Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Viscous Micropumps and Microturbines

A numerical study of the three-dimensional viscous fluid flow in a novel pump/turbine device appropriate for microscale applications is performed. The device essentially consists of a rotating or free-to-rotate cylinder eccentrically placed in a channel, and is shown to be capable of generating a net flow against an externally imposed pressure gradient, or, conversely, generating a net torque in the presence of an externally imposed bulk flow. Full Navier:Stokes, finite-element simulations are carried out to study the influence of the width and other geometric as well as dynamic parameters, and the results are compared to previous two-dimensional numerical and physical experiments. The three-dimensional simulations indicate a gradual decrease of the bulk velocity and pump performance as the two side walls become closer providing increased viscous resistance to the flow. However, effective pumping is still observed with extremely narrow channels. The utility of the device as a microturbine is also demonstr.
"Living" Theory: A Pedagogical Framework for Process Support in Networked Learning

This paper focuses on the broad outcome of an action research project in which practical theory was developed in the field of networked learning through case-study analysis of learners’ experiences and critical evaluation of educational practice. It begins by briefly discussing the pedagogical approach adopted for the case-study course and the action research methodology. It then identifies key dimensions of four interconnected developmental processes—orientation, communication, socialisation and organisation—that were associated with ‘learning to learn’ in the course’s networked environment, and offers a flavour of participants’ experiences in relation to these processes. A number of key evaluation issues that arose are highlighted. Finally, the paper presents the broad conceptual framework for the design and facilitation of process support in networked learning that was derived from this research. The framework proposes a strong, explicit focus on support for process as well as domain learning, and progression from tighter to looser design and facilitation structures for process-focused (as well as domain-focused) learning tasks. DOI: 10.1080/09687760600837025
Food Security in West Bengal in Terms of Adult Consumption Unit Coefficient

The green revolution resulted in the attainment of self-sufficiency in food-grains at the national level is one of the India’s major achievements in the post-independence period. Surplus stock of food grains and food grains export/import are two major indicators to claim attainment of self-sufficiency. As a result India was overcoming transitory food insecurity though chronic food insecurity at micro level exists in various parts of India despite mounting buffer stock. Existence of Chronic food insecurity is reflected in Global Hunger Index and National family and health survey 3.The present study revisit the thinking that our country was really overcoming transitory food insecurity. To do this the estimated requirement of food-grains is compared with the net domestic production in West Bengal, eastern states of India. Food grain requirement is estimated with the help of dietary recommendation of Balance diet of ICMR in post reform era. Consumption needs for the people distribution by age, sex, body weights, height, nature of work, state of health is captured by Adult Consumption Unit coefficient. The study shows that there was an excess requirement of food grains in West Bengal over the domestic production in the post liberalization period 1991, 2001, 2006 and 2011. Food gap in West Bengal as a percentage of total requirements of the respective year was 31.9%, 36.8%, 23.6%, 35.0% in the above period. Hence in the sense of balance diet west Bengal (highest rice producing state in India) did not achieve self-sufficiency in cereal production. Study projected that cereal requirement in west Bengal will be 13030.2, 13463.3, 13812.3 thousand tone in the years 2016, 2021, 2026 respectively.
Economic Performance of Portuguese Academic Spin Offs. Does Human Capital Matter

University or academic spin offs have emerged as important mechanisms of industrial regeneration. However, studies detailing the factors behind their performance are still at an embryonic stage. Most of extant literature on spin offs deals with factors affecting the emergency of these firms and not so much on what influences their economic outcomes. Moreover, the role of human capital as a potential booster of spin offs’ economic performance has been neglected or analysed in a rather superficial away. This work aims at assessing the role of human capital for the performance of Portuguese spin offs in its different forms, including entrepreneurs’ education levels and types, skills, experience and network capabilities. Using a sample composed by 90 founders of 61 ASOs located in Portugal, associated to the University Technology Enterprise Network (UTEN), we found that among human capital dimensions, business expertise, most notably markets knowledge, was the one that affected the most on ASOs economic performance. Founders’ formal education both level and types failed to significantly influence ASOs economic performance. The unemployment status of the founders (before ASOs creation), formal contacts with university, as well as the undertaken of R&D activities and internationalization emerged as critical positive determinants of ASOs economic performance. Although some support exists for the relevance of universities’ research excellence to ASOs performance, a univocally result emerged regarding universities context: ASOs that resort to the services of Science Parks, Incubators and TTOs in exclusive, outperformed the remaining.
Factors affecting efficiency of field crop production among resettled farmers in Zimbabwe

A Tobit model censored at zero was selected to examine factors explaining differences in production efficiency amongst resettled farmers. Efficiency scores obtained from Data Envelop Analysis (DEA) were used as the dependent variable. From the factors inputted in the model, age of household head, excellent production knowledge and level of specialisation affected technical efficiency. Allocative efficiency was only affected by good production knowledge, farm size, arable land owned and area under cultivation. Factors which affected economic efficiency of the resettled farmers were secondary education, household size, farm size, cultivated area and arable land owned. None of the included socio-economic variables had significant effects on the allocative and economic efficiency of the resettled farmers. Thus, the allocative and economic inefficiencies of the farmers might have been accounted for by other natural and environmental factors which were not captured in the model. Efficiency of the resettled farmers can be improved significantly if the government focuses on increasing the education level of farming communities. The promotion of large farms through the establishment of co-operatives could also improve efficiency of the resettled farmers.
The Discovery and Characterization of a Proton-Gated Sodium Current in Rat Retinal Ganglion Cells

The conduction of acid-evoked currents in central and sensory neurons is now primarily attributed to a family of proteins called acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs). In peripheral neurons, their physiological function has been linked to nociception, mechanoreception, and taste transduction; however, their role in the CNS remains unclear. This study describes the discovery of a proton-gated current in rat retinal ganglion cells termed INa(H+), which also appears to be mediated by ASICs. RT-PCR confirmed the presence of ASIC mRNA (subunits la, 2a, 2b, 3, and 4) in the rat retina. Electrophysiological investigation showed that all retinal ganglion cells respond to rapid extracellular acidification with the activation of a transient Na+ current, the size of which increases with increasing acidification between pH 6.5 and pH 3.0. INa(H+) desensitizes completely in the continued presence of acid, its current–voltage relationship is linear and its reversal potential shifts with ENa. INa(H+) is reversibly inhibited by amiloride (IC50, 188 μm) but is resistant to block by TTX (0.5 μm), Cd2+ (100 μm), procaine (10 mm), and is not activated by capsaicin (0.5 μm). INa(H+) is not potentiated by Zn2+ (300 μm) or Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-amide (50μm) but is inhibited by neuropeptide-FF (50μm). Acute application of pH 6.5 to retinal ganglion cells causes sustained depolarization and repetitive firing similar to the trains of action potentials normally associated with current injection into these cells. The presence of a proton-gated current in the neural retina suggests that ASICs may have a more diverse role in the CNS.
Detecting road junctions by artificial neural networks

Road junctions are important objects for all traffic related tasks, and are essential e.g. for vehicle navigation systems. They also play a major role in topographic mapping. For automatically capturing road junctions from images models are needed, which describe the main aspects. This paper presents an approach to road junction detection based on raster and vector information. The raster features are similar to the ones used in classification approaches. The vector features are derived from a road junction vector model containing edges as road boarders. The whole feature serves as input to an artificial neural network. The neural classifier decides for search window, whether its central pixel is a part of a road junction or not. The developed junction operator was tested on several black-and-white medium resolution orthoimages. The achieved results demonstrate that such junction models can successfully identify three- and four-arms road junctions.
Metaphor comprehension: From comparison to categorization

In this paper, we explore the relationship between metaphor and polysemy. We begin by discussing how novel meta-phoric mappings can create new word meanings in the form of domain-general representations. Turning next to consider the implications of this view for the on-line comprehension of figurative language, we suggest that there is a shift from comparison processing to categorization processing as metaphors are conventionalized. Finally, we describe a series of experimental findings that support the proposed account.
Faculteit Economie En Bedrijfskunde Tweekerkenstraat 2 B-9000 Gent Relationship Quality and the Theory of Planned Behavior Models of Behavioral Intentions and Purchase Behavior Relationship Quality and the Theory of Planned Behavior Models of Behavioral Intentions and Purchase Behavior Relationship 

The authors kindly acknowledge the support of E5 mode. The authors would also like to thank Kristof De Wulf and two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments on earlier versions of this paper. Abstract Using real-life purchase behavior data of apparel and survey information, this study compares the Relationship Quality and the Theory of Planned Behavior models. The attitude towards the buying behavior, the subjective norm and perceived behavioral control (antecedents of the buying intention in the Theory of Planned Behavior) are better predictors of behavioral intentions than Relationship Quality. In both models intentions fully mediate the impact of attitudinal antecedents on behavior, both in terms of purchase incidence and purchase behavior (amount spent, number of visits, and types of products bought). Frequency and recency of prior buying behavior and, to a lesser extent, its monetary value, predict subsequent purchase incidence, above and beyond the impact of attitude and intention. Attitudinal antecedents of behavior significantly predict buying behavior, but they become insignificant when buying behavior is included in the model.
Output and interest rate volatility as determinants of FDI

This paper examines the role of country-specific sources of output and interest rate or exchange rate volatility in driving FDI activities. Building on a dataset with bilateral FDI flows among 24 OECD economies over the period 1985-2007, we find that nominal and real volatility strongly deter foreign investments. Output and exchange rate volatility matter in particular for the decision whether to invest in a foreign country in the first place. Interest rate volatility mainly influences the amount of foreign investments. JEL classification: F21, E22, F42.
Evaluation of Organic Matter Removal Efficiency and Microbial Enzyme Activity in Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetland Systems

In this study, enzyme activities and their relationships to organics purification were investigated in three different vertical flow constructed wetlands, namely system A (planting Pennisetum sinese Roxb), system B (planting Pennisetum purpureum Schum.), and system C (no plant). These three wetland systems were fed with simulation domestic sewage at an influent flow rate of 20 cm/day. The results showed that the final removal efficiency of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in these three systems was 87%, 85% and 63%, respectively. Planting Pennisetum sinese Roxb and Pennisetum purpureum Schum. could improve the amount of adsorption and interception for organic matter in the substrate, and the amount of interception of organic matter in planting the Pennisetum sinese Roxb system was higher than that in planting the Pennisetum purpureum Schum. system. The activities of enzymes (urease, phosphatase and cellulase) in systems A and B were higher than those in system C, and these enzyme activities in the top layer (0–30 cm) were significantly higher than in the other layers. The correlations between the activities of urease, phosphatase, cellulase and the COD removal rates were R = 0.815, 0.961 and 0.973, respectively. It suggests that using Pennisetum sinese Roxb and Pennisetum purpureum Schum. as wetland plants could promote organics removal, and the activities of urease, phosphatase and cellulase in those three systems were important indicators for COD purification from wastewater. In addition, 0–30 cm was the main function layer. This study could provide a theoretical basis for COD removal in the wetland system and supply new plant materials for selection.
Bimodality in Damped Lyα Systems

We report evidence for a bimodality in damped Lyα systems (DLAs). Using [C II] 158 μm cooling rates, ℓc, we find a distribution with peaks at ℓc = 10−27.4 and 10−26.6 ergs s−1 H−1 separated by a trough at ℓcritc ≈ 10−27.0 ergs s−1 H−1. We divide the sample into “low cool” DLAs with ℓc ⩽ ℓcritc and “high cool” DLAs with ℓc > ℓcritc and find the K-S probabilities that velocity width, metallicity, dust-to-gas ratio, and Si II equivalent width in the two subsamples are drawn from the same parent population are small. These quantities are significantly larger in the high cool population, while the H I column densities are indistinguishable in the two populations. We find the DLA gas is heated by local radiation fields and background radiation, rather than background radiation alone. The rare appearance of faint, extended objects in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field rules out in situ star formation as the dominant star-formation mode for the high cool population, but is compatible with in situ star formation as the dominant mode for the low cool population. Star formation in the high cool DLAs likely arises in Lyman break galaxies. Using Si II equivalent width as a mass indicator, we construct bivariate distributions of metallicity, ℓc, and areal SFR versus the mass indicators. Tentative evidence is found for correlations and parallel sequences, which suggest similarities with the bimodality found in nearby galaxies. We suggest that the transition-mass model provides a plausible scenario for the bimodality we have found. As a result, the bimodality in current galaxies may have originated in DLAs.
Economic resilience to shocks: The role of structural policies

Cyclical fluctuations in economic activity have moderated over time but the extent and dynamics of volatility remain different across OECD countries. A reason behind this heterogeneity is that countries exhibit different degrees of resilience in the face of common shocks. This paper traces divergences in resilience back to different policy settings and institutions in labour, product and financial markets. Using pooled regression analysis across 20 OECD countries over the period 1982-2003, the paper identifies the impact of policy settings on two dimensions of resilience: the impact effect of a shock and its subsequent persistence. Policies and institutions associated with rigidities in labour and product markets are found to dampen the initial impact of shocks but to make their effects more persistent, while policies allowing for deep mortgage markets lower persistence and thereby improve resilience. Combining these two dimensions of resilience, the paper then uses the estimated equations to derive indicators of resilience for the OECD countries concerned, based on their current or recent policy settings. Three groups of countries emerge. In English-speaking countries, simulations suggest shocks have a significant initial effect on activity but this impact then dies out relatively quickly. By contrast, in many continental European countries the initial impact of shocks is cushioned but their effect linger for longer, with the cumulated output loss tending to be larger than in English-speaking countries. Finally a few, mostly small, European countries combine cushioning of the initial shock with a fairly quick return to baseline.
Shared Vision: Transformational Leadership in American Community Colleges

Why should wait for some days to get or receive the shared vision transformational leadership in american community colleges book that you order? Why should you take it if you can get the faster one? You can find the same book that you order right here. This is it the book that you can receive directly after purchasing. This shared vision transformational leadership in american community colleges is well known book in the world, of course many people will try to own it. Why don't you become the first? Still confused with the way?
Understanding money demand of Argentina: 1935-2000

This paper investigates whether or not a simple -Cagan like- econometric model of demand for currency can be developed for Argentina based on more than sixty years of data (1935-2000). For such a long period the presence of structural breaks cannot be ignored given the variety of economic regimes this country has experienced. The purpose is to understand from an "ex-post" perspective how money holdings have reacted to the two main determinants of their demand: a transaction variable and an opportunity cost after suitable approximations for both concepts could be obtained. Transaction elasticity estimates matter for the distribution effects of inflation tax and for measuring the size of the shadow economy. Besides, a comparative analysis of the effect of inflation, interest rates and exchange rates could clarify about the relevant opportunity cost of holding money. Once two values of the transaction elasticity were taken for the long run relationship (1 and 0.5) and inflation and interest rates alternatively measured the opportunity cost of holding money, a stable money demand -a satisfactory approximation to the data generating process- was obtained for the Argentina case.
Network Simulations with the ns-3 Simulator

We provide a demonstration of the emerging ns-3 discreteevent network simulator. Intended to eventually replace the popular ns-2 simulator, ns-3 has been under development for over two years, and the initial stable release is scheduled for June 2008. We aim to provide Sigcomm attendees with a sense for what is new in ns-3 that may help researchers with their future research.
Globalisation and EU Policy-making: The Neo-Liberal Transformation of Telecommunications and Electricity

Part I. Introduction Introduction 1. Globalisation and policy-making in the European Union Part II. EU policy-making and the primacy of techno-economic forces 2. The changing techno-economic context: globalisation, the IT revolution and pressures for liberalisation 3. From national monopoly to the liberalised single European market 4. Globalisation and supranationalism: the impact of technology and markets on the Commission and transnational interests 5. Globalisation and intergovernmentalism: the impact of technology and markets on national interests Part III. EU policy-making and the primacy of institutions and ideas 6. Institutions and EU policy-making 7. Ideas and EU policy-making 8. Conclusion: globalisation, institutions and ideas in the EU policy process.
A Home Exercise Programme Is No More Beneficial than Advice and Education for People with Neurogenic Claudication: Results from a Randomised Controlled Trial

Objective To compare the effectiveness of a physiotherapy programme with a control treatment of advice and education in patients with neurogenic claudication symptoms. Design Pragmatic randomised controlled clinical trial. Setting Primary care-based musculoskeletal service. Patients Adults aged 50 or over with neurogenic claudication symptoms causing limitation of walking. Interventions Condition-specific home exercises combined with advice and education, or advice and education alone. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was the difference in improvement of symptom severity scores on the Swiss Spinal Stenosis Scale at eight weeks. Secondary outcomes included measures of physical function, pain and general well-being at eight weeks and 12 months. Results There was no significant difference between groups in the Swiss Spinal Stenosis symptom severity scale at eight weeks (t = 0.47, p = 0.643): mean change (SD) control group −0.18 (0.47), treatment group −0.10 (0.66), difference (95% CI) 0.08 (−0.19, 0.35); baseline-adjusted difference 0.06 (−0.19, 0.31)]. An unplanned subgroup analysis suggested that for patients with the top 25% of baseline symptom severity scores, the physiotherapy exercise programme resulted in an improvement in the primary outcome, and modest but consistently better secondary outcomes at both time-points compared to the control group. The effectiveness in different subgroups requires further direct evaluation. Conclusions In the treatment of patients with neurogenic claudication symptoms, a physiotherapist-prescribed home exercise programme is no more effective than advice and education. Ethical approval The study was approved by Leeds Central Ethics Committee and informed consent was given by all participating patients. Copyright The Corresponding Author has the right to grant on behalf of all authors and does grant on behalf of all authors, a worldwide licence to the Publishers and its licensees in perpetuity, in all forms, formats and media (whether known now or created in the future), to i) publish, reproduce, distribute, display and store the Contribution, ii) translate the Contribution into other languages, create adaptations, reprints, include within collections and create summaries, extracts and/or, abstracts of the Contribution, iii) create any other derivative work(s) based on the Contribution, iv) to exploit all subsidiary rights in the Contribution, v) the inclusion of electronic links from the Contribution to third party material where-ever it may be located; and, vi) licence any third party to do any or all of the above. Trial registration ISRCTN 78288224 – doi10.1186/ISRCTN35836727; UKCRN 4814.