper waters and growth was probably light limited. In these deeper waters with higher PO4 concentrations, phytoplankton cells did not use APA to obtain P and were able to synthesize more phospholipids. In deeper waters, growth of bigger cells was favored.
Seasonal Variability of Biomass Open Burning Activities in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region

The seasonal variability of biomass open burning activities in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) with focus on carbon monoxide (CO) and total particulate matter or aerosol (TPM) emissions was investigated in order to document the characteristics of this significant source of air pollutants in the region. This assessment was performed using remote sensing data on fire hotspots detected by ANDES in combination with ground observations and data on vegetation land-use of the GMS region. We prepared monthly gridded emissions maps, to identify vegetation types subject to open burning and the corresponding spatio- temporal distribution. The results obtained showed that the major types of vegetation subject to open burning in the GMS region are forests and paddy fields. We also found that vegetation fires mostly take place during the dry season with a peak occurring during January - April. The quantification and spatio-temporal distribution of emissions from forest fires and rice residue burning could serve as important information to support decision making on control strategies that should be formulated at the national level to reduce emissions from biomass open burning and thereby to comply with the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze.
POLITECNICO DI TORINO Repository ISTITUZIONALE Determining the Surfactant Consistent with Concrete in order to Achieve the Maximum Possible Dispersion of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes in Keeping the Plain Concrete Properties

Determining the Surfactant Consistent with Concrete in order to Achieve the Maximum Possible Dispersion of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes in Keeping the Plain Concrete Properties / Adresi, Mostafa; Hassani,Abolfazl; Javadian, Soheila; Tulliani, Jean Marc Christian. In: JOURNAL OF NANOTECHNOLOGY. ISSN 1687-9503. ELETTRONICO. 2016(2016), pp. 1-9. Original Determining the Surfactant Consistent with Concrete in order to Achieve the Maximum Possible Dispersion of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes in Keeping the Plain Concrete
Gains from trade due to within-firm productivity: does services exporting matter?

Abstract This paper focuses on gains from trade due to rising within-firm productivity in presence of services exporting. The complementarity between exporting and investing in productivity enhancements is investigated by using descriptive regressions using rich, firm-level data for the period 2003–2011 for Turkey. The authors use three productivity measures for robustness purposes. The results show that firms that export both goods and services throughout the sample have higher productivity compared to all other firms in the sample. Another important result of the paper is related to the firms that switch from being goods exporters to goods and services exporters, which exhibit higher productivity than firms that export only goods or firms that switch from services exporting to exporting both goods and services. Finally, within-firm gains from trade as measured by the productivity growth of firms is insensitive to the services exporting status. More importantly, the authors observe no effect of any of export status of firms considered in this paper on their productivity growth.
Demand Response of Thermostatic Loads by Optimized Switching-Fraction Broadcast

Abstract Demand response is an important Smart Grid concept that aims at facilitating the integration of volatile energy resources into the electricity grid. This paper considers the problem of managing large populations of thermostat-based devices with on/off operation. The objective is to enable demand response capabilities within the intrinsic flexibility of the population. A temperature distribution model based on Fokker-Planck partial differential equations is used to capture the behavior of the population. To ensure probability conservation and high accuracy of the numerical solution, Finite Volume Method is used to spatially discretize these equations. Next, a broadcast strategy with two switching-fraction signals is proposed for actuating the population. This is applied in an open-loop scenario for tracking a power reference by running an optimization with a multilinear objective.
Evaluation of Sexual Frequency in Married Egyptians with Type 2 DiabetesMellitus

Abstract Background and objective: Sexual health is an important, however a neglected factor in patients with diabetes. Effects of diabetes mellitus (e.g. erectile dysfunction) and implication on sexual frequency and function among men with diabetes have not been well investigated. The current study aims to evaluate the sexual frequency, sexual function and their association with type 2 diabetes compared to that in an age-matched control group. Methods: In all, 50 married men with type 2 diabetes mellitus attending the outpatient endocrine clinic of Al- Zahraa University Hospital between March 2011 and March 2012 were selected. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were measured. Sexual frequency and function were assessed by questionnaire. The scores in each item of sexual frequency and function were compared with those of 50 healthy non-diabetic controls. Results: Sexual frequency and function scores for sexual drive, orgasm, overall satisfaction and arousal domains were decreased in the diabetic men (p<0.05). Age of the patients and duration of diabetes were negatively correlated with all items of sexual frequency and function. Body mass index (BMI), fasting plasma glucose, Glycated hemoglobin, education and employment status did not have a significant correlation with sexual frequency and function items. Conclusions: Diabetes significantly affects the sexual frequency and function of diabetic men. Age and duration of diabetes were the most powerful determining factors of sexual frequency and function.
Concentrations and source regions of light-absorbing particles in snow/ice in northern Pakistan and their impact on snow albedo

Abstract. Black carbon (BC), water-insoluble organic carbon (OC), and mineral dust are important particles in snow and ice which significantly reduce albedo and accelerate melting. Surface snow and ice samples were collected from the Karakoram–Himalayan region of northern Pakistan during 2015 and 2016 in summer (six glaciers), autumn (two glaciers), and winter (six mountain valleys). The average BC concentration overall was 2130 ± 1560 ng g−1 in summer samples, 2883 ± 3439 ng g−1 in autumn samples, and 992 ± 883 ng g−1 in winter samples. The average water-insoluble OC concentration overall was 1839 ± 1108 ng g−1 in summer samples, 1423 ± 208 ng g−1 in autumn samples, and 1342 ± 672 ng g−1 in winter samples. The overall concentration of BC, OC, and dust in aged snow samples collected during the summer campaign was higher than the concentration in ice samples. The values are relatively high compared to reports by others for the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. This is probably the result of taking more representative samples at lower elevation where deposition is higher and the effects of ageing and enrichment are more marked. A reduction in snow albedo of 0.1–8.3 % for fresh snow and 0.9–32.5 % for aged snow was calculated for selected solar zenith angles during daytime using the Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model. The daily mean albedo was reduced by 0.07–12.0 %. The calculated radiative forcing ranged from 0.16 to 43.45 W m−2 depending on snow type, solar zenith angle, and location. The potential source regions of the deposited pollutants were identified using spatial variance in wind vector maps, emission inventories coupled with backward air trajectories, and simple region-tagged chemical transport modeling. Central, south, and west Asia were the major sources of pollutants during the sampling months, with only a small contribution from east Asia. Analysis based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF-STEM) chemical transport model identified a significant contribution (more than 70 %) from south Asia at selected sites. Research into the presence and effect of pollutants in the glaciated areas of Pakistan is economically significant because the surface water resources in the country mainly depend on the rivers (the Indus and its tributaries) that flow from this glaciated area.
Chronology of Neoproterozoic-Cambrian granitic magmatism in the Aracuai belt, Eastern Brazil, based on single zircon evaporation dating

Granitic magmatism related to the orogenic stages of the Aracuai Belt took place at 595-575 Ma, and are represented by two distinct suites. One is composed of I-type granitoids and includes the following plutons: Brasilândia (595±3 Ma), Sao Vitor (576±4 Ma) and Guarataia (574+2 Ma). The other suite comprises S-type granites like the Atalela (591±5 Ma) and Wolf (582±5 Ma) plutons. After a long period of magmatic quiescence, a batholith composed of the Caladao granite and Padre Paraiso charnockite intruded at 519±2 Ma. This magmatic episode is probably associated to the collapse of the orogen.
Intellectual Capital and its Effects on Firms' market value and Financial Performance in Iran: An Investigating Pulic Model

Traditional thinking in economics was based on measurement of material resources and tangible assets and it has replaced the value creation of intangible assets. This issue led to increasing the importance of Intellectual Capital (IC) as research and economic issues. This study uses annual time series data and unit root tests and analyze them using Smooth Transition Regression (STR) model by Liew and et. al., (2002). The results showed that there is a significant relationship among IC, market value and financial performance. Random sample includes 60 companies. To test the hypothesis, first we collected data and firms IC value is calculated based on Pulic (2000) model.
Microscopic Studies of Calcium Sulfate Crystallization and Transformation at Aqueous–Organic Interfaces

The calcium sulfate crystal system is of considerable fundamental and practical interest, consisting of the three hydrates, gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), bassanite (CaSO4·0.5H2O), and anhydrite (CaSO4). Each has significant applications; however, synthesis of anhydrite via conventional aqueous methods requires elevated temperatures and therefore high energy costs. Herein, we investigate calcium sulfate crystal growth across a nonmiscible aqueous–organic (hexane or dodecane) interface. This process is visualized via in situ optical microscopy, which produces high magnification videos of the crystal growth process. The use of interferometry, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction allows the full range of calcium sulfate morphologies and hydrates to be analyzed subsequently in considerable detail. In the case of dodecane, gypsum is the final product, but the use of hexane in an open (evaporating) system results in anhydrite crystals, via gypsum, at room temperature. A dissolution–precipitation mechanism between ne.
Economic Consequences of Fair Value Accounting and a Change in the Distribution Rule

This research examines the economic consequences of fair value accounting and a change in the distribution rule. In Japan, fair value accounting for financial instruments was mandated from 2001, and unrealized revaluation profits were to be included in income statements. As an institutional correspondence to the change in accounting standards, Japanese Commerce Law implemented the deduction of revaluation profits from distributable profits. However, from 2006, the Japanese Company Act changed its distribution rule to include revaluation profits in distributable profits. Utilizing such a unique institutional setting, I investigated whether fair value adjustments are related to dividends and whether the change in the distribution rule had an impact on companies' dividend policies. The results show that the change in the distribution rule influenced companies' dividend policies, especially Japanese firms, as they tend to pay out revaluation profits as allowed by the Company Act.
Research on Tibetan Culture Domain Entity Recognition

Named Entity Recognition (NER) is the premise of other tasks in Information Extraction. At present, most NER studies are focus on person names, place names and organization names. However, domain entity recognition is still a challenging task. Tibetan culture domain entity recognition has important significance for studying Tibetan culture. This article extracts domain keywords based on improved TextRank algorithm. Then domain words bank is structured using domain keywords, and word segmentation is conducted. On the basis, Tibetan culture domain entities are recognized based on the improved Bootstrapping. The method in this article has better extracting performance and good generalization.
Mutual Coupling Reduction of a Dual-Frequency Microstrip Antenna Array by Using U-Shaped DGS and Inverted U-Shaped Microstrip Resonator

A compact U-shaped defective ground structure (DGS) and an inverted U-shaped resonator are introduced in order to reduce the mutual coupling (MC) between two slotted microstrip antennas at two difierent resonance frequencies. The proposed DGS and resonator have the same electrical length and both are placed in between two patch antennas, as a technique to suppress the occurrence of MC at two difierent frequency bands. The DGS and the resonator ofier stop bands at 2.45GHz and 4.5GHz respectively. Simulated results show a reduction in MC of 20dB at 2.45GHz band and 1dB at 4.5GHz band. We have developed experimental models that have proved this concept of MC reduction. Finally, the in∞uence of other parameters of the proposed antenna at the presence of the combination of DGS and resonator in the array system has been studied. Prototype antennas for difierent combinations of DGS and resonator and two-element array integrated with DGS and resonator have been fabricated, measured and the idea has been verifled. A good agreement is observed between measured and the simulated results.
Stochastic Timing , Uniqueness , and E ¢ ciency in Games 1

In existing game theoretic settings the timing of moves is deterministic, i.e. they occur with certainty at a pre-speci ed time. To add more realism we propose a framework in which, after an initial simultaneous move in time t = 0, one player gets to revise his action with positive probability at some t 0. Since the initial action of the opponent can be observed, and payo¤s accrue over time, the setup constitutes a dynamic extension of the Stackelberg leadership concept. Allowing for an arbitrary timing distribution, and using both subgame perfection and stochastic stability, we derive the necessary and su¢ cient conditions under which our dynamic revision game has a unique e¢ cient outcome even if the underlying normal form game has no e¢ cient Nash, or multiple ones. Intuitively, the fact that a player is less likely to move than the opponent may serve as a commitment device. Therefore, if the revision opportunity is expected to arrive su¢ ciently early then the committed players initial cost of mis-coordination or conict will be more than compensated by ensuring his preferred outcome after the opponents revision. The framework allows, among other things, to address the issue of equilibrium selection in games in which traditional equilibrium selection approaches fail such as the Battle of the Sexes and the Game of Chicken. It also o¤ers some insigths into the debate about Pareto-dominance versus risk-dominance. Keywords: asynchronous moves, stochastic timing, equilibrium selection, revision, asymmetric coordination games. JEL Classi cation Numbers: C70, C72. 2Corresponding author: La Trobe University, School of Economics and Finance, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia. Phone: (+61) 3 94791330, Fax: (+61) 3 94791654, Email: s.basov@latrobe.edu. au. 3La Trobe University, School of Economics and Finance, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia. Phone: (+61) 3 94792754, Fax: (+61) 3 94791654, Email: j.libich@latrobe.edu. au. 4University of West Bohemia, Univerzitní 22, Plzeμ n, 30614, Czech Republic. Phone: (+420) 777 846682, Fax: (+420) 377 632602, Email: pstehlik@kma.zcu. cz.
Cloning of chicken microsomal glutathione S-transferase 1 gene (MGST1) and identification of its different splice variants.

Mammal microsomal glutathione transferase 1 (MOST1) can conjugate many toxic or carcinogenic substances and depress oxidative stress. In this study, Chicken MOST1 and its variants were cloned for the first time and were composed of 956 or 944 nucleotides. The 12 nt deletion in the exon 2 did not alter the GT-AG rule and the ORFs for the two MGST1 variants were the same, which both comprised 465 nucletides and encoded a peptide with 155 amino acids. It was found that the two different splice variants identified using RT-PCR expressed in all three organs investigated of Dwarf Brown Chicken, namely liver, spleen and shell gland. Moreover, the expression level of MGST1 mRNA in the liver of Dwarf Brown chickens was the highest (p<0.01), and there were no significant differences between the spleen and the shell gland. These results provide a base for studying the biological function of Chicken MOST1.
The Management of Sustainable Development at Malaysian Local Government: Stakeholders’ Perception

Sustainable development has become an important aspect of the construction industries. There are many ways sustainability elements can be incorporated in the design, construction, operation and deconstruction of a building. Importantly sustainability represents the link between society and built environment professionals. In relation to that, this study involves a look at the stakeholders outlook and interaction with sustainability. In this study, the focus will be aimed on the role of the Local Governments and how the perception of the stakeholders. Therefore, this study intend to look into the sustainable development and better understanding the strength and weaknesses and other relevant factors that promote or hinder the Sustainable Development. This study is to contribute to the enrichment of knowledge on the role of Local Governments in Sustainable Development. Therefore, this research seeks to find out whether sustainable development is being practiced and seeks to find out what is happening with respect to issues of what, how and why things are being done with the development of Sustainable Development globally and in Malaysia in general.
PASSIVE STEGANALYSIS OF MULTIDOMAIN EMBEDDING METHODS

The paper is devoted to analysis of effectiveness the usage of modern statistical model of digital image for revealing the stego images with data, embedded in transformation domain of cover images. It is considered the case of applying of standard Subtractive Pixel Adjacency Matrix model for detection the presence of stegodata, hidden with usage of various type the cover image transformation - Discrete Cosine Transform, Discrete Wavelets Transform, Singular Value Decomposition. It is established that accuracy of stego image detection by usage of the model rises by increasing the amount of stage the cover image processing and significantly depends on type of embedded stegodata.
Targeted Deletion of Estrogen Receptor Alpha in Mouse Pituitary Lactotrophs

Prolactin (PRL) is a major anterior pituitary (AP) hormone that is necessary for mammary gland development, lactation, and female fertility. The synthesis and release of PRL from specialized pituitary cells (lactotrophs) is tightly regulated and primarily under tonic inhibition by dopamine (DA), produced by the tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic neurons (TIDA) of the hypothalamus. In turn, PRL regulates its own release by acting on the TIDA neurons in a short feedback loop to increase inhibition by DA and maintain homeostasis. Superimposed on this negative regulation are the stimulatory effects of estrogen. Estrogen (E2) stimulates PRL synthesis, secretion, and lactotroph proliferation by direct action at the level of the AP. E2 also stimulates PRL indirectly at the level of the hypothalamus by inhibiting TIDA activity. Finally, E2 can also modify lactotroph response to DA and other PRL-regulatory factors. The normal growth and function of lactotrophs depends on an interactive balance between DA and E2. However, the relative contribution of E2 regulation directly on the pituitary lactotrophs versus hypothalamic DA, particularly during various physiological states in the female, is not well defined and current animal models are unable to distinguish this. Thus, there is a need for a new model with which to study the regulatory role of E2 action at the level of the pituitary versus the hypothalamus. Through transgenic Cre/loxP technology and homologous recombination, we have generated a selective knockout mouse model in which the primary mediator of E2 action in the lactotroph, estrogen receptor alpha (ER), is deleted only in pituitary lactotrophs, while conserving E2 action at the TIDA neurons. Herein is the generation of this animal model and its characterization. Results show the successful generation of mice with the ER knockout targeted to lactotrophs but not in other ER expressing tissues of these animals.
Long-time trajectorial large deviations for affine stochastic volatility models and application to variance reduction for option pricing

This work extends the variance reduction method for the pricing of possibly path-dependent derivatives, which was developed in (Genin and Tankov, 2016) for exponential L\'evy models, to affine stochastic volatility models (Keller-Ressel, 2011). We begin by proving a pathwise large deviations principle for affine stochastic volatility models. We then apply a time-dependent Esscher transform to the affine process and use Varadhan's lemma, in the fashion of (Guasoni and Robertson, 2008) and (Robertson, 2010), to approximate the problem of finding the Esscher measure that minimises the variance of the Monte-Carlo estimator. We test the method on the Heston model with and without jumps to demonstrate the numerical efficiency of the method.