Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reproductive investment and moult-breeding overlap in the collared flycatcher Ficedula albicollis : an experimental approach

We manipulated brood sizes of 132 pairs of the collared flycatcher to investigate whether or not an investment in reproduction was traded against an investment and timing of the post-nuptial moult. Our manipulations did not affect the probability of moult-breeding overlap in males, and there was no effect on their moult scores at fledging time of the young. Males and young birds initiated moult earlier than females and old birds, respectively. Very few females started moulting during the period of nestling care. Reproductive success in terms of recruitment rate of fledglings was independent of parental moult stage during reproduction, which indicates that the manipulation did not induce a trade-off between moult and post-fledging care. Furthermore, the survival probability of adults was independent of brood size manipulations and their moult stage at fledging time. Thus, our brood size manipulations showed no evidence for a trade-off between reproductive and moult investments in the collared flycatcher.
Generalized Random Walks, Their Trees, and the Transformation Method of Option Pricing

GENERALIZED RANDOM WALKS, THEIR TREES, AND THE TRANSFORMATION METHOD OF OPTION PRICING Thomas G. Stewart Department of Statistics Master of Science The random walk is a powerful model. Chemistry, Physics, and Finance are just a few of the disciplines that model with the random walk. It is clear from its varied uses that despite its simplicity, the simple random walk it very flexible. There is one major drawback, however, to the simple random walk and the geometric random walk. The limiting distribution is either normal, lognormal, or a levy process with infinite variance. This thesis introduces an new random walk aimed at overcoming this drawback. Because the simple random walk and the geometric random walk are special cases of the proposed walk, it is called a generalized random walk. Several properties of the generalized random walk are considered. First, the limiting distribution of the generalized random walk is shown to include a large class of distributions. Second and in conjunction with the first, the generalized random walk is compared to the geometric random walk. It is shown that when parametrized properly, the generalized random walk does converge to the lognormal distribution. Third, and perhaps most interesting, is one of the limiting properties of the generalized random walk. In the limit, generalized random walks are closely connected with a u function. The u function is the key link between generalized random walks and its difference equation. Last, we apply the generalized random walk to option pricing.
Knowledge collaboration environment for supporting scientific communities : implications to the construction industry

This research is focussed on providing a flexible and configurable infrastructure for Knowledge Management (KM) aspects of distributed collaboration. The new knowledge created through this research will help to close the scientific community�s research process, and knowledge creation and dissemination gaps. This will assist geographically dispersed research communities with efficient knowledge creation and dissemination procedures and assist in overcoming the risks and inefficiencies of distributed Knowledge Collaboration process. The proposed infrastructure for collaborative KM connects heterogeneous tools, systems, processes and Intellectual Property (IP) repositories together with an integrated toolset to form a novel Knowledge Collaboration and research facilitation environment. This infrastructure provides scientific communities with secure, centralised access to resources for empowering distributed Knowledge Collaboration process with superior visibility and control. Utilisation of the proposed Knowledge Collaboration environment within the construction industry is becoming a reality due to the extent of collaboration among the stakeholders necessitated in the near future. The issues raised have important ramifications for construction, and are discussed in the paper.
Phosphorus management at the watershed scale:a modification of the phosphorus index

We considered hydrologic and chemical factors controlling P export from a 39.5-ha mixed land use watershed in east-central Pennsylvania, focusing our evaluation on watershed vulnerability to P loss. The spatial variations of P source factors, soil P, and P inputs from fertilizer and manure were evaluated. Distribution of Mehlich-3 soil P on a 30-m grid over the watershed showed that soil P varied with land use. Soils in wooded areas had low Mehlich-3 P ( 200 mg kg−1. Phosphorus sources and transport controls on P loss were evaluated by examining in-stream P concentrations during storm hydrographs. Phosphorus concentrations decreased 50% downstream from headwaters to watershed outlet, and were more closely related to near-stream (within 60 m) distribution of high-P soils than to that of the whole watershed. This suggests that near-stream surface runoff and soil P are controlling P export from the watershed. Based on these findings, we modified the Phosphorus Index (PI), a user-oriented tool developed by the NRCS-USDA to identify critical source areas controlling P export from agricultural watersheds. The modification separately evaluates P source and transport factors, and incorporates the hydrologic return period to describe contributing areas. The modified PI was applied to the watershed to illustrate interactions between P source and transport processes controlling P export, and approaches for managing P loss.
Historical Forest Landscape Changes in the Buffalo River Sub-Basin in Arkansas

Forested areas in the United States have been altered since the time of European settlement. For this reason, research interests have increased in comparing present day vegetation with that of the preEuroamerican era to see what changes, if any, have occurred in some of our more outstanding natural areas. Such studies have been conducted in other parts of the United States but limited research has been done in Arkansas. The General Land Office (GLO) surveys of Arkansas were originally conducted between approximately 1815 and 1850 shortly after Arkansas was acquired from France by means of the Louisiana Purchase and provides the only systematic on-ground survey in Arkansas that predates most formal botanical investigations. The GLO surveys used witness trees to define the location of section corners and lines. Descriptions of witness trees included tree species and diameter along with distance and direction to the section corner or line. This historical GLO data was compared to United States Forest Service (USFS) Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, which represent present vegetation conditions for 62 townships in the Buffalo River Sub-basin. Comparisons indicated that eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) increased from 0.7% to 7.8% of the total forest species in the sub-basin, hickory (Carya spp.) increased from 8.2% to 14.3%, while oak (Quercus spp.) species decreased from 43.0% to 30.1%. Based on this study it appears that postEuroamerican settlement fire suppression and agricultural practices in addition to other human activities has caused vegetation changes in this area.
The Significance of Teacher Leadership in TESOL: A Theoretical Perspective

This paper reviews literature on the notion of teacher leadership to ascertain what skills, knowledge and competencies teachers require to assume leadership roles in educational institutions. The historical evolution of teacher leadership through various phases gives useful insights into how this concept has emerged, developed and perceived in different educational contexts and how it appears in today’s institutions around the world. The definitions of teacher leadership delineate various features of teachers’ roles, responsibilities and their expected contribution to organisational effectiveness while operating in a wide range of formal and informal leadership roles. Review of the literature also shows the significance of leadership knowledge and skills for the academic leadership positions that need to be fostered in a school context. Moreover, it highlights factors that might hinder the emergence of teacher leadership in academic institutions. The last section of this paper indicates a void in the literature on the issue of teacher leadership in the field of Teaching of English to the Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) that also directs researchers’ endeavours towards investigating this concept in the context of English language teaching.
Nutritional composition of meals at work and its relationship with manufacturing workers' anthropometric profile and energy expenditure

The objective of this study was to verify whether the energy content and nutritional composition of meals consumed at work (lunch) correlated with the energy expenditure and nutritional status of workers from different sectors (administration and production) of different industries. The sample consisted of 292 workers. Many anthropometric dimensions were assessed, such as physical activity energy expenditure, and daily energy expenditure (DEE). Food intake was measured directly for five days. The study comprised an assessment of the correlation between sectors and gender, a qualitative assessment between obesity indicators, and a principal component analysis (PCA). Overweight workers prevailed, and DEE differed by gender and work sector (p<0.05). PCA showed that the majority of the individuals with high energy expenditure and high energy and fats consumption levels were males.
How to be causal: time, spacetime and spectra

I explain a simple definition of causality in widespread use, and indicate how it links to the Kramers–Kronig relations. The specification of causality in terms of temporal differential equations then shows us the way to write down dynamical models so that their causal nature in the sense used here should be obvious to all. To extend existing treatments of causality that work only in the frequency domain, I derive a reformulation of the long-standing Kramers–Kronig relations applicable not only to just temporal causality, but also to spacetime ‘light-cone’ causality based on signals carried by waves. I also apply this causal reasoning to Maxwell's equations, which is an instructive example since their causal properties are sometimes debated.
Osmotic adjustment in pollen grains: a measure of drought adaptation in sorghum?

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 100, NO. 3, 10 FEBRUARY 2011 377 *For correspondence. (e-mail: rlravikumar@rediffmail.com) 9. Patrick, K. , Calfas, G. J., Zabinski, M. F. and Cella, J., Diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviours as risk factors for overweight in adolescence. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med., 2004, 158, 385–390. 10. National Council for Applied and Economic Research, National Human Development Report, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 2001. 11. Klesges, R. C. , Shelton, M. L. and Klesges, L. M. , Effects of television on metabolic rate: potential implications for childhood obesity. Pediatrics, 1993, 91, 281–286. 12. Freedman, D. S. , Dietz, W. H. , Srinivasan, S. R. and Berenson, G. , The relation of overweight to cardiovascular risk factors among children and adolescents. The Bogalusa Heart Study. Pediatrics, 1999, 103, 1175–1182. 13. Chhatwal, J., Verma, M. and Riar, S. K. , Obesity among preadolescent and adolescents of a developing country (India). Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. , 2004, 13, 231–235. 14. Ramachandran, A. et al., Prevalence of overweight in urban Indian adolescent school children. Diabetes Res. Clin. Pract. , 2002, 57, 185–190. 15. Marwaha, R. K. , Tandon, N. , Singh, Y. , Aggarwal, R. , Grewal, K. and Mani, K. , A study of growth parameters and prevalence of overweight and obesity in school children from Delhi. Indian Pediatr. , 2006, 43, 943–952. 16. Khadilkar, V. V. and Khadilkar, A. V. , Prevalence of obesity in affluent school boys in Pune. Indian Pediatr. , 2004, 41, 857–858. 17. Kapil, U. , Singh, P., Pathak, P., Dwivedi, S. N. and Bhasin, S. , Prevalence of obesity amongst affluent adolescent school children in Delhi. Indian Pediatr. , 2002, 39, 449–452. 18. Ge, K. , Body mass index of young Chinese adults. Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. , 1997, 6, 175–179. 19. Ko, G. T. et al., Simple anthropometric indexes and cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. , 1997, 21, 995–1001. 20. Yoshiike, N. , Matsumura, Y. , Zaman, M. M. and Yamaguchi, M. , Descriptive epidemiology of body mass index in Japanese adults in a representative sample from the National Nutrition Survey 1990–1994. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. , 1998, 22, 684– 687. 21. Aekplakorn, W. et al., Prevalence and determinants of overweight and obesity in Thai adults: results of the Second National Health Examination Survey. J. Med. Assoc. Thai. , 2004, 87, 685–693. 22. Griffiths, P. L. and Bentley, M. E. , The nutrition transition is underway in India. J. Nutr. , 2001, 131, 2692–2700. 23. Chu, N. F. , Prevalence of obesity in Taiwan. Obes. Rev., 2005, 6, 271–274. 24. Wu, Y. , Overweight and obesity in China. BMJ, 2006, 333, 362– 363. 25. World Health Organization, Diet, nutrition and prevention of chronic diseases, Geneva, 2003. 26. Bar-Or, O. et al., Physical activity, genetic, and nutritional considerations in childhood weight management. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. , 1998, 30, 2–10.
Integrative Study of Brazilian Anurans: Geographic Distribution, Size, Environment, Taxonomy, and Conservation

Most megadiversity regions lack basic wild animal diversity information such as species lists. This absence of basic knowledge restricts the development and effectiveness of conservation action plans, which are urgently needed for animal groups such as amphibians, the most threatened vertebrate group in the world. In this study, we estimated Brazilian anuran diversity based on species range distribution shapes and evaluated factors that likely affect species lists, such as current taxonomy knowledge, current number of specimens collected in each region, biome characteristics, and anuran size (snout–vent length). We were able to demonstrate differences among the distributional patterns of species within each biome and each Brazilian federative state and among certain factors that influence their diversity, such as latitudinal variation. In this integrative study, we provide zoogeographic information about the richest (in terms of anuran biodiversity) country in the world (at least 849 described species, about 60% of which are endemic), which may be fundamental to future conservation actions in Brazil.
Entrepreneurial Characteristics of Croatian Exporters

Entreprenurial activity has for long been acknowledged as a significant contributing factor to the economic vitality of a nation or a region (i.e. Schumpeter, 1934 ; Kent, 1982 ; ). It is linked with individuals, new ventures, risk-taking and innovation (Jennings and Lumpkin, 1989 ; Lumpkin and Dess, 1996). It is very often associated with growth and job creation, and thus crucially important for emerging economies such are Central and Eastern European transitional countries. According to Balabanis and Katiskea (2003), entrepreneurial posture is determined by three major attributes: the organisations' propensity to take risks, innovativeness and proactiveness. Different companies, due to their different characteristics such are size, age, branch, organizational structure, etc. possess different ability to adopt an entrepreneurial posture as well as to reap benefits of it. International markets by definition tend to be more complex and unpredictable and possibly more hostile for foreign companies. Therefore the adoption of entrepreneurial characteristics in doing bussiness internationally becomes crucial. The aim of this paper is to test the level of entrepreneurial behaviour and typical characteristics of Croatian exporters. Using the multuivariate and inferential statistics we have analysed a sample of 88 Croatian exporters and results of the research are presented in this paper.
Fortification of Sardine Fish Oil from By-product of Canning Processing into Beef Meatball and Chicken Nugget

One source of ω-3 fatty acids is a by-product of lemuru canning processing that can be used for fortification. Generally, fortification uses fish oil microcapsule but it is more expensive than direct fortification. In this study, fish oil from a by-product of lemuru canning processing was directly fortified into beef meatball and chicken nugget at concentration of 0, 2, 4, and 6% (w/w). Oxidation level, free fatty acid content, colour, lightness, texture, and sensory acceptance by triangle difference test were analyzed. The results showed that oxidation level of nugget was higher than meatball. Free fatty acid content increased in nugget by increasing fortification level, but it was decrease in meatball. Texture of both was relatively unchanged, with a tendency to increase in nugget and decrease in meatball. Lightness (L) of meatball surface was higher than nugget surface. Lightness did not significantly change by increasing fortification level. Redness (+a) and yellowness (+b) of meatball and nugget changed significantly by fortification. Difference test showed that fortification level of 2% was the highest level of fortification that taste and odor could not be distinguished with control by panelists. Best level of fish oil fortification was 2%. At 2% fortification, EPA was 2.85% for meatball, and 2.22% for nugget. Sharp decline was occured in EPA and the decrease was higher in nugget than meatball.
Joint Calibration of Multiplatform Altimeter Measurements of Wind Speed and Wave Height over the Past 20 Years

Since 1985, for a period of more than 23 yr, seven altimeter missions have provided global coverage of significant wave height and wind speed. This study undertakes a long-term analysis of the accuracy and stability of altimeter-derived values of significant wave height and wind speed from the following satellites: European Remote Sensing-1 (ERS-1), ERS-2, Environmental Satellite (Envisat), Geosat, Geosat Follow-On (GFO), Jason-1, and the Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX). This study is a necessary step in developing a quality-controlled and fully calibrated and validated dataset from the combined satellites. Calibration of all altimeters is performed against National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) buoy data over the extended period. These calibrations are validated using intercomparisons between satellite missions at crossover ground points. This analysis shows that, for a number of the satellites, small ‘‘step like’’ changes occur during the missions. These inconsistencies are removed by subdividing these missions and undertaking a partial calibration for each section of the mission. The analysis also highlights that care is necessary when attempting to apply relationships between radar cross section and wind speed derived for one altimeter to other platforms. Before undertaking such steps, it is first necessary to apply a platform-specific radar crosssectional offset to the data.
Trabajando en modo multitarea: Cuellos de botella en la decisión y en la acción

¿Cómo funciona el sistema cognitivo cuando debe realizar dos tareas simultáneamente? Los modelos de cuello de botella proponen que se puede realizar solamente una selección de respuesta a la vez. El estudio de Ulrich y cols. (2006) sugiere que tampoco se puede realizar más de una ejecución motora simultáneamente. Es decir, existen dos cuellos de botella en el sistema, uno cuando se selecciona y otro cuando se ejecuta la respuesta. Estos resultados pueden ayudar a aumentar la seguridad en tareas de riesgo, además de a optimizar recursos, aumentando la eficiencia, a la hora de realizar tareas complejas.
Various Power Dissipation Mechanisms and Leakage Current Reduction Techniques in Deep-Submicron Technology

Power consumption is a major issue in today’s VLSI technology. Earlier power consumption was of secondary concern. In nanometre technology power has become the important issue because increasing transistor count, higher speed of operation, greater leakage currents. Power dissipation is proportional to speed of operation. With shrinking transistor size and technology, reducing power dissipation and over all power management on chip are the key challenges below 100nm. For many designs, reduction of power dissipation is an important issue due to the need to reduce packaging and cooling cost, extended battery life. For power management leakage power also plays an important role in low power VLSI designs. Leakage power increases at a faster rate than dynamic power in technology generation. This paper describes about the various power dissipation methods along with leakage power management techniques for low power VLSI circuits and systems.
Mineralogical and Physico-Chemical Characterization of Clayey Materials of Meka'a (West Cameroon) Preliminary Step for Their Utilization for Human Ingestion

Discovery of new geophagic clayey deposit in the locality of Meka'a contributed to the apparition of new species of geophagic clay materials in the local market. Due to the fact that positive or negative effects of geophagia are conditioned by physico-chemical, mineralogical and geochemical properties of the clay soil ingested, it is therefore necessary to mineralogically and physico-chemically characterize these clayey materials in order to ascertain their health implications. X ray diffractometry (XRD), X ray fluorescence (XRF), particles size distribution, pH and cation exchance capacity (CEC) are the main analyses carried out with these materials. The results show that the clayey materials of Meka’a are extremely weathered and maybe as a result of the weathering of ignimbritic flows. Two main species (yellow and red) of this clay soil are identified on the basis of their colour, mineralogy and physico-chemical characteristic. Analysis of samples of these two types of materials shows that Meka’a clayey materials are mainly made up of kaolinite (64-87%) and goethite (6-25%). These two minerals greatly influence the properties of these materials. Abundance of kaolinite in this clayey mineral assemblage could be of benefit in the protection of gastro intestinal tract resulting from ingestion of soils with high clay content. These clayey soils have a lower CEC and cannot cause cations deficiency in the digestive tract. Their acidic pH makes them suitable for use as remedy for relief of nausea and to curb salivation associated with pregnancy. No dental enamel or gastro-intestinal tract damage was to be feared when ingesting Meka’a clayey soils and their great abundance in Zn could be of benefit to geophagic individuals. However, possibility of Fe supplementation of the clayey soils of Meka’a may be very low considering low ferric hydroxide content and the fact that only a part of Fe present in the clayey soil can be released in the digestive tract.