Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AM-FM demodulation using zero crossings and local peaks

We developed a new algorithm for estimating Instantaneous Amplitude(IA) and Instantaneous Frequency(IF) of a band limited AM-FM signal, using zero crossings(ZC) intervals and local peaks information(ZC-LP). In this method IA and IF are estimated independently. For estimating IF, zero crossing interval information is used in a K-Nearest Neighbor(K-NN) frame work and for estimating IA local peaks of the given band limited signal are used, also in a K-NN frame work[2]. Experimental results shows that the proposed algorithm gives better results than existing methods like Hilbert Transform[3], DESA1, DESA2[1].
Growth curve of female collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) raised in captivity in the Brazilian Amazon Region

Com o objetivo de ajustar modelos nao-lineares, foram utilizados registros mensais do peso de 10 femeas de cateto (Pecari tajacu) coletados durante dois anos, no criatorio do campo experimental Alvaro Adolfo da Embrapa Amazonia Oriental, Belem, PA. Utilizaram-se os modelos de Von Bertalanffy, Brody, Gompertz e Logistico. Os parâmetros foram estimados usando o procedimento NLIN do aplicativo SAS. Os criterios utilizados para verificar o ajuste dos modelos foram: desvio padrao assintotico (ASD); coeficiente de determinacao (R2); desvio medio absoluto dos residuos (ARD) e o indice assintotico (AR). Os modelos Brody e Logistico estimaram, respectivamente, o maior (19,44kg) e o menor (19,18kg) peso assintotico (A), caracterizando a menor (0,0064kg/dia) e a maior (0,0113kg/dia) taxa de maturacao (K), haja vista a natureza antagonica entre estes parâmetros, comprovada pela correlacao fenotipica variando entre -0,75 a -0,47. O modelo Brody estimou o menor valor para o ARD, fator limitante para caracterizar o menor valor para o AR por este modelo. Considerando o AR, o modelo Brody apresentou o melhor ajuste, contudo, pelos valores encontrados, os demais modelos tambem apresentaram ajuste adequando aos dados ponderais da referida especie/sexo. Com base no AR adotado neste trabalho, recomenda-se o modelo Brody para ajustar a curva de crescimento de femeas de cateto (Pecari tajacu). Em razao dos valores estimados, sobretudo, para a K, essa caracteristica pode ser incluida em um indice de selecao. Contudo, estudos com grupos mais representativos e criados em outras condicoes se faz oportuno.
Plant dispersal systems in Neotropical forests: availability of dispersal agents or availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits?

Aim We used abiotic and biotic factors as predictors of the proportions of different dispersal systems in Neotropical forests, to test whether the geographical patterns in dispersal systems are mostly related to the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits or to the availability of dispersal agents. Location 101 one-hectare vegetation plots established in eight Holdridge lifezones in Colombian Neotropical forests. Methods We assigned dispersal systems to 2262 species and 1210 morphospecies, using the relative frequency and relative abundance of endozoochory, synzoochory, anemochory and hydrochory per plot as response variables. We assessed the relationships between dispersal systems and ecological factors (elevation, climatic and edaphic variables, raw and weighted richness of potential frugivores, biomass of primates, wind speed, flooding regime and fragmentation), controlling for spatial autocorrelation and phylogenetic constraints. Results Endozoochory was highly represented in all plots. High levels of rainfall and low precipitation seasonality were associated with high proportions of zoochory (endozoochory and synzoochory) and low proportions of anemochory. The biomass of primates was positively associated with the relative abundance of endozoochory, and the weighted richness of frugivores was positively associated with the relative frequency of endozoochory. Contrary to the resource-availability hypothesis, synzoochory (the most expensive dispersal system in terms of plant investment in fruit mass) was most common in soils with low carbon densities. Finally, the proportions of anemochory and hydrochory were highest in windy areas and flooded forests, respectively. Main conclusions Although there is a relationship between rainfall, zoochory and anemochory, the absence of any positive relationships between zoochory, temperature, soil total nitrogen density and soil carbon density shows that the proportions of dispersal systems in Colombian Neotropical forests are mostly related to the availability of dispersal agents.
Study of Achievement Motivation among Female Field Hockey Players In Relation To Performance Level

This study conceptualized to compare the achievement motivation of female field hockey players at different levels of competition. To work on the purpose of the study a survey type study has been designed to establish the achievement motivation climate among the female field hockey players. A total 50 female hockey players of various colleges of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, aged 18-24 years, were selected for the study. 25 field hockey players were inter-university level and 25 were inter-college level. All female hockey players were assessed for their achievement motivation level with the help of Achievement Motivation Scale developed by Kamlesh (1990) [9]. The mean values of inter-college and inter-university female hockey players on the variable achievement motivation were 13.69 and 12.92 respectively. The independent sample t-test revealed that then was no significant difference in achievement motivation between inter-college interuniversity female hockey players.
Women and Suicide in Palestine: Victimization, Loss, Socio-Psychological Factors and Lack of Support - A Phenomenological Study

Background: Despite the protective factors of Islam suicide, female suicide attempts exists in Palestine. However there is little information about the causes, risks or protective factors regarding suicide for women in Palestine. Aims: This study investigates the history and experiences of Palestinian women who have attempted suicide in order to better inform policy makers, service providers and the international community about steps need to reduce this disturbing trend. Methods: Guided interviews were completed with 20 female suicide attempt survivors in Palestine using a qualitative phenomenological method to analyze the data. Results : Five themes emerged: victimization related to violence; Loss (family members, cultural identity, relationships, and security); psychological factors ; socio-cultural factors; and lack of support systems. Conclusion and Recommendation : The findings of the study demonstrate the importance of understanding the experience of suicide in the female population in Palestine, looking at risks related to victimization, loss, and lack of personal control. The findings reflect the need for a holistic national strategy for prevention including support for mental health and advocacy programs for women, demanding basic human rights, prohibiting cultural practices such as child marriage, providing economic and social support and promoting Islamic values rather than traditional customs. Keywords: Suicide, Women’s Issues, Palestine, Victimization, Socio-cultural factors
New and interesting records of Lepidoptera from the Kola Peninsula, Northwestern Russia, in 2000-2009.

Extensive sampling during 2000–2009 resulted in discovery of 65 species of Lepidoptera that have not been reported from the Kola Peninsula (i.e., Murmanskaya oblast of Russia) in our earlier publications. Critical revision of data published in several papers by the Russian scientists and in the comprehensive Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Russia added further 59 species to the regional fauna (among which we controlled records of 15 species), while 60 species are excluded as erroneous or doubtful records. We also confirmed records of 12 species which were known from old publications only, and reported interesting findings of 71 rare species that expand their distribution range or demonstrate interesting ecological patterns. The fauna of moths and butterflies of the Murmansk region now totals 813 species.
Compulsory Schooling and the Returns to Education: A Re-examination

We re-examine the effect of compulsory school law on education in the US pioneered by Angrist and Krueger (1991). We show that the standard instrumental variable approach of the education variable not only yields empirically inconsistent estimates, but is conceptually confused. The confusion arises from the rejection of the key causal variable as a valid conditional variable. By route of a causally explicit model design we are able to identify the circumstances under which the formerly rejected variable can yield valid inference values. Our investigation demonstrates the importance of building data-consistent models over estimator choice in successful research designs.
Cytotoxicity and antimicrobial studies of 1,6,8- trihydroxy-3-methyl-anthraquinone (emodin) isolated from the leaves of Cassia nigricans Vahl

Emodin was isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of Cassia nigricans Vahl. The structure of the emodin was established by chemical spectroscopy. The LC50 (lower – upper limits) of the emodin was 42.77 (11.80 – 72.94) ig/ml. Emodin was found to be highly cytotoxic. It showed significant antimicrobial activity on some common pathogens. The isolation of this active principle emodin, from the leaves of Cassia nigricans for the first time and the antimicrobial activity of the compound are reported in the present study. The isolation of the active principle justifies the use of the leaves of C. nigricans in herbal medicine for the treatment of skin diseases and gastro-intestinal disorders.
The Impact of Quality Management Practices on Innovation in China: The Moderating Effects of Market Turbulence

Do quality management (QM) practices foster or hinder innovation? Attempts have been made to investigate this relationship, but the research has shown inconsistent results. Drawing on a review of related literature, this study proposes a theoretical model and a hypothesis in the Chinese con-text, with the aim of investigating the impact of QM practices on innovation performance. The investigation was made up of 383 questionnaires from nine Chinese provinces and cities. From here, this study further analyses the moderating effects of market turbulence on the relationship be-tween QM practices and innovation performance. The results show that both QM infrastructure practices and core QM practices have a positive effect on innovation performance. Additionally, it is found that market turbulence positively moderates the relationship between the QM infrastructure practices and product innovation performance, but negatively moderates the relationship between core QM practices and process innovation performance. However, market turbulence does not moderate the relationship between infrastructure practices and process innovation performance; also, the moderating effects of core practices and product innovation performance are not significant.
Family Business Exit and Private Equity Investment Decisions: Governance Implications for Value Creation.

This paper was motivated by the increasing interest in the current debate for the entrepreneurial process in family firms. Little research to date has investigated the family business exit and this topic is mainly considered as a failure for entrepreneurial families. However, when uncertainties arise concerning generational succession, the family business exit may enable ownership transitions facilitating survival and long term value creation strategies. Among the exit options, a private equity buyout may balance the family’s wealth protection and the firm’s future growth. However, which family specific characteristics and strategic needs may affect the exit option still remains a neglected topic. Based on recent research addressing entrepreneurship in family firms and corporate governance literature, this paper develops a case study for investigating the bridging role of private equity buyout for going through strategic transitions in family firms. Findings suggest that a private equity buyout is a governance mechanism which may sustain an entrepreneurial transition by realigning family interests and goals. It may also allow the family commitment for improving organizational capabilities required by an entrepreneurial transition.
The cyclical behavior of the unemployment, job nding and separation rates

In this paper, we follow a calibration strategy close to Hagedorn and Manovskii (2008) to make the search and matching model with endogenous separations capable of replicating the unemployment standard deviations with the right contributions of the job nding and separation rates. This framework calls for a value of the worker’s opportunity cost of employment less extreme and does not require a real wage stickiness, as compared to the constant separation rate model. While determining this particular value for the opportunity cost, we stress two new and signicant points. First, the
Subtle sabotage: endocrine disruption in wild populations

How important is endocrine disruption as a threat to wildlife populations? This review applies causal criteria to existing studies of wild populations of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals to answer three questions: (1) Have endocrine-mediated effects of contaminant exposure been documented? (2) Have individual adverse effects that could lead to population effects been documented? (3) Have population level effects been documented? In fish, the possibility of population level effects is inferred from impaired individual fertility. Substantial evidence directly links fertility impairment to endocrine disruption. In amphibians, popula - tion declines are occurring worldwide and causes may vary among regions, with contaminant-induced sexual disruption being one of many insults that stymie population growth. In reptiles, local populations of alligators have been dramatically reduced by direct toxicity and recovery has probably been slowed by sexual disruption, particularly feminization induced by chronic contaminant exposure. In contrast, heavily contaminated snapping turtles display feminized secondary sex characteristics, evidence of disrupted sexual development, but popula - tions are densest at the most heavily contaminated site. In birds, population decline and recovery have been directly linked to p,p'-DDE-mediated eggshell thinning and subsequent banning of the parent compound DDT in the US and Europe. Regional populations of predatory birds still suffer chick mortality related to PCB and DDT burdens, but no causal link with endocrine-mediated processes has been demonstrated. In mammals, con - taminant-induced hormonal derangements in seals and polar bears have been documented, but no clear evidence links endocrine effects to population declines. Although endocrine disruption will rarely be the sole cause of failing recruitment or decreased abundance, it may subtly sabotage sexual development, sex ratio, and metabolic compensation for environmental stress. Endocrine disruption is unlikely to extirpate a species over its entire range, but in combination with other stressors such as habitat loss, over-harvesting, and global climate change, may contribute to local extinctions. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54(Suppl. 1): 1-19. Epub 2006 Sept. 30.
The impact of organisational culture on WiMax adoption by Saudi SMEs

Although there is some research that examines Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access (WiMax) adoption, the role of the organisational culture by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has not been studied in the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This paper presents the outcome of a study carried out to examine the impact of organisational culture on the WiMax adoption by SMEs in the KSA. Based on Cameron and Quinn’s Organisational Culture Assessments Instrument (OCAI), 63 questionnaires were distributed to different SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The results showed that there is a relatively low level of WiMax adoption by Saudi SMEs. Findings stated that Saudi SMEs are dominated by the clan culture where people are less innovative than the people in adhocracy culture.
The Origin of Midrib in Lenticular Martensite

In the present paper, the origin of midrib in lenticular martensite is clarified by examining the similarity between midrib and thin plate martensite in detail and studying the stress-induced growth behavior of thin plate martensite at various temperatures. Although lenticular martensite, especially midrib, exhibits a zigzag array in general, some martensite plates which are branched or kinked were also observed as thin plate martensite. The substructure of midrib is completely twinned and the orientation relationship of midrib with respect to austenite is close to Greninger–Troiano relationship. These morphology, substructure and crystallographic features of midrib in lenticular martensite are quite similar to those of thin plate martensite. Furthermore, stress-induced growth behavior of thin plate martensite changes with deformation temperature. Thermally-transformed thin plate martensite grows keeping a thin plate shape when deformed at temperature close to the Ms temperature. However, it grows into a lenticular shape accompanying a substructure with a high density of dislocations after deformation at temperature much higher than Ms temperature. Therefore, it is concluded that midrib in lenticular martensite is thin plate martensite itself. The difference between lenticular martensite and thin plate martensite is only in their growth behaviors. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MRA2007296]
Molecular Markers Associated with the Biological Response to Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Urban Air in Humans

Morbidity and mortality attributable to air pollution continue to be a growing problem in several parts of the world. Both epidemiologic and clinical studies have demonstrated a strong link between exposure to particulate matter (PM) and adverse effects on health. From the PM generated in the atmospheres of several countries, the respirable fraction of PM2.5 (PM2.5) and diesel exhaust particles (DEP) represent some of the largest products of vehicularand industrial-emitted airborne PM that can persist in the air, where they are readily inhaled and deposited throughout the respiratory tract. PM2.5 and DEP have been associated with cardiac and pulmonary alterations. Also, exposure to DEP has been associated with lung cancer, pulmonary inflammation, an increased susceptibility to respiratory infections and the exacerbation of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Furthermore, the effect of tobacco and its smoke, a complex mixture, represents another source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The three, PM2.5, DEP and tobacco smoke, are the main foci of several studies that evaluate the principal effects of PAH, and represent the via to/source of PAH exposure. Normally, black carbon particles, also products of incomplete fuel combustion, act as condensation nuclei for organic chemicals, such as aromatic aliphatic compounds, including PAH, but they are not considered in this chapter. Rather, this chapter will centre on a molecular description of the cellular responses (AHR pathway) after exposure to PAH from urban air, including relatively new markers, microRNAs and their utility as new biomarkers of exposure to PAH. We propose the use of lung tissue embedded in paraffin as a source of biological material to perform any kind of study: retrospective and prospectives. First, however, an important general description of PAH, its main sources and its concentrations in urban air and their metabolism will be presented in order to contextualize the main objective of this study of molecular markers associated with PAH exposure.
The Limits of the Use of Locus of Control in Industrial Psychology: A Critical Evaluation

Locus of control is a personality variable that is employed by researchers from diverse disciplines. This article examines the limits of the construct’s usage in industrial and organizational psychology. Although locus of control is documented to predict a wide array of workplace behavior such as job satisfaction, job performance and turnover intention, some important conceptual, methodological and empirical flaws raise suspicions on the explanations proposed by researchers. Considering the shortage of experimental and longitudinal evidence, it is argued that the causal direction of the well-established correlations between locus of control and other organizational behavioral variables might be the opposite of the theory’s expectation. It is also claimed that some related constructs such as self-efficacy and belief in a just world might provide further explanations for observed correlations.
CONSUMPTION AND EXPECTED ASSET RETURNS: AN UNOBSERVED-COMPONENT APPROACH

This paper proposes an unobserved-component approach to estimate expected returns on household assets and expected growth rates of excess consumption (consumption in excess of labor income) within a present-value model of consumption. The present-value model of consumption implies that the excess-consumption–assets ratio can be expressed as a function of the present discounted value of expected excess-consumption growth rate and expected asset returns. Because expected returns and expected excess-consumption growth rate are unobserved variables, we use an unobserved-component approach to extract them from the observed history of realized returns and excess-consumption growth rate. Our results suggest that both filtered returns and filtered excess-consumption growth rate are significant and better predictors of realized returns and realized excess-consumption growth rate than the one obtained by the lagged excess-consumption–assets ratio.
Relationship Between Soil Apparent Electrical Conductivity and Cassava Plant (TMS 98/0505) Growth at Early Stages on Sandy Loam Soil

A thorough study of major soil properties such as soil Apparent Electrical Conductivity (ECa) which influences plant productivity is of utmost importance if losses in output and input cost from a farm are to be minimized. Soil ECa is a measure of the soil’s ability to conduct electric current as well as its nutrient contents. It is affected by a combination of several soil properties such as soil water content, organic matter, clay and mineralogy, bulk density, soluble salts etc. This study discusses the relationship between soil ECa and Cassava plant growth on sandy-loam soil. Electrical resistivity measurements were conducted on cassava field using Miller 400D resistance meter. ECa were calculated and cassava plant growth parameters such as plant height (HC) and number of sprouted stem (NS) were measured. ECa readings were correlated with HC and NS. Regression analysis was conducted on all significant relationships. -----------------------------------------------------------------------* Corresponding author. Tel: +234 8066565564, 08154860867. E-mail address: lanremokuolu@gmail.com.
Assessment of Physicochemical parameters and Water Quality Index of Vishwamitri River, Gujarat, India

Development and industrialisation exert pressure on the riverine system deteriorating the serenity of the rivers. The present study was carried out in Small River flowing through Vadodara city viz., Vishwamitri River. The study revealed better water quality before its entry into the urban area. Despite of presence of STPs, there is poor water quality affecting the aquatic life and ecology. The paper throws light on pollution aspect and need to develop decentralised treatment system to tackle the river pollution problem.