Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the boiling point of the vacuum of quantum electrodynamics

It is a long-standing non-trivial prediction of quantum electrodynamics that its vacuum is unstable in the background of a static, spatially uniform electric field and, in principle, sparks with spontaneous emission of electron-positron pairs. However, an experimental verification of this prediction seems out of reach because a sizeable rate for spontaneous pair production requires an extraordinarily strong electric field strength $|\mathbf E|$ of order the Schwinger critical field, ${\rm E}_c=m_e^2/e\simeq 1.3\times 10^{18}\ {\rm V/m}$, where $m_e$ is the electron mass and $e$ is its charge. Here, we show that the measurement of the rate of pair production due to the decays of high-energy bremsstrahlung photons in a high-intensity laser field allows for the experimental determination of the Schwinger critical field and thus the boiling point of the vacuum of quantum electrodynamics.
The Attraction and Compromise Effects in Bargaining: Experimental Evidence

We experimentally investigate, in an unstructured bargaining environment with commonly known money payoffs, the attraction effect and compromise effect (AE and CE) in bargaining, namely, a tendency for bargainers to agree to an intermediate option (CE) or to an option that dominates another option (AE). We conjecture that the relevance of the AE and CE in bargaining is constrained by how focal the feasible agreements’ payoffs are. We indeed observe that there are significant AEs and CEs, but these effects are mediated by the efficiency and equality properties of the feasible agreements. Due to the allure of equality, the effects are harder to observe when an equal earnings contract is available. Decoys are more effective in shifting agreements from a very unequal contract to a less unequal one rather than the reverse. This paper was accepted by Yuval Rottenstreich, behavioral economics and decision analysis.
Employee training and operational performance of firms in the financial services sector in Kenya

In this study, the relationship between employee training initiatives and operational performance through service strategy as a moderating variable and operational efficiency is analyzed within the service setting of firms in financial services sector in Kenya. Regression analysis model is applied in order to enhance understanding of interactions. The effect of employee training initiative is analyzed as to how it brings operational performance to an organization. This study proves that employee training initiatives has a significant positive and direct effect on operational performance. The fact that is especially relevant is that service strategy plays a more intense moderating role for efficiency performance measures than for customer satisfaction performance measures.
Laminar Forced Convection Heat Transfer in the Combined Entry Region of Non-Circular Ducts

A new model for predicting Nusselt numbers in the combined entrance region of non-circular ducts and channels is developed. This model predicts both local and average Nusselt numbers and is valid for both isothermal and isoflux boundary conditions. The model is developed using the asymptotic results for convection from a flat plate, thermally developing flows in non-circular ducts, and fully developed flow in non-circular ducts. Through the use of a novel characteristic length scale, the square root of cross-sectional area, the effect of duct shape on Nusselt number is minimized. Comparisons are made with several existing models for the circular tube and parallel plate channel and with numerical data for several non-circular ducts
Physical Properties and Digestibility of Resistant Starch from Phosphorylated Sago Starches

Background and Objective: Native sago starch (NSS) was phosphorylated white sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) or phosphorous oxychloride (POCl3) to increase the properties of starch. The phosphorylated sago starch play a significant role in forming new structure that affect the physical properties and in vitro digestibility of resistant starch (RS). The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the reaction of NSS with STPP or POCl3 at pH 8, 9, 10 and 11 on the physical properties and in vitro digestibility of RS. Materials and Methods: The RS from NSS was prepared by phosphorylating with 5% STPP or 4% POCl3 at pH 8-11 for 1 h. The functional groups, relative degree of cross-linking, degree of crystallinity of selected RS samples and RS contents, were also investigated. Results: The FT-IR spectra showed that after being hydrolyzed, RS contains ",γ-dextrin enriched with phosphate groups. The di-starch phosphate had relative degrees of cross-linking ranging from 22.83-85.33%, while that mono-starch phosphate had not able to estimate. The XRD pattern indicated that the crystalline structure of RS was destroyed. The monoand di-starch phosphate had degrees of crystallinity ranging from 6.53-6.64%. Compared with NSS, the RS contents of monoand di-starch phosphate were higher by 20 and 40%, respectively. The RS content of phosphorylated starch was affected by the substitution of phosphate groups. Conclusion: The RS from monoand di-starch phosphate were affected by the presence of the phosphorus group in the structure and the RS content could be improved greatly with phosphorylation. The RS content of di-starch phosphate was increased with increasing pH of the reaction mixture. X-ray patterns of RS from native and phosphorylated sago starches indicated that a crystalline structure transformation of those starches took place during preparation of RS.
ON n -BOUNDED AND n -CONTINUOUS OPERATOR IN n -NORMED SPACE

In this paper, the concepts of bounded and continuous n-linear operatorsin n-normed space are discussed. The notions of n-bounded and n-continuous linear operators are then introduced as an extension. This is a generalization of the concepts introduced in [9] and [3]. In addition, the properties of the corresponding spaces of operators are studied to obtain results analogous to the case of normed space. Finally, a sufficient condition for each corresponding space of operators tobe a Banach space is given. DOI : http://dx.doi. org/10.22342/jims.18. 1.109. 45-56
Can genre-based instruction be 'promising' for transferability?

The application of genre-based writing instruction (GBWI) has increased many ESP practitioners‟ interest in the teaching of writing. The effectiveness of GBWI is starting to be acknowledged. However there is a gap in the research as to whether ESP writers are able to build genre awareness and transfer this awareness to the writing of other genres. Hence, this study investigates whether 24 ESP learners in an EFL setting can build contextual and linguistic awareness of genre. It also explores whether or not learners were able to compose another genre, drawing on their previous knowledge of genre analysis after completing a genre-based writing course on hospitality and tourism. The results confirm these ESP writers‟ acquisition of genre knowledge and the transferability of such knowledge to other genres, when provided with „scaffolded instruction‟. The study suggests that ESP writing pedagogy can be genre-based and conducted through explicit instruction on genre analysis.
Effects of crop improvement technologies on downy mildew of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.

Pearl millet is potentially prone to diseases as such downy mildew caused by Sclerospora graminicola causing losses in grain yield. Crop improvement technologies such as seed priming and fertilizer micro-dosing have only been applied to improve crop production without assessing their implications in the diseases of crops. This study examines the effects of these technologies on downy mildew of pearl millet. An experiment was conducted for three years (2012, 2013 and 2014) cropping seasons at the University of Maiduguri teaching and research farm. The experiment consisted of four pearl millet varieties Ex-Borno, SOSAT-C88, LCIC 9702 and a local check. Each was subjected to four treatments viz: primed, micro-dosed, primed + micro dosed and untreated (control). These were laid out in split-plot design with three replications. The variety served as the main plot and the treatment served as the sub-plot. Seed priming resulted in significantly higher percentage of stand establishment, reduced downy mildew severity and increased yield. However, plants from micro-dosed seeds suffered lower stand establishment, higher downy mildew incidence and lower yield than in the control seeds. The efficiency of micro-dosing alone increased only when combined with seed priming. SOSAT-C88 had the highest plant stands, the lowest disease incidence and severity, and the highest yield. The interaction of seed treatment (priming and micro-dosing) × variety on yield of pearl millet showed seed priming alone was more effective on the landrace Ex-Borno, while micro-dosing alone was more effective on the improved cultivar SOSAT-C88. Combination of seed priming with micro-dosing gave the highest yield increase in cultivar LCIC 9702. Seed priming remains a potential option for farmers in the semi-arid region of Nigeria. But more studies are needed to determine the precise effect of fertilizer on downy mildew of pearl millet. Key words: Downy mildew, severity, incidence, pearl millet, seed priming, micro-dosing.
Statistical Analytical Study of Traffic Accidents and Violations in the State of Kuwait and Its Social and Economic Impact on the Kuwaiti Society

Traffic accidents and their effects become one of the most important and dangerous challenges facing the community and individuals in their daily lives in the modern age, and because of the resulting deaths, reaching nearly one million and three hundred thousand cases a year and various dangerous injuries close to the fifty million cases taking into account their different consequences on the social and economic life, this is in addition to traffic violations and their impact on traffic and community public safety. Therefore, this research aims to analytical study of traffic accidents and traffic violations committed by the driver in the State of Kuwait through the study of the number of vehicles and accidents, injuries and deaths that result from these accidents in addition to the number of violations that are continuously growing and the amounts collected from committing such violations and study the relationship between them through its adaptation to some of the different statistical models and appropriate probability distributions for forecasting the coming years. The study also aims to identify the social and economic effects on the Kuwaiti society, as well as the role of government and institutions to reduce these repeated accidents and violations through the development of laws, policies and rehabilitation programs, which include some of the behavioral aspects and the process of rehabilitation and reduce the aggravation of these dangerous phenomena and costly burdens in the human life and stability in the community enjoying traffic public safety.
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN POLYMORPHISMS IN GENES ENCODING 2′-5′-OLIGOADENYLATE SYNTHETASES AND THE HUMORAL IMMUNE RESPONSE UPON VACCINATION AGAINST TICK-BORNE ENCEPHALITIS

Vaccination forms active immunity and represents an effective way of preventing tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). However, excessive vaccination is unjustified in terms of economics and medical ethics. One of the individualized approaches to vaccines is the selection of vaccine doses depending on the expected levels of immune response. Therefore, there is a need for new methods for assessing potential human immune responses prior to vaccination. The aim of this study was to determine possible association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within OAS2 and OAS3 genes, which have been previously associated with the development of severe forms of TBE, and the formation of antibodies and cytokines upon vaccination against TBE. The study involved 97 volunteers of both sexes who had not previously been vaccinated against TBE and had no contact with ticks. Venous blood samples were collected one month after vaccination against TBE using the EnceVir vaccine. Levels of specific IgG antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis virus and interleukin 4 (IL-4) were analyzed. Genomic DNA samples were genotyped for the SNPs rs2285932, rs2072136, rs1293762, rs15895 and rs1732778 in genes encoding 2’-5’-oligoadenylate synthetases OAS2 and OAS3. Antibody production in response to vaccine administration was significantly associated with SNP rs1732778 in the regulatory region of the OAS2 gene. This indicator was significantly higher in people with heterozygous genotypes G/A as compared to people with homozygous genotypes G/G and A/A. Carriers of the A allele (G/A or A/A genotypes) of the same SNP had reduced IL-4 levels as compared to the homozygous G/G individuals. Thus, the data obtained indicate that SNP rs1732778 in the regulatory region of the OAS2 gene correlates with the formation of antiviral IgG antibodies and changes in IL-4 levels upon vaccination. Evidently, the genetic polymorphism in OAS2 gene should be considered when performing individualized TBE vaccinations.
Can a Bonus Overcome Moral Hazard? An Experiment on Voluntary Payments, Competition, and Reputation in Markets for Expert Services

Interactions between players with private information and opposed interests are often prone to bad advice and inefficient outcomes, e.g. markets for financial or health care services. In a deception game we investigate experimentally which factors could improve advice quality. Besides advisor competition and identifiability we add the possibility for clients to make a voluntary payment, a bonus, after observing advice quality. We observe a positive effect on the rate of truthful advice when the bonus creates multiple opportunities to reciprocate, that is, when the bonus is combined with identifiability (leading to several client-advisor interactions over the course of the game) or competition (allowing one advisor to have several clients who may reciprocate within one period).
Cyanobacterial diversity of Petuniabukta, Billefjorden, central Spitsbergen

The diversity of cyanobacterial assemblages from various microhabitats in the Arctic area of Petuniabukta, Billefjorden, central Svalbard, was described. The present article contains the introductory common review of the cyanobacterial diversity and ecological data concerning main habitats, while the characteristics of individual taxonomic groups will be presented in following specific studies. Eight distinct main habitats were recognized, which differed in their species composition and especially the dominant species. More than 80 morphospecies were registered during our investigation, but only about 1/3 of them could be assigned to known and described taxa. The others require additional analyses based on mod− ern taxonomic methods (the polyphasic approach). The composition of cyanobacterial micro− flora was comparable with assemblages in coastal Antarctica. The diversity of unicellular and colonial morphotypes (36 taxa) was higher than other groups. The number of filamentous spe− cies without heterocytes and akinetes, with 30 species, and heterocytous types, with only 20 species, were similar in both of these ecosystems. These numbers will be surely changed in the future, but the overall proportion of different groups will likely stay the same. In contrast to the limited species diversity, simple filamentous aheterocytous species were dominant and formed massive populations. Few heterocytous taxa, mostly grouped within the genus Nostoc (N. commune-complex), were dominant in tundra soils.
Drakopoulou Dodd, Sarah and Wilson, Juliette and Mac an Bhaird, Ciáran and Bisignano, Angelo (2018) Habitus emerging : the development of hybrid logics and collaborative business models in the Irish craft beer

This article analyses data from 25 Irish craft beer entrepreneurs supplemented by associated web and press material, to explore how habitus emerges in a nascent entrepreneurial field. Welter’s frame of entrepreneurial contexts – business, social, spatial, and institutional – is combined with Bourdieusian theory to explain the emergence of habitus. Findings show that emerging habitus is enacted through hybridization of diverse global and local field logics, via the adoption, development and extension of their logics. It is also path-dependent upon the life and career histories of a critical mass of habitus members, previously exposed to these fields. The study shows both local and global strategies of collective resource sharing a novel approach to tackling the resource paucity typically faced by partitioned specialists facing large scale generalists.
Information Technology Practices Amongst Dental Undergraduate Students at a Private Dental Institution in India

Objective: In dental and medical education, information and communication technology (ICT) has been playing an important role and its use is rapidly increasing. In developing countries, however, information technology is still only available to a minority of health professionals. The present study aimed to assess the level of computer use among dental undergraduate students pursuing their career at a private dental institution in India. Materials and Methods: The study population comprised dental undergraduate students from first to fourth year pursuing their career in a private dental institution of India. Information technology practices were assessed using a questionnaire that consisted of 14 questions. Results: In total, 247 students with an overall response rate of 66% participated in the study. Only 58.3% of the study population mentioned that they had access to computers. Students from preclinical years reported to be competent in IT skills more frequently than the clinical year students (chi square test, P=0.007). Compared to women, men used computers more regularly both for academic activities (P=0.082) and personal use (P=0.006). Similarly, students of clinical years used computers more than preclinical students for both purposes (academic activities, P=0.045; personal use, P=0.124). Conclusion: The present study revealed that computer literacy of Indian dental undergraduate students was comparable with students of other countries whereas accessibility of IT sources was poor. Expansion of computer-assisted learning which requires careful strategic planning, resource sharing, staff incentives, active promotion of multidisciplinary working, and effective quality control should be implemented.
Merced Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society Title The Benefits of Epistemic Action Outweigh the Costs Permalink

Epistemic actions are physical actions people take to simplify internal problem solving rather than to move closer to an external goal. When playing the video game Tetris, for instance, experts routinely rotate falling shapes more than is strictly needed to place the shapes. Maglio and Kirsh (Kirsh & Maglio, 1994; Maglio, 1995) proposed that such actions might serve the purpose of priming memory by external means, reducing the need for internal computation (e.g., by way of mental rotation). This proposal requires that information provided by epistemic actions (e.g., additional views of the shape) serve the same function as memory primes, and that the bene t of such priming exceed the costs of performing the epistemic action. To calculate bene t, we used a novel statistical method for mapping reaction-time data onto an estimate of the increase in individual processing capacity a orded by seeing shapes in multiple orientations. To calculate cost, we used an empirical estimate of time needed to take action in a Tetris game. We found that the bene ts of extra previews far outweigh the costs of taking extra action.
Characterization of the effects of macronutrient deficiencies in mangabeira seedlings

Knowledge of the mineral nutrition requirements of mangabeira (Hancornia speciosa Gomes) is relatively scarce and rudimentary because there is a lack of consistent data concerning its nutritional demands at different developmental stages. The aim of this research was to characterize the visual symptoms of macronutrient deficiencies and to evaluate the effects of these deficiencies on the growth, the production of dry matter, and the leaf content of mangabeira. To achieve this goal, a greenhouse experiment was conducted at the Goiano Federal Institute (Instituto Federal Goiano) in Rio Verde - GO, from January to June 2011 in which mangabeira plants were arranged in a random block design and grown in nutrient solutions. This experiment was replicated four times. The plants were treated with either a complete nutrient solution or a nutrient solution from which the individual macronutrient of interest (nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), or sulfur (S) had been omitted. The omission of a macronutrient from the nutrient solution resulted in morphological alterations that were characteristic symptoms of the particular nutritional deficiency and caused decreases in growth and dry matter mass production. The accumulation of macronutrients displayed the following order in mangabeira leaves: N>K>Ca>P>S>Mg.
Reproduction of wild boar in a cropland and coastal wetland area: implications for management

Reproduccion del jabali en habitats de cultivos y humedales costeros: implicaciones sobre la gestion Los parametros reproductivos de una poblacion de jabali localizada en un paisaje costero, con un mosaico de cultivos y humedales, fueron analizados y comparados con los observados en poblaciones de jabali que colonizan otros habitats. Se analizaron un total de 296 tractos reproductivos procedentes de hembras capturadas a lo largo de todo el ciclo anual en el Parque Natural de Els Aiguamolls de l'Emporda entre los anos 2000 y 2010. Se contaron los fetos que presentaban las hembras gestantes y se determino su sexo y edad, asi como los periodos de copula y parto. Tambien se registro el peso y edad de cada hembra. De acuerdo con el patron observado en la mayor parte de poblaciones europeas de la especie, se observo un periodo de celo principal entre octubre y enero, con un maximo durante noviembre y diciembre, meses que concentraron el 64% de las copulas. La proporcion de hembras gestantes, la tasa de ovulacion y el tamano de camada aumentan con el peso de la hembra. El tamano medio de camada registrado fue de 5,01 ± 1,33 (rango de dos a ocho) fetos. Este valor es el mas elevado registrado en poblaciones salvajes Ibericas y es parecido al observado en algunas poblaciones del centro de Europa. Ademas, no se corresponde con el patron descrito para las poblaciones de jabali en Europa segun el cual se aprecia una correlacion positiva entre el aumento del tamano de la camada y la latitud. La explicacion mas probable para la alta productividad de la poblacion en la zona de estudio es la gran disponibilidad de alimento a lo largo de todo el ano y, especialmente, el elevado consumo de plantas cultivadas, particularmente maiz y girasol. Estos resultados sugieren que la colonizacion de zonas agricolas y humedales contribuye al aumento de densidad de poblacion del jabali y las estrategias de control deberian considerar tanto la reduccion del numero de hembras adultas como la aplicacion de medidas para reducir la disponibilidad de recursos troficos accesibles para el jabali.