Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plastic ingestion by estuarine mullet Mugil cephalus (Mugilidae) in an urban harbour, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Coastal urban environments have high plastic pollution levels, and hence interactions between plastic debris and marine life are frequent. We report on plastic ingestion by mullet Mugil cephalus in Durban Harbour, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Of 70 mullet (13.0–19.5 cm total length), 73% had plastic particles in their guts, with a mean of 3.8 particles per fish (SD 4.7). Plastic ingestion showed no relation to digestive tract content or fish length. White and clear plastic fibres were ingested most commonly. This urban population of M. cephalus had a higher incidence of plastic ingestion than has been reported in studies on fish from other coastal areas or the oceanic environment.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY

Nowadays the companies live in a constant changing world where customers demand better products, higher quality and shorter delivery times. To achieve these customers requirements companies rely on Continuous Improvement to reach their goals but without having a clear strategy for it. In this paper it is discussed in a literature review, the origin, definition and most used tools of CI. Then it is analyzed if the Learning School for strategy fits with CI to help in the creation of a strategy for CI.
Changes in soil biological quality under legume- and maize-based farming systems in a humid savanna zone of Côte d'Ivoire

Dynamique de la qualite biologique du sol sous differents systemes de culture en zone de savane humide de Cote d'Ivoire. Il est important de disposer d’informations relatives a l’impact des systemes de culture sur les caracteristiques du sol afin de proposer les plus appropries pour une zone agroecologique donnee. Cette etude, menee dans une zone de savane humide en Afrique de l’Ouest, a pour but d’evaluer l’effet, a court terme, de differents systemes de culture sur la teneur en carbone et certaines proprietes microbiologiques du sol (0-10 cm). Un dispositif en blocs aleatoires avec trois repetitions a ete utilise. Les traitements consistaient, d’une part, en des systemes a base de legumineuses : Mucuna pruriens (Mucuna), Pueraria phaseoloides (Pueraria), Lablab purpureus (Lablab), l’association des trois especes de legumineuses (Mixed-legumes) et d’autre part, en des systemes de culture continue : mais + uree (Maize-U), mais + superphosphate triple (Maize-Sp), mais + uree + superphosphate triple (Maize-USp) et mais sans engrais (Maize-Tradi). Les resultats montrent que la teneur du sol en carbone augmente avec le temps sur les parcelles a legumineuses, de meme que celles ou les residus de recolte (mais) sont laisses sur place et associes a une fertilisation azotee. L’accroissement le plus important est observe sous le traitement a association de legumineuses (de 7,5 a 8,6 g.kg-1). Cependant, la teneur du sol en carbone ne montre pas de difference significative entre les traitements lorsqu’on tient compte des periodes d’echantillonnage. Quoique la biomasse microbienne du sol soit plus importante sous les systemes a base de legumineuses, les differences avec les autres systemes ne sont pas statistiquement significatives. En revanche, la mineralisation du carbone et la respiration specifique du sol sont apparues comme des parametres significativement influences par les systemes de culture, les valeurs les plus importantes etant observees avec ceux a base de legumineuses (42 ± 7,6 mg C-CO2.g-1 Corg et 0,4 mg C-CO2.g-1 biomasse C, respectivement), comparees a la culture continue de mais (33,1 ± 1,6 mg C-CO2.g-1 Corg et 0,3 mg C-CO2.g-1 biomasse C, respectivement). Ceux-ci pourraient donc etre utilises comme indicateurs de qualite du sol permettant de discriminer des systemes de culture dans le court terme. L’integration des legumineuses herbacees dans les systemes de culture en moyenne Cote d'Ivoire pourrait donc constituer une voie de gestion durable des sols.
Effect of intensive melt shearing on the formation of Fe-containing intermetallics in LM24 Al-alloy

Fe is one of the inevitable and detrimental impurities in aluminium alloys that degrade the mechanical performance of castings. In the present work, intensive melt shearing has been demonstrated to modify the morphology of Fe-containing intermetallic compounds by promoting the formation of compact α-Al(Fe,Mn)Si at the expense of needle-shaped β-AlFeSi, leading to an improved mechanical properties of LM24 alloy processed by MC-HPDC process. The promotion of the formation of α -Al(Fe, Mn)Si phase is resulted from the enhanced nucleation on the well dispersed MgAl2O4 particles in the melt. The Fe tolerance of LM24 alloy can be effectively improved by combining Mn alloying and intensive melt shearing.
Verification of the new ECMWF ERA-Interim reanalysis over France

Abstract. An evaluation of the global ECMWF atmospheric reanalysis ERA-Interim (with a 0.5° grid) is performed over France, based on the high resolution (8 km) SAFRAN atmospheric reanalysis. The ERA-Interim precipitation, Incoming Solar Radiation (ISR), air temperature, air humidity, and wind speed, are compared with their SAFRAN counterparts. Also, interpolated in situ ISR observations are used in order to consolidate the evaluation of this variable. The daily precipitation estimates produced by ERA-Interim over France correlate very well with SAFRAN. However, the values are underestimated by 27%. A GPCP-corrected version of ERA-Interim is less biased (13%). The ERA-Interim estimates of ISR correlate very well with SAFRAN and with in situ observations on a daily basis. Whereas SAFRAN underestimates the ISR by 6 Wm−2, ERA-Interim overestimates the ISR by 10 Wm−2. In order to assess the impact of the ERA-Interim errors, simulations of the ISBA-A-gs land surface model are performed over the SMOSREX grassland site in southwestern France using ERA-Interim (with and without GPCP rescaling) and SAFRAN. Latent and sensible heat fluxes are simulated, together with carbon dioxide fluxes. The rescaled ERA-Interim performs better than the original ERA-Interim and permits to achieve flux scores similar to those obtained with SAFRAN.
Will I Divorce or Have a Happy Marriage?: Gender Differences in Comparative Optimism and Estimation of Personal Chances Among U.S. College Students

Previous research shows inconsistent evidence in regard to gender differences in optimism for experiencing a happy marriage or avoiding divorce depending on whether optimism is measured as comparative optimism (thinking you are better off than your peers) or as personal optimism (estimating your own chances). Results from four samples of unmarried college students (N = 814) indicated that men exhibited greater comparative optimism than women for having a happy marriage but not for getting divorced. For having a happy marriage and avoiding divorce, men exhibited greater personal optimism relative to women. Experience (with parental divorce) moderated the gender difference in personal optimism and perceived control partially mediated the gender difference in comparative optimism (but only for having a happy marriage) and in personal optimism (for both having a happy marriage and avoiding divorce). Results are discussed as they relate to the existing literatures on risk perception and gender differences in romantic relationships.
Energy Prices and the Adoption of Energy-Saving Technology

This article investigates the link between factor prices, technology and factor demands. Using plant-level data from the Census of Manufactures, I compare the energy intensity of entrants and incumbents from 1967-97. A 10% increase in the price of energy reduces the relative energy intensity of entrants by 1%. The estimate implies that technology adoption by incumbents explains a statistically significant but relatively small fraction of changes in aggregate energy demand in the 1970s and 1980s. Furthermore, entrants' technology adoption can reduce the long run effect of energy prices on growth, but by less than previous research has found. Copyright © The Author(s). Journal compilation © Royal Economic Society 2008.
Peer relations: The challenges of children with special needs

Los ninos con necesidades especiales, debido tanto a su mayor probabilidad de desarrollar una o varias alteraciones como a los obstaculos que pueden encontrar en su contexto, pueden ver comprometidas sus relaciones sociales. Esto puede tener consecuencias en el corto y en el largo plazo. Es por lo tanto esencial conocer los factores que pueden influir en el desarrollo de la competencia social de los ninos con sus iguales. Solo entonces los profesionales podran tener un rol activo en el incremento de la estimulacion de dichas competencias. Esta revision contempla las perspectivas de diferentes autores acerca del desarrollo social de los ninos con sus iguales. Es en la convergencia de estas perspectivas en donde uno puede encontrar la complementariedad necesaria para comprender el dinamismo y las inter-relaciones caracteristicas e inherentes a la competencia social.
Microbial diversity in desert ecosystems

2 ) covers area defined as semi-arid deserts ex- cluding Antarctica. Due to extreme variations in geocl i- matic patterns, the global arid biome consists of highly diversified and heterogeneous ecosystems. The dry climates of the continents occur in five great provinces separated from one another by oceans or by wet equatorial zones. Of these five provinces, North Afr i- can-Eurasia is larger than rest of the four combined. The world's largest desert Sahara and a series of other hot d e- serts and semi-arid areas continue eastward through the Arabian peninsula along the Persian Gulf of Pakistan, and India fall in this province 2 . It also includes cold deserts from states of the former Soviet Union through China to Iran. The tropical desert of Asia extends to India through Rajasthan and Gujarat where it is called the Thar. The Thar lies west of Aravalli Range in Rajasthan and covers an area of about 196,150 km 2 . It is subjected to intense winds and wide variations in temperature ranging from a minimum of 5°C to a maximum of 45°C. It is dotted with numerous water reservoirs including four major inland saline playas.
A Review of Power Electronics Based Microgrids

The increased penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) is challenging the entire architecture of conventional electrical power system. Microgrid paradigm, featuring higher flexibility and reliability, becomes an attractive candidate for the future power grid. In this paper, an overview of microgrid configurations is given. Then, possible structure options and control methods of DER units are presented, which is followed by the descriptions of system controls and power management strategies for AC microgrids. Finally, future trends of microgrids are discussed pointing out how this concept can be a key to achieve a more intelligent and flexible power system.
Comparison of Dynamic Changes of Endogenous Plant Hormones and Hormone-Related Gene Expression between Near Isogenic Lines with Normal Spike and Branched Spike Wheat

Branched spike wheat is a hexaploid wheat with branched rachis on its main rachis, and branched rachises in the shoot apex occur and develop just after the two ridges stage. In this study, dynamic changes of four endogenous plant hormones [indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA), abscisic acid (ABA) and zeatin riboside (ZR)] and the expression of a hormone-related gene were measured among wheat lines with different genotypes and spike morphologies. It is a basis for further exploring the developmental mechanisms of branched spike and for breeding new wheat lines with more spikelets and grains. A group of near isogenic lines (NILs), including one branched spike line, and three normal spike type lines was sampled at four time points from the end of two ridges stage to the floret differentiation stage. The endogenous hormones in young shoots, young leaves and tillering nodes in these lines were measured and the expressions of TaIAR3 , encoding IAA amide hydrolase which involvs in the IAA synthesis was detected. The results showed that the contents of IAA exhibited a significant different pattern in branched spike line from those in normal spike lines, while the contents of GA, ABA and ZR showed similar change patterns. The expressions of TaIAR3 were also significantly different between branched spike line and normal spike lines. Both the IAA content and TaIAR3 expression in branched spike wheat were much higher than those in the normal spike lines. These results suggest that quantitative changes in auxin may correspond to different spike morphology. Higher IAA content and TaIAR3 expression might be benefical for promoting the formation and elongation of branched rachis in branched spike wheat line.
ICT Research and Innovation Trends in EEMS (as seen in the Reports on ICT R&D in the EU)

The IPTS has been publishing data on ICT R&D on an annual basis since 2005 and its latest report of 2011 indicates the weakness of the ICT industry and its R&D in several Eastern European Member States (EEMS). Our macro and microeconomic analyses show that EEMS ICT shares in EU ICT totals are systematically below the EEMS economic weight. Particularly, the EEMS are lagging behind the rest of the EU in BERD, GBAORD, among top R&D investors, R&D intensity, and patents (all related to ICT). What is, on the other hand, optimistic is the fact that the share of the EEMS in EU ICT production has been steadily increasing and that the growth of ICT BERD in the EEMS is much bigger than in the EU15. Moreover, the share of EEMS ICT companies in the top EU ICT R&D has doubled since 2004.
Facial Recognition Using Eigenfaces Approach

Facial recognition (FR) has been studied extensively since the early 50’s. It has gain recognition since the emergence of severe attacks on buildings and public places on several occasions and the need of a FR is imminent. FR is defined as a biometric identification of a human’s face and matching it against a library of known faces [1]. Therefore, this system does not require an individual to bring any identification in order to establish his or her identity. It uses images of a person’s face for recognition and identification. This technology emerged in the middle of the twentieth century and was first introduced commercially in 1990s.
Biological response to iron fertilization in the eastern equatorial Pacific (ironex II). I. Microplankton community abundances and biomass

During the IronEx II experiment in the eastern equatorial Pacific (May to June 1995), the response of the microplankton community to mesoscale iron fertilization was followed using a combi- nation of marker-pigment, microscopical and flow cytometric techniques. Phytoplankton standing stock bloomed dramatically over a period of 6 d following 3 iron additions of 2 and 1 nM, respectively. Carbon biomass in the patch increased by a factor of 4, chlorophyll a by about a factor of 16 and diatoms by >70-fold relative to contemporaneous levels in the ambient community. The bloom then plateaued sharply and remained at a more or less constant level for 4 d, despite the addition of more iron (1 nM) and physiological indices (low C:chl a ratio and elevated photochemical quantum efficiency) suggesting that the cells were healthy and growing rapidly. Relatively large pennate diatoms (Nitzschia spp., median length 20 to 24 µm) dominated the patch bloom, with smaller pennate species and centric diatoms declining in relative importance. Heterotrophic bacteria increased at a slow rate (0.08 d -1 ) for >10 d during the experiment, as did heterotrophic nanoflagellates. There were also indications of enhanced cell size, cellular pigment content and possibly growth rates of small phytoplankton. Nonetheless, little difference was observed between the ambient community and the peak patch bloom with respect to the size composition of auto- and heterotrophic populations 3-fold increase in large heterotrophic dinoflagellates and ciliates suggest that protistan grazers may have played an active role in controlling the phytoplankton response to increased iron availability.
Practical In-Loop Compensation of a Hybrid Amplifier Driving a Capacitive Load

In most cases the capacitive load is not intentionally added, most often it is an unwanted parasitic. In our case the load is an ultrasound transducer that require high-voltage and high-frequency driver. This driver is a hybrid amplifier with negative feedback. Any additional active component introduces at least one supplementary pole in the open loop transfer function. So the hybrid amplifier always haves stability problems.
Research on computer simulation theory and experimental verification technology of the working process of automobile airbag

As a convenient modern means of transportation, the car has brought great convenience to people's life. But at the same time, the traffic accidents cause serious losses of people's lives and property. Since the eighteenth century when the car was born, it has been accompanied by vehicle safety problems. In order to improve vehicle safety, the developed countries formulated and implemented relevant laws and regulations. The automobile safety can be divided into active safety and passive safety. Active safety refers to the ability of the car to prevent car accidents; passive safety refers to the ability of the car to protect passengers and pedestrians when accidents occur. Vehicle passive safety relates to the structure strength of the body, interior softening, energy-absorbing steering column, occupant restraint system, interior fire resistance and human biomechanical characteristics and other related contents, which can be divided into two aspects of work: the reduction of damage in collision and the first aid after collision. The test detection technology proposed in this paper conducts working performance tests for the airbag to simulate the supplementary restraint system. By comparing and analyzing the curves of the simulation results and the experimental results, the validity of the airbag simulation algorithm is verified. The simulation algorithm considers the leakage of the gas inside the airbag, which will make the simulation results closer to the experimental results.
Context dependent memory for relaxing conditions

Kimberly Davies CONTEXT DEPENDENT MEMORY FOR RELAXING CONDITIONS 2005/06 Dr. Klanderman Master of Arts in School Psychology Although there are many studies on Context Dependent Memory (CDM), few studies have investigated CDM and relaxing environments. A recent British study by Cassaday, Bloomfield, and Hayward (2002) examined context dependent memory, relaxing conditions, and college student performance. The current study is a replication of the Cassaday, Bloomfield, and Hayward (2002) study. Participants in this experiment were 28 college students from a state university. The current study was a 2 x 2 betweensubjects design with two independent variables: learning context and testing context. For all learning conditions participants completed a free recall task and a problem-solving task called the Tower of Hanoi. For all testing conditions participants completed a free recall task, a cued recall task, and a problem-solving task called the Tower of Hanoi. For the relaxing condition, the experimenter manipulated three aspects of the environment: odor, music, and instruction. The dependent variable for each task was the number of errors made. A 2 x 2 x 3 mixed (split plot) analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analysis the data. Context dependent memory was not found for any of the three tasks. However, participant performance was affected by task type. Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my advisors, Dr. Klanderman and Dr. Dihoff, for all of their help with this thesis. Their guidance and knowledge throughout the writing process proved indispensable. I would also like to thank my parents, Susan and Gary Davies, for teaching me the value of education. Without their continuing support I would not have been able to pursue an advanced degree. Finally, I would like to thank my boyfriend, Scott Schwartz, who has always supported me in all of my academic endeavors.
Improving staff's ability to work with challenging patient behaviours: An acute care approach

Background: Acute care healthcare professionals continue to see an increase in the proportion of aging, high acuity patients resulting in on-going challenges in providing person-centred, evidence-based care to patients with delirium, dementia and behavioral issues. This study evaluates the impact of a 16-hour, three-workshop program on direct care staffs’ capacity, confidence, and competence in caring for patients with behavioral issues related to delirium and dementia. Methods: A quantitative, prospective study was designed. Workshops utilized various teaching and learning modalities to foster knowledge acquisition and skill enhancement. Participants consisted of direct care staff with a background in geriatric care. Results: A total of 75 participants completed the workshops. Paired t -tests were conducted for survey question scores at the alpha level of 0.05. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals were assessed in addition to p -values for significance. No results were statistically significant. Conclusions: Positive clinical significance included improved participant knowledge in dementia pathophysiology; increased awareness of the impact of care strategies on patients and families through the use of case-based application and standardized patients; and a greater integration of the concept of personhood into patient care planning.
REACTION OF STOCK MARKET TO MONETARY POLICY SURPRISES

This paper provides an empirical analysis of stock market reactions to monetary policy surprises. Its principal objective is to understand the heterogeneous nature of this type of response by examining a set of possible explanatory factors. I find that a hypothetical unanticipated increase of 25 bps in the target Federal Reserve funds rate would result in a one-day decline of 1.3 percent in the prices of S&P 500 stocks. There is some evidence that factors such as sector and industry groups, firm size, and the foreign earnings exposure of a firm could affect the reaction reflected in its stock price. The severity of the equity market’s response also appears to be associated with elements of the macroeconomic environment such as the level of prevailing interest rates and inflation expectations. Moreover, my results suggest that a lack of unanimity in the FOMC votes could curb the reaction of the stock market.