Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Precommercial thinning in naturally regenerated Scots pine stands in northern Finland.

The effects of precommercial thinning on the quantity and external quality of young Scots pine stands were examined over two 10-year periods in an experiment comprising five stands growing on sub-dry sites in Finnish Lapland, northern Finland. The thinning treatments applied resulted in stand densities of 625, 1111, 1600, 2500 and 4444 stems ha" and a no-treatment, unthinned plot with a randomised block lay-out of two or tree replications in each stand. The dominant height of the stands varied between 4 and 8 m at the time of thinning. The trees reacted only slightly to the increase in growing space during the first ten years following precommercial thinning. During the second 10-year period, increased growing space was reflected more clearly in diameter and volume increment. These reactions were more evident in stands thinned at an early stage. The increment of the thinnest 100-200 trees ha" in each treatment was poor. The results showed that when the main principle in precommercial thinning is to achieve even spacing, the remaining smallest trees fail to react positively to the increase in growing space. In other words, the target of precommercial thinning should be to concentrate the increment on the tallest trees, even though they are located in groups. The external quality of the trees in stands where precommercial thinning was carried out at a later stage was high, and the diameter of the thickest branch along the butt log remained under 20 mm. Branch diameter was greater in stands thinned at an early stage. The effect of precommercial thinning on branch diameter when comparing the extreme treatments averaged 5 mm. When the aim of stand management is to combine high quality and good yield in naturally regenerated Scots pine stands in northern Finland, precommercial thinning should not be carried out before the dominant height of 7-8 m. The intensity of precommercial thinning depends on the yield targets of the first commercial thinning. A spacing of 2500 stems ha" satisfies the requirements of both high quality and adequate yield.
Remodel the public service based on behavioral maps and service design in case of Taipei MRT exit

The main purpose of this study is to remodel the public service based on behavioral maps and service design in public space. Modeling human spatial behavior in public space is an area of great interest to public service provider and users. Adequate observations will reveal significant information about users’ spatial preferences, which are essential considerations in public service designer. This study used behavioral maps and service design in public space with considering the five human factors that include physical, cognitive, social, cultural, and emotional. Researchers recorded the map of users’ activity diversity, map of users’ experience and emotional, and map of key issues and users’ type for analyzed and proposed new service prototype. Experiments are then designed and implemented for evaluating the proposed smart bench and green trellis service prototype in the case study area. The results of this study show that the integration of behavioral maps and service design in public space allow researchers to investigate and deeper understanding the users’ emotion, experiences and preferences. So that to increase the design of public service in public space.
The Altered Role of Experienced Teachers in Professional Development Schools: The Present and Its Possibilities.

In the last fifteen years, since the report of The Holmes Group (1990), professional development school (PDS) has become a popular reform movement which aims to achieve school-university collaborative relationships with the dual function of improving the field experience of prospective teachers and facilitating the professional development of experienced teachers. Numerous descriptive studies document the process of developing a school-university partnership (see Antonek, Matthews, & Levin, 2005; Miller & Silvernail, 1994), and most empirical research focuses on how participating in a PDS affects the development of prospective teachers (Conaway & Mitchell, 2004; Ridley, Hurwitz, Hacket, & Miller, 2005). With a few exceptions (see Cooner & Tochterman, 2004; Yendol-Silva & Dana, 2004), not many studies focus on how the role of experienced1 teachers changes as a result of participating in a PDS. Evidence suggests that student teaching is one of the most influential components of a teacher education program (Richardson-Koehler, 1988), and the cooperating teacher exerts the greatest influence on a student teacher (Koerner, 1992). Therefore, it is vital to understand how the role of experienced teachers is affected by the implementation of a PDS as these individuals assume greater responsibility in the education of prospective teachers and in their own professional development. This
Corallivory in tubelip wrasses: diet, feeding and trophic importance

This paper describes a 2 month study of the patterns of abundance, feeding pressure, diet and feeding selectivity in corallivorous tubelip wrasses (Labridae), rarely studied, yet widespread and abundant group of corallivores on Indo-Pacific coral reefs. The relative abundance and feeding pressure of corallivorous wrasses and butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae) in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, were compared. Overall, tubelip wrasses were more than twice as abundant as corallivorous butterflyfishes and accounted for three times as many feeding bites on corals. The three most abundant tubelip wrasses (yellowtail tubelip Diproctacanthus xanthurus, Allen's tubelip Labropsis alleni and the tubelip wrasse Labrichthys unilineatus) were all obligate corallivores taking > 97% of bites from the surface of live corals. Labropsis alleni and D. xanthurus were highly selective, consuming preferred prey species in proportions significantly higher than expected given their availability. In contrast, L. unilineatus was fairly non-selective and consumed most corals in direct accordance with their availability. As coral predators, tubelip wrasses are highly comparable to coral-feeding butterflyfishes in the coral species consumed, range of dietary specialization and their reliance on live coral. Tubelip wrasses, however, may supersede butterflyfishes as the predominant corallivorous family in some Indo-Pacific locations, and coral-feeding tubelip wrasses are likely to be severely affected by coral decline.
EFFICIENT MONTE CARLO ALGORITHM FOR PRICING BARRIER OPTIONS

A new Monte Carlo method is presented to compute the prices of barrier options on stocks. The key idea of the new method is to use an exit probability and uniformly distributed random numbers in order to efficiently estimate the first hitting time of barriers. It is numerically shown that the first hitting time error of the new Monte Carlo method decreases much faster than that of standard Monte Carlo methods.
Defining Lean Change—Framing Lean Implementation in Organizational Development

Problem – When lean is adopted in traditional organisations it requires a widespread organisational change and many businesses fail to sustain lean practices. Purpose – The purpose of this work was to define lean implementation based on the organisational development (OD) body of knowledge. Approach – The literature in lean and organisational change was reviewed and amalgamated to develop a novel conceptual framework. Findings – Lean implementation begins with a planned changed that is episodic. However, the ultimate goal is to develop a learning organisation where change is continuous and emergent from all levels. Respect for people, everyone in the organisations contribution, is considered key to successful implementation of lean. Implications– Practitioners should not focus on isolated improvements, but foster change from within for a sustained transformation to become a lean learning organisation. Originality - This paper provides new insights into lean implementation and its transformative effect on the organisation. A novel conceptual model is presented that frames lean transformation within the organisational development literature.
Il Bilancio di competenze: nuovi ambiti di applicazione nella gestione delle risorse umane

Il bilancio di com petenze rap presenta un interessante strumento di supporto ai percorsi di individuazione e valorizzazione delle competenze, oggetto di studio da parte delle scienze della formazione ma assai meno preso in considerazione nell’ambito della strumentazione di gestione delle risorse umane e inquadrato in questo contesto. Dopo averne richiamato gli aspetti caratterizzanti - per quanto concerne sia l’inquadramento teorico che le problematiche di utilizzo ‐ l’attenzione viene posta sugli approcci e sulle evoluzioni piu recenti verso le quali la prassi ha indirizzato il bilancio di competenze, con l’obiettivo di evidenziarne i legami con il ruolo che le competenze svolgono nel piu ampio assetto delle strategie gestionali indirizzate alle risorse umane, ma anche le problematicita che lo strumento stesso manifesta rispetto agli obiettivi che possono essergli assegnati. Alcune riflessioni critiche sull’utilizzo dello strumento e le strategie di sviluppo professionale che attraverso di esso possono essere perseguite concludono l’articolo.
DESIGNING ENGLISH PLAYING CARDS AS LEARNING MEDIA TO TEACH VOCABULARY

This study is aimed at: (1) finding out the quality of the existing media in the school, (2) developing and provide an appropriate English Playing Card to teach vocabulary, (3) identifying how far the effectiveness of Smart Vocab-4 Playing Card to teach vocabulary. The result of this study is expected to provide a learning media as a form of English playing card to vocabulary for the fourth grader students in elementary schools in Galur Kulonprogo in the academic year of 2014/2015. In this research and development study, the research was designed into two main stages, the exploration stage and development stage. The data in exploration stage was qualitative procedure that was collected through library research and field study. In field study, the data was collected by observation, interview, and questionnaire. In development stage, the data was collected from the observation and questionnaire. The data in this study were analyzed by using simple statistics formula. At First, the findings on the exploration study show that there were problems faced by both the teacher and students. They are: (1) existing model was still limited; (2) the existing model was less effective; (3) the students’ perpustakaan.uns. ac.id digilib.uns. ac.id
ALIGNING MILITARY AND SOLDIERS’ VALUES HIERARCHY

Studies on the fit between the person and the environment i.e. P-E fit are widespread. One aspect of P-E fit is values congruence i.e. the fit or similarity between the values of the organization and the employees’ values. However, there has been no study that reported the congruence between an organization’s value hierarchy (i.e. the ranking of its values) and those of its employees. This study investigates the value hierarchy congruence between the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and its soldiers and the relationship with satisfaction. A sample of 214 officers in the MAF was obtained. When the top 5 values were used in analyses, value hierarchy congruence scores were significantly correlated with soldiers’ satisfaction (-. 120, p
Art as a Financial Investment

The possibility of investing in art has recently generated much interest among investors worldwide. In recent years structured solutions offered by art funds as well as a number of smaller boutique funds that offer investors the possibility of investing in a diversified art portfolio solely for financial gain have come into existence. This article examines return patterns that an art investment portfolio would have generated, taking a more conservative approach to examining the financial gains that artworks have exhibited historically. The analysis includes transaction costs, which are considerable in the art market, although in practice art funds are able to negotiate these costs. The results in this article show that art's low correlation with other asset classes offer diversification benefits from holding art in an investment portfolio. Optimal portfolio allocations using historical returns make a case for investors to consider art as an attractive, albeit small addition to their investment strategy.
Special Issue: Cutting-Edge Research on Intestinal Immunity and Inflammation

“Barriology” is newly emerging research field initially defined by The Late Prof. Shoichiro Tsukita as the science of barriers in multicellular organisms. The mucosal surface of the gastrointestinal tract is continuously exposed to a wide variety of foreign antigens. The intestinal mucosa is covered by a single layer of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), which establish the first line of defense against these diverse microorganisms on the luminal surface. Compromised integrity of the IEC layer leads to the development of intestinal inflammation and systemic diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated the active contribution of commensal bacteria and their metabolites in the enhancement of epithelial barrier functions. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms by which the function of the barrier is being regulated and physiological significance of epithelial barriers in the gastrointestinal tract. Rec.9/26/2014, Acc.12/9/2014, pp3-13
A TURBULENCE-DRIVEN MODEL FOR HEATING AND ACCELERATION OF THE FAST WIND IN CORONAL HOLES

A model is presented for generation of fast solar wind in coronal holes, relying on heating that is dominated by turbulent dissipation of MHD fluctuations transported upward in the solar atmosphere. Scale-separated transport equations include large-scale fields, transverse Alfvénic fluctuations, and a small compressive dissipation due to parallel shears near the transition region. The model accounts for proton temperature, density, wind speed, and fluctuation amplitude as observed in remote sensing and in situ satellite data.
The Structure and Replication of DNA

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Towards routine estimation of breeding values using one million genotyped animals

Breeding organisations generally estimate breeding values to identify the most appropriate individuals to become parents of the next generation. Inclusion of one million genotyped animals is realistic. Three methods to specify genetic similarity between individuals, as implemented in MiXBLUP, were compared in a routine genetic evaluation of age at first calving of beef cattle in Ireland using genotypes of 50,240 SNP on 613,984 animals. The methods were pedigree BLUP, single-step genomic BLUP using genomic recursions to approximate the inverse genomic relationship matrix (ssGBLUP-APY) and single-step ridgeregression BLUP (ssRRBLUP). Inclusion of genomic information dramatically increased memory requirement and number of IO operations. Convergence of ssRRBLUP is slower than pedigree BLUP and ssGBLUP-APY. Time per iteration was similar for ssRRBLUP and ssGBLUP-APY. Correlations between solutions of different methods varied from 0.35 to 0.80 for genotyped and from 0.70 to 0.94 for non-genotyped animals. Also slope and intercept between any two methods differed for genotyped and non-genotyped animals. Overall, utilising a large number of genotyped animals in routine genetic evaluations with ssRRBLUP is possible, but as yet very slow due to slower convergence and a large number of IO operations. BLUP with regression on SNP covariates seems to be the most suitable method when convergence and IO problems have been resolved.
FACTORS AFFECTING INCOME AND SAVING OF SMALL FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN SARGODHA DISTRICT OF

Small farmers dominate agriculture sector in Pakistan because 93% of the total farmers belong to the category of small and marginal farmers. These farmers face many problems, which include shortage of inputs, price volatility, low bargaining power and changing government policies in the favor of large farmers. As such, small farmers are trapped in vicious cycle of poverty because they have low income and savings leaving them in a weak position to invest in their farming activities. The study was designed to explore the impact of those variables, which directly or indirectly affect income, and savings of these small farmers in the province of Punjab. In this context, stratified random sampling technique was used to select district Sargodha from Punjab province. Sahiwal tehsil from district Sargodha was selected randomly and then three villages were selected randomly from this tehsil. A sample of ninty small farmers was selected randomly from these villages. Data were collected from these farmers to estimate income and saving models. Log-log form of regression was used to estimate income model and multiple linear regression was used to estimate saving model. In the income model, academic qualification, land holding, agricultural expenditures and number of family members involved in agricultural activities affected income of these small farmers significantly whereas in saving model, age, academic qualification, health expenditures, income of farmer (both from farm and off-farm sources), number of dependent members and credit installments affected savings of these farmers significantly. It was suggested that new technology should be provided to small farmers on easy conditions so they can adopt new agricultural production practices to enhance productivity hence their income and savings.
Effect of annealing temperatures on TiO2 thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis deposition method

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles thin film has been successfully synthesized by a spray pyrolysis deposition method by using an air compressor on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate and was annealed at different temperature. TiO2 is the most common oxide as an electrode in dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) which still has chances of improvements to increase its efficiency as an electrode. The efficiency of a DSSC was relatively low but modifications on every part of a DSSC were currently in research progress and an increase in adsorbed dye molecules was considered a potential. Thus, the influences of annealing temperature on structural and morphological properties of TiO2 have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), respectively, while the efficiency of the films in a solar cell was studied by a solar simulator. The FESEM result showed several degrees of porosity obtained by varying the annealing temperature. The crystallinity of TiO2 investigated by XRD showed that the crystallinity of the TiO2 thin films was generally unaffected by the annealing temperature. The relationship between the properties and the efficiency of the films as an electrode was also studied.
CPS‐Rater: Automated Sequential Annotation for Conversations in Collaborative Problem‐Solving Activities

Conversations in collaborative problem-solving activities can be used to probe the collaboration skills of the team members. Annotating the conversations into different collaboration skills by human raters is laborious and time consuming. In this report, we report our work on developing an automated annotation system, CPS-rater, for conversational data from collaborative activities. The linear chain conditional random field method is used to model the sequential dependencies between the turns of the conversations, and the resulting automated annotation system outperforms those systems that do not model the sequential dependency.
To Sell or Not to Sell

This article explores the trade-offs between service and sales in phone center operations in retail banking and develops an analytical approach to quantify the costs and benefits of moving toward a sales-focused operation. Empirical evidence from retail banking call centers is provided along with a numerical example demonstrating the use of the analytical approach in the context of one major retail banking call center. It is shown that in addition to its visible costs, such as training and technology to build support systems for sales activities, cross-selling can have detrimental effects on customer service due to the additional load it creates on the system. It is further demonstrated that designing the right process and adopting human resource practices that support this design are critical in determining the success of a cross-sell program.
The Effect of Peripheral Injection of Leptin on Biomarkers of Aging in Calorie Restricted Rats

Background and Objectives: Calorie restriction (CR) is one of the proven methods of extending lifespan and slowing aging. Leptin is a nutritionally regulated adipokine that has been proposed as a possible key signal in the adaptive responses relevant to CR. Under CR, plasma leptin levels decrease, thus it was hypothesized that leptin administration may counteract CR-induced weight loss. Therefore, the effect of leptin administration on modulating CR-induced alterations in some biomarkers of aging was investigated in a rat model. Materials and Methods: Fifty male Wistar rats were fed either ad libitum (AL) or 40% calorie restricted diet for 11 weeks. Then each group randomly assigned to receive 0.5 mg/kg/day intravenous leptin or saline, for 3 days. Fasting blood glucose, insulin, and leptin levels as well as body temperature were measured at the end of the treatment. Results: After CR, all variables including body weight, BMI, body temperature, serum levels of glucose, insulin and leptin decreased significantly compared to the AL group. After 3 days of leptin treatment, no statistically significant differences were observed in body weight, BMI, serum glucose and insulin levels compared to the saline treatment. Body temperature did not change after leptin administration in CR subgroups, but it was significantly higher in AL-leptin compared to AL-saline group. Conclusions: Based on these findings, administration of recombinant leptin was not effective in modulating the alterations of aging biomarkers induced by calorie restriction.