Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fire behaviour in a semi-arid Baikiaea plurijuga savanna woodland on Kalahari sands in western Zimbabwe

Relative humidity in the morning is generally higher than in the late afternoon, whereas ambient temperature is the opposite. Relative humidity during the late dry season is lower than in the early dry season. In contrast, wind speed during the early dry season is generally lower than in the mid or late dry season in savannas. 13 -1 , while rate of spread of fire varied between 0.01 and 0.35 m s -1 . Fire intensity and rate of spread were positively related to flame height, leaf-scorch height and proportion of the area burnt. The relationships suggest that fire characteristics can be retrospectively determined using a variable such as scorch height. The grass fuel load, wind speed, relative humidity and to a lesser extent fuel moisture were important predictors of rate of spread, flame height, leaf-scorch height and proportion of the area burnt, with no impact due to the litter fuel load. The grass fuel load and wind speed had a positive effect on rate of spread, whereas relative humidity and fuel moisture had a negative effect. These findings indicate that managers can predict the likely damage to woody plants during an early dry season burn by assessing the grass fuel load and weather conditions at the time of burning.
Dominance Orientation in 15 Languages and 20 Countries Social Dominance in Context and in Individuals : Contextual Moderation of Robust Effects of Social

We tested the internal reliability and predictive validity of a new 4-item Short Social Dominance Orientation (SSDO) scale among adults in 20 countries, using 15 languages (N 1⁄4 2,130). Low scores indicate preferring group inclusion and equality to dominance. As expected, cross-nationally, the lower people were on SSDO, the more they endorsed more women in leadership positions, protecting minorities, and aid to the poor. Multilevel moderation models showed that each effect was stronger in nations where a relevant kind of group power differentiation was more salient. Distributions of SSDO were positively skewed, despite use of an extended response scale; results show rejecting group hierarchy is normative. The short scale is effective. Challenges regarding translations, use of short scales, and intersections between individual and collective levels in social dominance theory are discussed.
Pilot test of communication with a ‘Rapid Fire’ technique

Abstract An innovative communication training technique, ‘Rapid Fire’, was created to enhance communication and was incorporated into the debrief component of a simulation designed for correctional nurses to promote learning and engagement. The term ‘Rapid Fire’ was used to expose the critical time element that appears in the first five minutes of many crisis situations, where a quick relay of information and problem solving is essential; such as in a cardiac arrest or other rapidly deteriorating patient situations. This technique consists of a five-minute session prior to the structured debrief. During the ‘Rapid Fire’ portion of the debrief, all learners are together discussing the elements of the simulation and are permitted to dialog. They are encouraged to talk to one another, as the facilitator is not permitted to mediate during the five-minute period. The educator is actively listening to the team discussion. A sample of eighteen educators participated. The mean age of the participants was 43.2 years (range: 33-57) with an average of being employed approximately 3 years (range: 0-9) in their role as a correctional nurse educator. The average years as a simulation based educator was approximately 2.4 years. The majority of participants were female (89%). Responses to the 3-item open-ended survey were positive. Responses indicated that participants were engaged, civil and felt supported. One negative response indicated that more training was needed with real patients. It was concluded that learners were allowed to self-correct anything that was done or omitted during the stress of the simulation. Participation in this technique reinforced team collaboration that occurs in the clinical setting.
Variance component estimation exploiting Monte Carlo methods and linearization with complex models and large data in animal breeding

Toukokuussa 2016 tama Kaarina Matilaisen vaitoskirja valittiin vuoden 2015 parhaaksi vaitokseksi Helsingin yliopiston maatalous-metsatieteellisessa tiedekunnassa - Tiedote
Ural Owl Predation on Field Voles and Bank Voles by Size, Sex and Reproductive State

Predation on selected individuals from a population may have consequences for the prey population. We studied predation of breeding Ural owls (Strix uralensis) in southern Finland on their two main prey species, field voles (Microtus agrestis) and bank voles (Myodes glareolus), which fluctuate in abundance between years. We identified sex, body mass and reproductive state of the voles in Ural owl nests and of voles caught by snap-trapping in the study area. Our results showed that Ural owls preyed proportionally more upon reproductively active field voles than expected, whereas no such bias was found for predation on bank voles. There was no difference in sex ratio between preyed upon and trapped field voles or bank voles. Ural owls captured heavier individuals of both field voles and bank voles than expected, and in field voles, but not bank voles, reproductively active individuals were heavier than reproductively inactive individuals. We discuss how differences in social organisation, dispersal and reproductive behaviour may differently affect predation vulnerability of field voles and bank voles. In contrast to the pattern documented in other owl species, we find that Ural owls select larger and reproductively active voles, and may thereby exert a higher population-dynamical impact on vole populations than expected solely from the numbers of voles preyed upon.
Heterogenous intertemporal elasticity of substitution and relative risk aversion: estimation of optimal consumption choice with habit formation and measurement errors

This paper investigates the existence and degree of variation across house holds and over time in the intertemporal elasticity of substitution (IES) and the coefficient of relative risk aversion (RRA) that is generated by habit forming preferences. To do so, we develop a new nonlinear GMM estimator to investigate the presence of habit formation in household consumption using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Our method accounts for classical measurement errors in consumption without parametric assumptions on the distribution of measurement errors. The estimation results support habit formation in food consumption. Using these estimates, we develop bounds for the expectation of the implied heterogenous intertemporal elasticity of substitution and relative risk aversion that account for measurement errors and compute asymptotically valid confidence intervals on these bounds. We find that these parameters display significant variation across households and over time.
Compact attractors for time-periodic age-structured population models.

In this paper we investigate the existence of compact attractors for time-periodic age-structured models. So doing we investigate the eventual compactness of a class of abstract non-autonomous semiow (non necessarily periodic). We apply this result to non-autonomous age-structured models. In the time periodic case, we obtain the existence of a periodic family of compact subsets that is invariant by the semiow, and attract the solutions of the system.
Magnetic molecularly imprinted stirring bar for isolation of patulin using grafting technique

Mycotoxins are low-molecular-weight natural products with great structural diversity produced as secondary metabolites by fungi. One of the principal toxic fungal metabolites is patulin (PAT), produced by over 30 genera of mold including species as Penicillium expansum or Penicillium griseofulvum, and normally related to vegetable-based products and fruit, mainly apple. These mold grow easily in damaged fruit or in derived-product as juices if storage conditions are deficient. Some of the most serious effects of PAT ingestion are agitation, convulsions, edema, ulceration intestinal, inflammation and vomiting. Thus, European Regulation 1881/2006 established a maximum content of 10 ppb in infant fruit juices, 50 ppb for fruit juices in adults and 25 ppb in fruit-derived products. Nowadays, the official analytical method for food adopted by AOAC International is HPLC with UV detection, using clean-up with ethyl acetate and sodium carbonate. However, the diverse drawbacks of this method (poor stability of PAT under alkaline extraction, poor resolution between PAT and co-extracted hydroxymethylfurfural) have originated interest in alternative options, such as LC methods coupled to mass spectrometry. In the last years, purification with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) started to be used, and are becoming promising materials for extracting different analytes present in food. Mycotoxins are too toxic or too expensive to be used as template molecules in MIP preparation. Template “bleeding” may be an additional problem, especially when dealing with very low detection levels. In the present work, a rapid and selective method based on magnetic molecularly imprinted stir-bar (MMIB) extraction has been developed for the isolation of PAT. A structural analogue, 2-oxindole, was used as dummy template. The polymer was grafted to the silanized glass surface of the stir bar.
Simulation of Performance of a Cage InductionMotor Driven Spooler Drive with Speed andCurrent Feedback using Field-Oriented Control

In this paper, the problem considered is an induction motor drive capable of operating certain types of loads demanding inverse torque – speed characteristics such as spooler load in a closed loop manner, where the mechanical power output remains nearly the same over the operating range. Such a drive requires a voltage-source inverter at variable frequency and also speed and current feedback configuration. The simulation of spooler drive system driven from a pulse width modulation (PWM) inverter fed induction motor is done using MATLAB/SIMULINK in a closed loop manner. The mechanical profile requires concurrent variation of torque and speed over a range depending on the mechanical dimensions of the take-up spooler and product line specifications. The control scheme is based on the field-oriented vector-control technique where decoupling of the torque and rotor flux variables is achieved and the desired stator current vector in a synchronous rotating frame of reference is generated. A d-q axis to a-b-c transformation followed by a hysteresis current controller is used to realize the desired stator currents. The simulation results indicate satisfactory performance of a typical spooler drive system over the full range of operation.
Algorithm for Multiple Model Adaptive Control Based on Input-Output Plant Model

Abstract An algorithm for multiple model adaptive control of a time-variant plant in the presence of measurement noise is proposed. This algorithm controls the plant using a bank of PID controllers designed on the base of time invariant input/output models. The control signal is formed as weighting sum of the control signals of local PID controllers. The main contribution of the paper is the objective function minimized to determine the weighting coefficients. The proposed algorithm minimizes the sum of the square general error between the model bank output and the plant output. An equation for on-line determination of the weighting coefficients is obtained. They are determined by the current value of the general error covariance matrix. The main advantage of the algorithm is that the derived general error covariance matrix equation is the same as this in the recursive least square algorithm. Thus, most of the well known RLS modifications for the tracking timevariant parameters can be directly implemented. The algorithm performance is tested by simulation. Results with both SISO and MIMO time variant plants are obtained.
Mesozooplankton biomass and composition in the equatorial Pacific along 180

[1] Latitudinal variations in mesozooplankton biomass and composition were investigated along an equatorial transect (8� S–8� N, 180� ) in October–November 1996. This study also included intensive sampling (3-hour intervals for 48 hours) for diel variations in mesozooplankton vertical distributions at 3� S and the equator. Most of the study took place in the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) area that stretched between 7� S and 5� N. Mesozooplankton latitudinal distributions were influenced by the passage of a tropical instability wave during the equatorial time series station, which brought lower mesozooplankton biomass from the northeast, contrasting with the lack of a similar effect on concentrations of phytoplankton and particulates. South of the equator, the distributions of the mesozooplankton showed variable patterns with respect to chlorophyll and surface nitrate concentrations that could be ascribed to different states of the HNLC ecosystem. Very low diel variations of mesozooplankton biomass in the 0–50 and 0–100 m depth strata, a shallow vertical distribution, and the dominance of the larger size fraction (500–2000 mm) appear to be typical of the equatorial Pacific HNLC mesozooplankton and contrast with tropical oligotrophic ecosystems. Effects of such characteristics are a low active carbon export and a continuous predatory pressure. INDEX TERMS: 4231 Oceanography: General: Equatorial oceanography; 4855 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Plankton; 4880 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Trophodynamics; 4227 Oceanography: General: Diurnal, seasonal, and annual cycles; KEYWORDS: equatorial Pacific, zooplankton, diel cycles, composition, biomass
A model for dynamic communicators

We develop and test an intuitively simple dynamic network model to describe the type of time-varying connectivity structure present in many technological settings. The model assumes that nodes have an inherent hierarchy governing the emergence of new connections. This idea draws on newly established concepts in online human behaviour concerning the existence of discussion catalysts, who initiate long threads, and online leaders, who trigger feedback. We show that the model captures an important property found in e-mail and voice call data – ‘dynamic communicators’ with sufficient foresight or impact to generate effective links and having an influence that is grossly underestimated by static measures based on snaphots or aggregated data.
Operations and Maintenance Cost for Stratified Buildings: A Critical Review

Building maintenance is essential in preserving buildings’ appearance and performance. It needs to upkeep the building performance to prolong its value and building life cycle. Malaysia is still lacking in managing cost for building operation and maintenance. It has been found that the cost for housing maintenance is high due to poor maintenance practices. In order to get better understanding on how to manage the cost, this study reviews the contributing factors that affecting operation and maintenance cost of stratified buildings in Malaysia. The research first identified the factors through extensive literature review and scrutinize on factors that affecting and can minimize operation and maintenance cost. This literature review offers insight into building maintenance scenario in Malaysia focusing on the issues and challenges. The study also finds that operation and maintenance cost for housing in Malaysia is still in poor state. Interestingly, this paper revealed that operation and maintenance cost is also influenced by three significant factors like expectation of tenants, building characteristics and building defects. Measures to reduce the housing operation and maintenance cost are also highlighted so that this study can be a stepping stone towards proposing efficient and effective facilities management strategies for affordable housing in future.
Optimization of plasmon–plasmon coupling in photorefractive layered media

In this paper we study grating-induced plasmon–plasmon coupling in photorefractive layered media using a weak-coupling approximation. The method used is applicable to general layered structures that support both plasmonic and optical modes, such as photorefractive liquid crystal cells. The approximate equations are accurate when compared to S matrix approaches and capture the plasmon propagation at the surface of the device along with the optical modes guided by the layered geometry underneath. Analysis of the resulting model provides insight into the effect of the control parameters in this device and the means to optimize the diffraction efficiency. For example, by considering the case in which the plasmon is spectrally separated from the guided modes it is possible to determine the optimum gold thickness and grating strength required to obtain the strongest possible diffraction.
Allelopathy in five species of Erythroxylum

The objective of this study was to determine the allelopathic potential of Erythroxylum rosuliferum O.E. Schulz; Erythroxylum stipulosum; Erythroxylum cuneifolium (Mart) O.E. Schulz; Erythroxylum vacciniifolium Mart. and Erythroxylum barbatum O.E. Schulz. Bioassays were performed to examine the seed germination and initial growth of seedlings of Lycopersicum esculentum Mill (tomato) and Allium cepa L. (onion) in Petri dishes following exposure to an ethanolic extract of fresh leaves from the test species at various concentrations. The growth of the tomato and onion seedlings was inhibited with the extracts of the species tested, and significant alterations in the development of the shoots and primary roots were observed. These results suggest that the five species that were evaluated have allelopathic properties.
Overview of a Lab-scale Pilot Plant for Studying Baby Leaf Vegetables Grown in Soilless Culture

Investigating several environmental factors affecting plant growth implies having sound experimental facilities equipped to test individual factors in lab-scale although applicable later at the industrial scale. Sometimes, detailed information is hardly given in a manuscript that allows for replications by other authors, maybe due to the shortening of pages requested by journal publishers and editors. A system and methodology was developed for qualitative and quantitative analyses of baby leaf vegetables (BLV) raised in floating growing systems (FGS). Lab-scale pilot plants (LSPP) were developed in 2 greenhouses differing in structure and equipment, suitable for different growing seasons in a continental climate. The equipment and technology allowed multiple treatments and replicates for sound statistical design and data analyses. Environmental conditions and cultural techniques were studied in major and minor species (white mustard, Brassica alba L. Boiss; black mustard, Brassica nigra L. Koch; garden cress, Lepidium sativum L.; water cress, Nasturtium officinale R. Br.; rocket salad, Eruca sativa Mill.; perennial wild rocket, Diplotaxis tenuifolia L. DC.; corn salad, Valerianella olitoria L.; baby spinach, Spinacia oleracea L.) to determine best cultivation techniques in a standard soilless culture system (SCS) for BLV, based on FGS. Considering that SCS can improve raw material quality at harvest, and enhance the postharvest shelf-life of many vegetables and herbs, a standardized growing system is required to obtain premium quality raw material in terms of commercial stage, low nitrate content and long shelf-life. Among the SCS used, the FGS are suitable systems to grow leafy vegetables because the plants can grow at high densities, thereby producing high yields, and in a short time. FGS are based on sub-irrigation technology, avoiding over-head irrigation and contact between nutrient solution and edible parts, and result in greater qualitative and quantitative yields than the traditional cultivation techniques, reducing pollution, crop and substrate residues, leading to clean raw material with potential low microbiological load. The FGS is a modern technology that could be exploited more to enhance yield, quality and safety of fresh and fresh-cut BLV. The LSPP installed are providing the basis for expanding the research to other species and agronomic factors.
Enriching Egg Yolk with Carotenoids & Phenols

— Dried tomato peel (DTP) was tested in vivo (n=10) in 42 week-old laying hens at rates of 0, 40, 70, 100 and 130g/kg DM feed. Laying hens were fed in group 120 g DM/day/animal for 26 days. After 21 days, feed intake was not affected after DTP incorporation (97% of the offered feed in the five groups). Laying rate was not significantly different after DTP incorporation at 4 and 10% from the control group. Egg yolk resulting from DTP-enriched diets, contained lower amounts of cholesterol (14 to 17mg/g) and triglyceride (188mg/g) compared to the control group (22 and 241 mg/g, respectively) (P<0.0001). After DTP-enriched diets, content in total phenol was 2.0 to 3.6-fold higher, β -carotene 1.7 to 2.7-fold higher, and lycopene increased between 26.5 and 42.8 μ g/g compared to the control (P<0.0001). The optimal incorporation rate was 7% DTP.
A constitutive model for dispersive mixtures

A model for the spatial evolution of a dispersed phase microstructure is developed and combined with a rheological description of the liquid-liquid systems. The former, is accomplished by coupling pre-existing models of coalescence and breakup with the kinematics of mixing processes. The rheological model is based on unifying the theory of the present phenomenological models and by applying the description of the dispersed phase microstructure to remove the adjustable parameters presently in the rheology models.
A Module Coupling Slice Based Test Case Prioritization Technique

Regression testing is a process that executes subset of tests that have already been conducted to ensure that changes have not propagated unintended side effects. Test case prioritization aims at reordering the regression test suit based on certain criteria, so that the test cases with higher priority can be executed first rather than those with lower priority. In this paper, a new approach for test case prioritization has been proposed which is based on a module-coupling effect that considers the module- coupling value for the purpose of prioritizing the modules in the software so that critical modules can be identified which in turn will find the prioritized set of test cases. In this way there will be high percentage of detecting critical errors that have been propagated to other modules due to any change in a module. The proposed approach has been evaluated with a case study of software consisting of ten modules.
Exchange Rate Risk Measurement and Management: Issues and Approaches for Public Debt Managers

This paper presents conventional and alternative exchange-rate risk measures for government bonds, and outlines liability management operations for dealing with currency exposure. These risk measures and liability management operations are analyzed from the perspective of a sovereign debt manager. In particular, we examine the VaR statistic as a prominent measure of exchange rate risk exposure, along with an integrated VaR approach for the simultaneous estimation of a bonded portfolioâ€™s interest rate and exchange rate risk; the expected shortfall measure of exchange rate risk; and the spectral risk measure. The liability management operations outlined are debt buybacks, debt swaps and currency derivatives. These operations are extensively used by public debt managers of both developed and emerging market countries to mitigate or eliminate exchange rate risk of public debt portfolios and to reduce external debt servicing costs. Also, the cost at Risk is introduced as an approach to assess debt strategies, and best practices in managing the exchange rate risk exposure of public debt are provided. Further, experiences of external public debt management from selected south-east European countries are offered to illustrate the application of sovereign liability management operations in this region.