Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wood Density, Annual Ring Width and Latewood Content in Larch and Scots Pine

The wood density, annual ring width and latewood content in five different species oflarch (Larix Mill.) and in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were investigated using direct scanning X-ray densitometry. In total 106 trees were investigated. Old, 120-150 year, Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb. and Larix sukaczewii Dyl.) grown in Krasnoyarsk and Archangelsk and 105 year-old European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) grown in Sweden had on an average 20-25 % higher wood density than Swedish Scots pine. The variation in density between different trees of the same species was big. Average wood density of larch trees was 618 (535-670) kg/m3 in old Siberian larch and 621 (550-665) kg/m3 in mature European larch timber grown in Sweden. Average wood density for the young, 30-35 years-old, larch trees was 536 (515-560) kg/m3 for European larch, 451(410-490) kg/m 3 for hybrid larch (L. x eurolepis Henry) and 452 (420-490) kg/m 3 for Japanese larch (L. kaempferi Lamb.). Corresponding figures for mature Scots pine was 504 (475-555) kg/m 3 . The density within the mature zone of the heartwood was 20-40 % higher than in the juvenile wood zone. The density in mature European and Siberian larch heartwood, usually reached 650 kg/m 3 after 25-30 annual rings from the pith. The density of larch heartwood increased with annual ring width up to 2.5 mm and decreased with annual ring with wider than 3 mm. On an average the latewood content was 40-50 % in old European larch, around 40 % in mature Siberian larch and 20-40 % in young hybrid larch. The latewood content of mature Scots pine was approximately the same as in mature European larch. The density of35 year old European larch with narrower ring widths than 4 mm was higher than in old, slow growing Scots pine.
Caecal enzyme status of quails fed diets supplemented with commercial enzyme preparation.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feed grade enzyme supplementation in diets with varying levels of energy on the caecal enzyme activity of Japanese quails. Dayold Japanese quails, 504 in number, were subjected to 6 dietary treatments with 6 replicates at each treatment. Each replicate had 14 chicks. The dietary treatments consisted of 3 energy levels i.e. 12.15 MJ (2900 kcal), 11.30 MJ (2700 kcal) and 10.48 MJ (2500 kcal) ME kg diet and 2 enzyme levels (0 and 50 g 100 kg diet). At the end of 5 weeks of age, 20 quails (10 of each sex) per treatment were sacrificed for collection of caecal contents and those of two quails of similar sex were pooled for analysis. The caecal contents were collected, processed and analyzed for different enzyme activities. Commercial feed grade enzyme preparation contained sglucosidase, 35132± 216; sD-xylanopyrosidase, 98466±481; xylanase, 2202±58; CM cellulase, 1906±12.5; FTPase (filter paper degrading activity), 397±4.6; and amylase 5773±51 mIU g preparation. The Caecal contents contained contained sglucosidase, 2953±223; sD-xylanopyrosidase, 13369±1077; xylanase, 274±7.6; CM cellulase, 188±18; FTPase, 290±27; and amylase 920±66 mIU g -1 of caecal contents. The results indicated that the activities of all these enzymes increased with the lowering of the energy level and also on enzyme supplementation except that of amylase where at lowest energy level, lower activity was observed. It can be concluded that the enzyme supplementation in feed led to a higher enzyme activity in caecum of quails and also the activity of polysaccharidases was enhanced with the increasing of substrate (fibre) due to lowering of energy levels.
Governmental and Private Dentists' Knowledge, Educational Background, Opinion, and Clinical Experience toward Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Oral Appliances

Aim: The aims of this study were to determine the knowledge, educational background, opinion, and clinical experience of general practice dentists toward obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and oral appliances (OAs). Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out through a questionnaire which was distributed randomly to 200 general practice dentists both in public and private dental clinics at Qassim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. About 175 completed questionnaires were returned. The data were statistically analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: The results showed that only 48.6% of our governmental and private dentists were familiar with the term OSA with a statistical significance among governmental dentists (37.9%) who were more familiar with OSA signs and symptoms than private (21.1%) dentists (p < 0.016). In addition, the majority of the respondents (90.9%) reported a general lack of education in both OSA and OAs during their study in the dental school. A total of 142 (81.1%) dentists never prescribed OAs for OSA patients. However, 87.4% have never consulted or referred a suspected OSA patient to physicians. Conclusion: General practice dentists surveyed possess poor knowledge and low clinical experience regarding OSA and OAs, which reflects the weak level of education in this field of dental sleep medicine.
Farmer Behavior under Risk of Failure

We analyze input decisions under risk of farm failure. Inputs with immediate cash outlays have greater effective than observed prices because their cost increases the probability of failure, and their optimal marginal products are higher than observed prices would warrant under strict profit maximizing without failure risk. An algebraic example illustrates the market equilibrium effects of failure risk. We apply the model to an analysis of Illinois corn production (1971–79). Results indicate that larger farms deviate less than smaller farms from strict profit maximization. Over the period studied, farmers moved further from setting marginal products equal to observed prices.
Cambres de pupació d’insectes coleòpters del Pliocè – Pleistocè inferior de Mallorca (Illes Balears, Mediterrània occidental): significació paleoambiental i cronoestratigràfica

Es descriu la presencia d’estructures fossils que apareixen en grans quantitats als paleosols de formacions dunars del Plioce – Pleistoce inferior de Mallorca. Es discuteixen dues hipotesis sobre possibles insectes productors. Es desvela aixi la incognita existent sobre l’origen d’aquestes formes fossils que havien estat atribuides anteriorment a organismes enigmatics, pel·lets fecals o coprolits de Myotragus sp. ; i que no son altra cosa que traces d’insectes fossils atribuibles a cambres de pupacio de coleopters. La presencia d’aquests icnofossils te un clar significat paleoclimatic del que es poden derivar datacions estratigrafiques.
Does Exports Promote the Economic Growth of China? A Long-Run View Point

This paper empirically studied the influence of exports on long-run economic growth of China at the present stage, using the 2002-2012 panel data of provinces. Results showed that the exports hinder the long-run economic growth of China. Based on the theory of technology and resource, We researched the influencing mechanism of exports on long-run economic growth from three aspects: the influence of exports on total factor productivity, the influence of exports on human capital and the influence of exports on consumption of energy and mineral resources. The empirical study results showed that although exports enhanced the standard of human capital, exports depressed the progress of total factor productivity, and consumed enormous energy and mineral resources. So the total effection is exports hinder the long-run economic growth of our country at present stage.
The Impact of Race on School Change Teams.

The idea that various individuals or groups who have compelling interests in schooling should be involved in changes affecting them or their families is reaching new levels of popularity with the onset of systemic change methodologies which emphasize stakeholder participation. The terms “community participation” and “stakeholder approach” have several meanings and interpretations but are rooted in stakeholder evaluation (Stake, 1986). Mauriel points to stakeholders as “those attempting to inuence the allocation of resources or intended direction of the school system” (1989, p. 147). Power is central to the denition of stakeholder, though oftentimes stakeholders, other than professional educators, are not given substantive power (Rogers, 1968). Within a school community, major groups have interests in the school or are affected by the educational system. Such groups can be considered the major stakeholders in the community of interest (Reigeluth, 1992). Among these groups are the political, religious, and commercial leaders in the community, the social service and educational personnel, as well as the student and parental populations. This listing of stakeholders is certainly not exhaustive, and it is recognized that each school has its own context and its own set of stakeholders. Early identication of stakeholder groups is crucial in order to avoid the misperception that change is a top-down mandate (Stevenson & Pellicer, 1992; Havelock, 1973).
Marković-Peković, Vanda and Grubiša, Nataša and Burger, Johanita and Bojanić, Ljubica and Godman, Brian (2017) Initiatives to reduce non- prescription sales and dispensing of antibiotics in the Republic of Srpska

Objective: Irrational use of antimicrobials is a major driver of antimicrobial resistance, exacerbated by dispensing antibiotics without a prescription. Our previous study suggested this was a problem in the Republic of Srpska despite legislation. Since then, a number of activities have been initiated. Consequently, the study aimed to ascertain whether these multiple initiatives had reduced this. Methods: Patients visiting all community pharmacies in the Republic from October 2014 to July 2015 presenting with symptoms typical of an acute, viral and mostly uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection, with results compared to the previous study. If an antibiotic was suggested, the maximum allowance was Euro 3/ pack. Findings: Self-medication with antibiotics significantly decreased from 58% to 18.5% of pharmacies. In both studies, most patients were offered over-the-counter medication. The most common reason for not dispensing an antibiotic was ‘antibiotics can be dispensed with a prescription only’. The penicillins were the most dispensed antibiotic. Fewer patients than the previous study were given instructions about antibiotic use and no discussion on their sideeffects. Conclusion: Whilst encouraging that self-medication decreased significantly, 18.5% was disappointing given recent initiatives Fewer instructions about antibiotics if an antibiotic was dispensed was also disappointing. This suggests the need for even stronger enforcement of the laws as well as further training of pharmacy personnel to ensure future appropriate use of medicines.
Constructing Meaning from Disappearance: Local Memorialisation of the Missing in Nepal

Disappearance in conflict creates challenges of identity and meaning for the families of those whose fate remains unknown: women, for example, who do not know if they are wives or widows and desperately seek to construct positive meanings from their experience. This empirical study of the families of those disappeared during Nepal’s Maoist insurgency focuses on processes of local memorialisation and post-conflict politics of memory in rural areas and on how and why victims seek certain forms of recognition and memorialisation, including their psychosocial motivations. The means of memorialisation chosen by families of the missing served to confirm in a highly social way that the disappeared are missing not dead, and sought to integrate stigmatised families into communities from which they had been alienated by violations. Memorialisation can strengthen the resilience of families of the missing; as a social process, it addresses both the emotional and the social impacts of disappearance. Remembering the disappeared in ways that can aid the well-being of the families left behind demands local approaches that are contextualised in the cultural and social worlds of impacted communities: this challenges memorialisation, and transitional justice processes more broadly, that emerge exclusively from institutional processes directed by elites.
Expression of sodCp and sodB genes in Nicotiana tabacum: effects of light and copper excess

Light and copper are necessary for the biogenesis and normal function of chloroplasts, but are also known to initiate the production of active oxygen species. Tobacco [Nicotiana tabacum L. ) contains two plastidlocated superoxide dismutases, Cu/Zn-SOD and Fe-SOD, encoded by the nuclear genes sodCp and sodB, respectively. The expression of both genes is developmentally regulated and influenced by oxidative stress. Here, the effects of light and copper excess on the expression of these two genes were analysed in seedlings and in leaves of non-flowering tobacco plants. The accumulation of both transcripts was induced by light in seedlings and in young leaves of mature plants, but changes in enzymatic activities were only observed in seedlings. Copper excess was induced in two experimental systems. In the first, axenically-grown plants were transferred to the medium containing excess copper and grown for 10 d. Excess copper induced an increase of sodCp mRNA level, but not of enzymatic activity, whereas Fe-SOD activity and sodB transcript level decreased. In contrast, after transfer of hydroponicall y grown plants to a copper excess medium and growth for an additional 3 d, sodB mRNA and enzyme levels increased, whereas the sodCp transcript level was reduced. Changes in the expression levels of both genes were more pronounced in young leaves. The effects of light and copper on the expression of plastid-locat ed SODs are discussed.
Atom-level growth mechanism of nanoparticles by magnetron sputtering inert gas condensation

"There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom. ", the lecture by Prof. Richard Feynman on December, 29th, 1959 at Caltech, USA, describes the field, which is "not quite the same as the others in that it will not tell us much of fundamental physics but it is more like solid-state physics in the sense that it might tell us much of great interest about the strange phenomena that occur in complex situations. " This simple inspiring idea has often been referred to as the first "seed" of one of the most promising interdisciplinary branches of science, nanoscience. Nanoparticles (NPs), one of the primary building blocks for nanostructures and its application, have been incidentally synthesized and used by ancient Romans when manufacturing beautiful cups. Modern technology requires the synthesis of NPs to be precise for specific application. The composition, structure, morphology and size are four parameters which dominate the properties of NPs. How to develop a method which can control these parameters accurately and precisely is an essential question for the researchers of nanoscience. Among the wide range of existing synthesis methods, magnetron sputtering inert gas condensation has been commonly used during recent years. The method allows simultaneous control of composition, magnetron power, inert gas pressure, NP drift velocity, and aggregation zone length. To achieve a reliable control of the fabricated NPs, it is essential to understand how the nano-scale growth is influenced by these experimental conditions. In this thesis, the growth mechanisms of Si, NiCr and Fe nanoparticles are studied using multiscale simulation methods. We investigate the effects of the macro-scaled experimental parameters on the structural properties of nanoparticles. The work presented here is a step towards the understanding of the growth process of NPs in inert gas condensation chambers and the precise control of NP properties.
The Role of Oral Language Skills in Reading and Listening Comprehension of Text: A Comparison of Monolingual (L1) and Bilingual (L2) Speakers of English Language.

The study examined the role of oral language skills in reading comprehension and listening comprehension levels of 125 monolingual (L1) and bilingual (L2) English-speaking learners (M = 121.5 months, SD = 4.65) in England. All testing was conducted in English. The L1 learners outperformed their L2 peers on the measures of oral language and text comprehension, but the two groups performed at comparable levels on word-reading accuracy and speed. Oral language, indexed by vocabulary and morphosyntactic skills, emerged as the most powerful unique predictor of both reading and listening comprehension levels. Although there was a tendency of oral language to be more strongly related to L2 reading comprehension, its relationship with listening comprehension was comparable across the two language groups. Finally, individual differences in oral language skills emerged as the primary factor that explained the language group differences in text comprehension levels. Educational implications of these findings were discussed. © 2012 UKLA.
Toward a Generative Model of Legend: Pizzas, Bridges, Vaccines, and Witches

We propose a generative model of the legend. The model is elaborated based on two case studies, the first of contemporary storytelling related to vaccination on parenting blogs, and the second of historical storytelling related to witchcraft and folk healing in nineteenth century Denmark. The model reveals the interdependent levels of the multiscale model, solving a problem of poor fit related to many two level models of folklore genre structure. The model supports the study of rumor, and the dynamics of storytelling, including the hyperactive transmission state of “viral” stories.
Operational oceanography and prediction – a GODAE perspective

Abstract : This paper gives an overview of GODAE focusing on aspects relevant to the development of a global ocean observing system and to the demonstration of its scientific and practical societal benefits. A general overview of GODAE is first given. The main operational applications which are expected to benefit from the global and integrated approach of GODAE are then presented. User requirements are identified and we try to appraise the benefits of the integrated and global GODAE approach for meeting these requirements. We then proceed to the relationship between GODAE and the design/development of an ocean observing system: what are the GODAE data requirements and how GODAE should help to assess improve and sustain the observing system? The main scientific and technical issues related to the successful development of GODAE are discussed.
Influence of Mastitis on Milk Yield in Holstein Cows

Kocak O. : Influence of Mastitis on Milk Yield in Holstein Cows. Acta Vet. Brno 2006, 75: 507-513. The objectives of the current study were to investigate the incidence of mastitis in a private dairy herd and the effect of the disease on the lactation milk yield (LMY), and on the daily average of the weekly milk yield (DMY). Only cows with no disease and cows with mastitis were included in the analyses. Mixed model procedures were used to analyse the DMY. Incidence of mastitis in the herd was 26.22%. The incidences of first, second and third parity groups were 19.94%, 33.74% and 40.74%, respectively. Daily milk losses because of mastitis varied between 0.76 kg/d and 4.56 kg/d. The total milk loss was 600.87 kg for cows that became mastitic in the first six weeks of lactation and was 503.86 kg for cows that became mastitic after the sixth week of lactation. The milk losses of cows that contracted mastitis after the sixth week of lactation, began three weeks before the diagnosis. The mastitic cows failed to reach their healthy levels of milk yield during the rest of the lactation. The results indicate that weekly lactation records are useful in early detection
Genetic diversity of Escherichia coli isolated from commercial swine farms revealed by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR) and repetitive extragenic palindrome PCR (REP-PCR)

The objective of this study was to use enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR) and repetitive extragenic palindrome PCR (REP-PCR) for the analysis of genetic diversity among Escherichia coli strains isolated from commercial swine farms in Sichuan province of China. Thirty four strains of E. coli were selected by selective medium and conventional biochemical test from fresh stool samples of swines in five farms in Sichuan province. The isolates were identified by 160 kinds of E. coli O serums. The results show that 30 strains were determined among 34 E. coli isolates, 12 kinds of O serogroups were obtained on the basis of the agglutination test. The predominant types are O 23 , O 113 and O 120 , representing 35.4%. Furthermore, the genotypes and phylogenetic relationship of all isolates were analysed by Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR) and repetitive extragenic palindrome PCR (REP-PCR), 34 E. coli isolates were clustered to 19 ERIC-PCR genotypes and 13 REP-PCR genotypes. The isolates from the same farm or sharing the same serotyping showed different genotype. And the isolates which could not be serotyped were genotyped by ERIC-PCR and REP-PCR. The analysis of genetic type and original source revealed that isolates from different farms had different genetic types. The subtypes of E. coli are also different within a single farm. Genetic variability with E. coli strains isolated from swine farms in China has been demonstrated. The presence of ERIC-PCR and REP-PCR sequences in the genome of E. coli was confirmed. ERIC-PCR and REP-PCR techniques are more rapid methods for molecular typing of E. coli strain. They are also useful methods for diversity survey of E. coli and the two methods analyzes genetic diversity of E. coli isolated in Sichuan of China. Key words : Escherichia coli, serotype, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR), repetitive extragenic palindrome PCR (REP-PCR).
VALIDATION OF CANDIDATE GENES IN RESPONSE TO VERSICAN MANIPULATION IN DEVELOPING SYNOVIAL JOINTS

Little is understood about the complex process of synovial joint formation in early limb development. It has been shown that versican is highly expressed in the extracellular matrix of these joints (Snow et al. 2005; Shepard et al. 2007) and the knockdown of versican leads to malformation of the interzone tissues that form the articular cartilage and synovial cavity (Nagchowdhuri et al. 2012). It is also thought that these effects impact gene expression in cells that are involved in the developing joint. Versican is chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan. It has four functional-modules: the N-terminal domain the C-terminal domain and GAG-[alpha] and GAG-[beta] chondroitin sulfate attachment regions. The N-terminal domain is also known as the G1 domain and the C-terminal domain is also known as the G3 domain (Kimata et al. 1986 and Zimmerman et al. 1989). In previous studies versican protein expression has been reduced and the G1 domain has been over-expressed to observe how these changes in the developing joint tissue effect gene expression. This study is a validation of microarray data specifically focusing on hyaluronan and Wnt pathway genes as they pertain to the misexpression of versican. RT-PCR and real-time PCR were used in this study to validate expression of the genes chosen. Through the use of these techniques the degree of expression has been quantified and compared to the fold changes observed with the microarray data. Overall G1 versican mediated gene expression in the developing joint with regard to hyaluronan and Wnt pathway transcript regulation were in agreement with results obtained by RNA array.
Inference on the Sharpe ratio via the upsilon distribution

The upsilon distribution, the sum of independent chi random variates and a normal, is introduced. As a special case, the upsilon distribution includes Lecoutre's lambda-prime distribution. The upsilon distribution finds application in Frequentist inference on the Sharpe ratio, including hypothesis tests on independent samples, confidence intervals, and prediction intervals, as well as their Bayesian counterparts. These tests are extended to the case of factor models of returns.