Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relationship between trade credit, bank credit and financial structure: from firm-level non-linearities to financial development heterogeneity. A study on MENA firm-level data *

Using a database of more than 1,100 firms in the MENA region, this article looks at the determinants of demand for trade credit, particularly access to bank credit, size, age and the quality of the firm's financial structure. We show that the difficulty of gaining acces to bank credit positively influences the use of trade credit, and thus demonstrate the substitutability of bank credit and trade credit. Besides, firm's non-financial characteristics, namely age and size do not influence similarly the probability of having trade credit and the volume of trade credit raised. Additional investigations strongly support the existence of non-linearities in the relationship between trade credit and firm's financial structure and size. Finally, financial development emerges as a key feature of the demand for trade credit. Indeed, we show that most firm-level characteristics lose their influence on trade credit when financial development is high enough. With financial development, trade credit gets primarily driven by trade relationships and does not appear any more as a palliative solution when bank credit access is difficult.
Positive experiences of early motherhood: Predictive variables from a longitudinal study

Abstract Studies of women's postnatal experiences have tended to emphasize the negative, yet for many women experiences are positive. This paper attempts to redress the balance using data from a large prospective study of childbearing women in south-east England. Questionnaires were completed by 1285 women approximately 6 weeks after delivery. For most, motherhood was a positive experience: for example, two-thirds gave the maximum score of 5 for enjoying looking after the baby and 79% for being proud of being a mother while 72% had no disappointments about motherhood. Preliminary analysis indicated that answers to these questions were related to many of the concurrent measures that might be expected, such as support from partner, EPDS score and tiredness. These were also related to each other. Principal components analysis was therefore used to create a new ‘positive experiences of motherhood’ variable, POSMO and this was then subjected to multiple regression analysis. This showed that 25% of the variance.
Assessing students' conceptions of learning

This study describes the development of an instrument designed to assess student’s conceptions of learning. The Conceptions of Learning Inventory (COLI) was developed from qualitative data obtained from Australian and Japanese high school students. Six conceptions of learning were identified. The COLI was used to compare the conceptions of learning of groups of students from Australia (Indigenous and non-Indigenous), Malaysia, and America (Caucasian and African American). The self-rated academic achievement of students who endorsed all six conceptions of learning was higher than that of students who endorsed fewer conceptions of learning. There was little support for the existence of the two qualitatively different conceptions that are commonly identified (a surface conception involving the acquisition, storage, reproduction, and use of knowledge; and a deep conception involving the construction of meaning and personal change).
Three capitosaurs from the Triassic of South Africa: Parotosuchus africanus (Broom 1909); Kestrosaurus dreyeri Haughton 1925, and Parotosuchus dirus sp. Nov.

Two members of the family Capitosauridae are redescribed after further preparation, namely Para! oluchus a(ricanus (Broom 1909) and Kestrasaurus dreyeri Haughton, 1925. New material consisting of a fragmental), lower jaw or a very large parotosaur from the CynognaLhus zone of Aliwal North is described, upon which a new species, Parotosuchus dirus, is erected. ParatOJuchus a(ricanus (Broom 1909) h-om the Cynognathus zone of Vaalbank, Albert, Cape Province, is redescribed and figured for the first time. It consists of most of the postorbital regions of the skull associated with part or the lell lower jaw which are fairly well preserved and capable of being directly compared with the same parts of other taxa. Thus it is reconfirmed a valid member of the family Capitosauridae. Keltrosaurul dreyeri is re-examined and found to consist of large areas of plaster of Paris in which the original bone has been embedded. The entire skull could be about 5 cm shorter than the original reconstruction. The position and shape of the orbits are not preserved and the reconsrructed lateral position found in the specimen is arbitrary. The parietal foramen is also not preserved. The nature of the preserved palate and occipital area indicates that the material probably represents a primitive member of the fami! y Capitosauridae, not only stratrigraphically ( L~ltrolaurus zone), but also morphologically. The taxonomic designation established by Welles • and Cosgriff (1965) is retained. Kestrosaurus remains an enigma because it also displays certain trematosaurid characters. A partial capitosaurid jaw from the Cynognathus zone of Aliwal North, Cape Province, is also described which when reconstructed represents one of the largest amphibians found in Southern Africa. Comparisons are made with Parotosuchus jJranus (Howie 1970) and Parotosuchus megarhinus (Chernin and Cosgriff 1975), which share a few similar characteristics. It is suggested that the amphibian represented by this jaw may be ancestral to both P. jJronus and P. megarhinus. Based on substantial morphological differences in the symphysial and articular regions between this jaw and those of the above-mentioned parotosaurs, it is hereby proposed to erect a new species, Paratolue/IUl dirul (dirus = Latin: fearful), for this material.
Strawberry Culture In Vitro: Applications in Genetic Transformation and Biotechnology

The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.), a member of the Rosaceae, is the most important soft fruit worldwide. In vitro techniques are important for clonal multiplication, germplasm improvement and for gene conservation of this flavourful and nutritious berry crop. The in vitro propagation of Fragaria species using axillary bud proliferation, adventitious shoot regeneration and somatic embryogenesis has been investigated in a number of previous studies. The morphogenesis seems to be highly dependent on plant growth regulators and media used for culture, which is again genotype specific. In strawberry, genetic transformation has been developed using tissue culture systems with varying rates of success. This review presents the progress in-depth of various aspects of strawberry culture in vitro, on gelled and in liquid media using bioreactors, for its improvement and for commercial production. It also discusses the issues that still need to be addressed to utilize the full potential of plant tissue culture techniques in mass propagation, in vitro selection, somaclonal variation, haploid recovery, somatic hybridization, genetic transformation and in cryopreservation of strawberries. Application of molecular marker techniques should be useful to verify the clonal fidelity of micropropagated strawberries. Strawberry improvement using in vitro and molecular techniques will develop improved cultivars suited to the changing needs of growers and consumers.
Punching Shear of Reinforced Concrete Slabs under Fire Conditions: Experiment vs. Design

Shear behaviour in concrete at ambient temperature is complex, and a well-researched topic. There is even less knowledge about shear in concrete subjected to the thermal gradients due to fire, with only a few experimental studies having been conducted. Fifteen model slab-column punching shear specimens were tested at both ambient and elevated temperature. These tests are some of the first to have compared the effects of different support conditions, which aimed to replicate whole structural behaviour. This paper has presented a comparison of experimental data from a punching shear test series to both Eurocode design and Muttoni’s Critical Shear Crack Theory. The analysis shows that Eurocode design is not consistently conservative, whereas a comparison to the Critical Shear Crack Theory is. The Critical Shear Crack Theory, however, capacity comparison shows large variances. The support condition is not explicitly considered in the current flat slab design for punching shear at elevated temperature, therefore an improved design approach ought to be considered.
The application of criminological theory to a Japanese context: Power- control theory

The present study investigates the applicability of power-control theory in explaining the gender discrepancy in deviance and delinquency in Japan, a patriarchal society. Conceived by Hagan and his colleagues, power-control theory attempts to explain gender differences in criminality and suggests that occupational patriarchy is responsible for this gender discrepancy in crime. Within a Japanese context, the findings reveal that the gender difference in common delinquency is only significant within more patriarchal households and is non-significant in less patriarchal households. These results are more distinct than the previous results from a Canadian sample, meaning that power-control theory may be more applicable to more patriarchal societies like Japan than to more egalitarian societies like Canada.
Solid‐State Synthesis and Properties of Relaxor (1−x)BKT–xBNZ Ceramics

Conventional solid-state synthesis was used to synthesize dense and phase pure ceramics in the (1−x) Bi0.5K0. 5TiO3–xBi0.5Na0. 5ZrO3 (BKT–BNZ) system. Structural characterization was done using X-ray diffraction at both room temperature and elevated temperatures, identifying a transition from tetragonal xBi0.5Na0. 5ZrO3 (xBNZ, x = 0–0.10) to pseudo cubic xBNZ for x = 0.15–0.80. Dielectric properties were investigated with respect to both temperature (RT = 600°C) and frequency (1–106 Hz). Relaxor-like behavior was retained for all the materials investigated, evident by the broadening of the relative dielectric permittivity peaks at transition temperatures as well as frequency dispersion at their maximum. The maximum dielectric constant at elevated temperature was found for 0.15 BNZ. Electric field-induced strain and polarization response were also investigated for several compositions at RT and the largest field-induced strain was observed for the 0.10 BNZ ceramics. The composition range with best performance coincides with the transition from tetragonal to cubic crystal structure.
Gender Roles in Small Holder Dairy Farming: Pertinent Issues on Access and Control over Dairy Farming in Arumeru District, Tanzania

A study on gender roles in dairy farming and management was conducted in Arumeru district, Tanzania. The study involved women in dairy farming groups and those not in groups. The objective of this study was to assess gender role in dairy farming and management, access and control over income obtained as well as, animal ownership, decision making and opportunities in dairy farming system in Arumeru. Cross sectional research design was adopted using structured questionnaires to collect information from households from six villages namely Bangata, Sasi, Inshupu, Enaboishu, Sokoni II and Nkoaranga. Descriptive analysis and Chi -square were used to test the statistical significance of categorical and continuous data respectively. The results showed that women contribute more labour force in dairy management than men, those women who were not in groups did not have a full access and control over dairy farming enterprise. Furthermore, it was observed that those women in groups were in a good position to overcome traditional practice. Women who belonged to groups controlled and had access to resources such as livestock (dairy cattle) and income generated from them. However, since most of the farmer groups were still infants, it has been recommended that the women groups should get financial assistance from the government agencies. Similarly, in conjunction with encouraging more women to join groups, gender relations in dairy management should be reassessed to minimize the work load burden to women which affects the level of production and sustainability of the dairy enterprise. Keywords: Access and control, dairy management, gender, women groups.
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF BOUNDARY LAYER FLOW PARAMETERSBY USING WRF-ARW MODEL OVER A TROPICAL REGION

Planetary boundary layer (PBL), the lower few kilometers of the atmosphere over the surface of the earth plays an important role in the transportation of energy such as momentum, heat and moisture into the upper layers of the atmosphere. PBL flow is in general highly turbulent and showing distinct diurnal as well as seasonal variations. The simulation of boundary layer flow field parameters are very much important in various aspects of science and engineering and also plays an important role in the feed-back mechanisms of various scales of atmospheric motions from micro-scale turbulence to large-scale atmospheric mechanisms such as monsoons. Hence, in the present study an attempt has been made to evaluate the performance of five different PBL schemes [Yonsei University (YSU), Mellor-Yamada-Nakanishi-Niino (MYNN2), Mellor Yamada-Janjic (MYJ), Quasi Normal Scale Elimination (QNSE) and Asymmetric Convective Model (ACM2)] of Weather Research and Forecast (WRF-ARW) mesoscale model in simulating boundary layer flow parameters over Nagpur (21.15° N, 79.09° E) in Maharashtra. High resolution simulations (27, 9, and 3 with 27 vertical levels) are conducted with triple nested domains by using 1 × 1 degree NCEP Final Analysis meteorological fields for initial and boundary conditions. In the study, five fair weather days in winter (January 2009) with no significant synoptic activity are chosen. The present study conclude that the non-local PBL scheme YSU and local scheme MYJ could capture the characteristic variations of surface meteorological variables, vertical structure of atmospheric as seen in observations over the study region. This study advocates that YSU and MYJ schemes are very useful for the air pollution studies over the study region.
Why do some institutional arrangements succeed? Voluntary protection of forest biodiversity in Southwestern Finland and of the Golden Eagle in Finnish Lapland

Despite global, regional, and national policy efforts, biodiversity is on the decline worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to explore the critically important institutional and social features of those economic instruments that in practice motivate beneficiaries and stakeholders to protect biodiversity. The paper presents two case studies: the natural values trading (NVT) scheme in southwestern Finland and the protection of the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) in Finnish Lapland. NVT builds upon the voluntary actions of landowners, payments for ecosystem services, and a fixed-term period of protection (ten years). The protection of the golden eagle is based on tolerance payments. This paper combines legal studies and institutional economics to abduct the reasons underlying the success of both cases. In both cases, institutional entrepreneurship promoted the confidence of stakeholders and beneficiaries in the schemes and the consequent trust amongst the agents encouraged the actors to modify their behaviour.
An Investigation into the use of Intelligent Systems for Currency Trading Analysis

Investors use a number of technical trading tools to help them in their decision-making. This thesis aims to enhance this decision making process through the application of Genetic Algorithms (GAs) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to optimise and amalgamate trading signals generated by technical trading tools for maximum profit in the currency futures market. These signals are generated by different technical trading tools, and are optimised for maximum profit through the use of Genetic Algorithms. Once optimised, the signals are fed into a variety of fully connected feedforward ANNs, which combine these signals, outputting a single signal of whether to buy, hold or sell in the current market state. The different solutions produced are compared and contrasted, to determine the best ANN architecture for this type of signal amalgamation problem, and the optimal population size and mutation function for the GA. The result is an autonomous trading system with intelligence. This system, as created in this thesis has proven to be profitable based on data presented to it which spans a period of five years. The profit margins are statistically significant when compared to to unoptimised trading rules as suggested by literature. Further, the margins are statistically significantly more profitable than other no-risk investment strategies.
Has the Globalisation really generated more competition in OECD economies

Globalisation have generated a more or less competetive market according to the kind of rms. The Great moderation has structural causes such as market power, which is possible to study through the reduced form of the NKPC obtained with the Calvo and Rotemberg price setting assumptions. The Calvo model fails to predict the increase of price volatility on Business to Business (BotB) product markets where competition has denitively increased. By using a model with upstream and downstream rms, according to the Theory of rm Literature, where both are constraint by the Rotemberg price setting assumption, the model predicts the Great Moderation in OECD economies only if the hypothesis of an increase in the global markup is kept. Simulations replicate NKPC slope empirical estimations. This unusual hypothesis is supported by the increasing share of prot in value added, by the development of credit market in OECD countries and by the american increasing revenues inequalities. The model produces endogeneous incentives to a more exible labor market and the development of credit market. A global decreased competetive market gives an explanation of the barely growth of median wage, compare to the growth of global productivity during the period of the Great Moderation.
Nitrate Removal Rates in a 15‐Year‐Old Permeable Reactive Barrier Treating Septic System Nitrate

Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) have gained popularity in recent years as a low‐cost method for ground water remediation. However, their cost advantage usually requires that these barriers remain maintenance free for a number of years after installation. In this study, sediment cores were retrieved from a pilot‐scale PRB consisting of a sand and wood particle (sawdust) mixture that has been in continuous operation for 15 years treating nitrate from a septic system plume in southern Ontario (Long Point site). Reaction rates for the 15‐year‐old media were measured in dynamic flow column tests and were compared to rates measured in year 1 using the same reactive mixture. Nitrate removal rates in the 15‐year‐old media varied, as expected, with temperature in the range of 0.22 to 1.1 mg N/L/d at 6 °C to 10 °C to 3.5 to 6.0 mg N/L/d at 20 °C to 22 °C. The latter rates remained within about 50% of the year 1 rates (10.2 ± 2.7 mg N/L/d at 22 °C). Near the end of the year 15 column test, media particles >0.5 mm in diameter, containing most of the wood particles, were removed from the reactive media by sieving. Nitrate removal subsequently declined by about 80%, indicating that the wood particles were the principal energy source for denitrification. This example shows that some denitrifying PRBs can remain maintenance free and be adequately reactive for decades.
Family Circumstances Forcing Children to Run Away from Home in Cameroon

Home background plays a very significant role in the lives of children. The love, respect and attention given to a child at home greatly influences his/her belonging to that home. Knowing the conditions of children at home is imperative if we wish to tackle the problems of street children in Cameroon. This study was to identify and assess the factors associated with the phenomenon of urban street adolescents in 3 cities in Cameroon by looking at the family conditions regarding children’s decision to run away from home. This cross sectional study was carried out on a non-probability snow-ball sample of 399 street children aged 12 to 17, with selection based on their availability and inclusion criteria. Data was collected through interpersonal administration of questionnaires then analysed by univariate and bivariate calculation of frequencies as well as cross tables and chi-square (at what level of significance? ). After data collection and cleaning, data was captured in Microsoft Excel (2010) spreadsheet and imported into SPSS statistical package version 19 for windows (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA, for analysis). The study results showed that 75.2% of the participants could not meet their needs while at home, due to the poor status of their parents/guardians as confirmed by 84.5% of them. It should also be noted that 74.7% of participants reported not able to have sufficient meals while at home. Additionally, 70% of participants lived with troublesome (use a different word) parents/guardians such as drunkard or those who are mentally unstable and consequently they had neither respect nor affection for them. The study concluded that the participants experienced unfavourable home circumstances which contributed to them leaving/running from home to dwell on the streets. The Cameroon government should therefore play a major role in assisting street children to ensure that their rights and basic needs are met.
Changes in muscle stiffness as the effect of karate tournament fight

Background & Study Aim: There is a number of research proving decrease of stiffness after different types of intensive aerobic exercise, such as marathon or triathlon. On the contrary, other authors confirmed that the stiffness increase, as a result of eccentric contractions related to the delayed onset of muscle soreness. To the best of our knowledge, no study has addressed the effect of karate fights on muscle stiffness, assessed by myotonometry. We hypothesised that a decrease in upper trapezius muscle stiffness among karate competitors in response to series of karate tournament fights. Material & Methods: In part A (reliability of study), 15 right-handed non-trained males subjects (aged 20.7 ±1.2 years; height 174.6 ±6.1 cm; body mass 73.2 ±10.6 kg) volunteered to participate. In part B (experimental) 15 male karate competitors (age 24.7±4.5 years; height, 176.4 ±65.8 cm; weight, 72.3 ±5.4 kg;) volunteered to participate. We conducted a study composed of two measurements of upper trapezius muscle stiffness, directly before and immediately after tournament karate fight. The muscle stiffness was assessed using myotonometric measurements with the MyotonPRO device. Results: Upper trapezius muscle stiffness in muscle belly sites decreased significantly from before fight (341.2 ±31.2 N/m) to after fight (302.3 ±34.7 N/m) (p = 0.02). Conclusions: Two-minutes karate fight caused a significant decrease in muscle stiffness. Our findings could be an important asset for a trainer or other researchers investigating exercise-related changes in muscle stiffness.