Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Examination of the Impact of Economic Policy on Long-Run Economic Growth:An Application of a VECM Structure to a Middle-Income Context

This paper examines the impact of two indicators of government policy, government consumption expenditure and in‡ation, on per capita GDP in South Africa over the period 1935-1992. The paper draws from both the theoretical literature on growth as well as the international empirical . ndings. We highlight two possible e¤ects of government consumption expenditure: government consumption expenditure may potentially have an optimal level with respect to the growth rate of output; and there may be both direct and indirect impacts from government spending through the introduction of an investment equation. We employ the Johansen VECM structure in order to show that policy does indeed have an impact on GDP, consistent with the international leterature. In a replication of speci.cations employed in international growth studies, we . nd that the direct impact on GDP is indeed negative. However, we also . nd evidence in favour of a non-linearity in the relation between policy and GDP. Finally, we show that government spending has an indirect impact on GDP through its impact on investment.
Correlation Between In-Plane Grain Orientation and the Reversible Strain Effect on Flux Pinning in RE-Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7−δ Coated Conductors

The uniaxial pressure dependence of the critical tem- perature causes a reversible effect of strain on the critical current density and the flux pinning strength in many high-temperature superconductors. Recent experiments on patterned coated con- ductor bridges have shown that the anisotropic nature of the pressure dependence of the critical temperature of rare earth (RE)-Ba2Cu3O7−δ (REBCO) has a major impact on the perfor- mance of coated conductors under strain. The strain effect on the critical current density is most prominent when the strain is along the (100) and (010) directions of the superconducting film, whereas it almost completely disappears when the strain is along (110). In this paper, we investigate the correlation between the uniaxial- pressure dependence of the critical temperature and the reversible strain effect on flux pinning in REBCO coated conductors. We show that axial strain has a large effect on the irreversibility field and the pinning force in coated conductors when the (100) and (010) directions of the superconducting film are aligned along the conductor axis. The magnitude of the strain effect in these conductors largely depends on the angle at which the magnetic field is applied. On the other hand, the critical temperature is not expected to change with the axial strain in coated conductors when the (110) direction is aligned along the conductor axis. Indeed, the irreversibility field and the magnetic field dependence of the pinning force of these conductors are almost independent of the axial strain for all angles at which the magnetic field is applied. The minor strain dependence of the critical current measured in these conductors could be caused by the average in-plane grain misalignment of between 6 ◦ and 8 ◦ , which causes a slight variation in the strain alignment with the axes of the superconducting film. The results confirm that the reversible strain effect in REBCO coated conductors is largely determined by the uniaxial pressure dependence of the critical temperature.
Synthesis of benzoazole ionic liquids and evaluation of their antimicrobial activity: Síntese de líquidos iónicos derivados de benzoazóis e avaliação da sua atividade antimicrobiana

A new class of chemicals composed not of molecules but ions, an organic cation and an organic or inorganic anion, has recently attracted attention. When these new kind of salts are in the liquid state below 100 oC, they are named ionic liquids (ILs). In this work, the synthesis of ionic liquids obtained from a 2-mercaptobenzimidazole, 2-mercaptobenzoxazole or 2-mercaptobenzothiazole anion and 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium or choline cation are described. The antimicrobial activity against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and a yeast was also evaluated.
Dry sliding friction and wear response of WC-Co hardmetal pairs in linearly reciprocating and rotating contact

This paper presents an experimental evaluation of friction and wear properties of WC-Co cemented carbides. A comparison is made between unlubricated rotating and linearly reciprocating pin-on- plate sliding pairs. The plate specimens were WC-10wt%Co grades surface finished by polishing or sequential wire-EDM steps, whereas WC-6wt%Co pins were used as counter body. The tests were carried out at room temperature using a sliding speed of 0.30m/s and mean Hertzain contact pressures of 1.76 and 2.08 GPa, i.e., normal contact loads of 15N and 25N, respectively. The worn surfaces on plate samples were quantified in terms of 2-D wear profiles obtained by means of surface topography scanning equipment. Wear mechanisms such as polishing and abrasion were identified using optical microscopy. Inferior tribological characteristics for wire-EDM surface finish compared to polishing were found. Higher friction coefficient and wear levels were measured in unidirectional rotating sliding experiments compared to linearly reciprocating test conditions.
Brain Cancer Antibody Display Classification

This article explores real data on brain cancer. This type of biological data has a few particularities like a great number of attributes – antibodies and genes. However the number of entries is rather small because the data have to be obtained from real patients. This process is time consuming and very costly. Due to that, this research provides detailed data description as well as analyzes their particularities, type and structure. Correspondingly, classification rules are also difficult to discover. This research is dedicated to finding applications of classification methods aimed at determining interconnections that could be used to classify brain cancer. Working exactly with such unique data has a great practical value, because the data obtained can be used in future to continue the research and in practical diagnostics with the possibility to offer the data to biologists for interpretation. To speed up the obtaining of interconnections, only important attributes were used. Various methods of interconnection determination were employed. Conclusions about this type of data analysis, obtaining classification rules and the precision of obtained rules are made and directions of future work are outlined.
Primary central nervous system lymphoma — a review of current therapeutic strategies

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a highly aggressive extranodal lymphoma subtype arising in the brain parenchyma, spinal cord, meninges, cranial nerves, and/or intraocularly. PCNSL accounts for 3% of brain tumours and 2–3% cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a primary diagnosis in 95% of all PCNSL, with highly aggressive lymphomas (Burkitt’s lymphoma, lymphoblastic lymphoma) and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) or T-cell lymphomas accounting for the other 5%. Over the last 40 years, PCNSL rates have been increasing. Although PCNSL shares many histopathological features with DLBCL (not otherwise specified; NOS), its prognosis is generally far worse. The current WHO 2008 classification for cancers of the haematopoietic system and lymphomas assigns DLBCL CNS into a distinct diagnostic entity of lymphoma.
Influence of flaxseed combined with thyme, rosemary, and sage leaves asfodder additives on antioxidant status in the liver of Japanese quail

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of a combination of plant supplements with antioxidant properties on the total antioxidant status measured by FRAP and the activity of selected antioxidant enzymes in the livers of Japanese quails. The birds were given feed with the 4% addition of flaxseed combined with a 1% admixture of dried thyme, rosemary, or sage leaves, respectively. The results showed an increased value of the antioxidant potential in the livers of quails fed with a diet that contained the combination of flaxseed and thyme, compared to the control diet and the diet that included flaxseed and rosemary. In all groups given dietary herbal supplements, males and females did not differ in liver antioxidant capacity, whereas in the control group decreased values of these indices for males were found. In the groups fed with the addition of flaxseed and herbs, the activity of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase was significantly lower than in the control group. There were no differences in the activity of catalase and glutathione S-transferase between the analyzed groups. The use of flaxseed with the addition of thyme, rosemary, and sage leaves had a significant effect on liver antioxidant status in the studied quails.
Relationship Marketing Practices and Customer Satisfaction in the Ghanaian Banking Sector

In recent times, Ghanaian banking environment has been keenly competitive and therefore requires the banks to be more adept in their strategic approach to meet the growing demands of customers. Effective management of customer relationships is believed to be key in the approach of wining and maintaining customers. The objective of the study is to examine the impact of relationship marketing practices on customer satisfaction in the Ghanaian banking sector. In order to achieve the objective of the study, data was collected using questionnaires from 250 customers of universal banks in Ghana. Reliability test and multiple regression analysis were carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The main findings of the study show that relationship marketing practices have a significant effect on relationship quality and customer satisfaction. The study also reveals that relationship quality has a significant effect on customer satisfaction. The results disclose that trust, reciprocity, commitment, competence, shared value and communication were the key determinants of relationship quality. The findings also show that relationship quality, trust, competence, shared value and communication were important in determining and influencing customer satisfaction. The findings suggest that banks which desire to have a good quality relationship with customers should insist that their managers and staff act trustworthily, competently, show strong commitment to service, communicate efficiently and reliably, pay much attention to shared values, and improve reciprocal abilities of the employees. The findings also suggest that banks can create customer satisfaction by exhibiting trustworthy behaviour, communicating information to customers efficiently and accurately, delivering services competently, pay much attention to shared values, and improving overall customer relationship quality. Keywords: Relationship marketing, Customer satisfaction, Banking industry, Ghana
Preference for radical right-wing populist parties among exclusive-nationalists and authoritarians

The literature on authoritarianism and exclusive forms of nationalism often implies that authoritarian and exclusive-nationalist individuals will prefer radical right-wing populist parties such as Austria's FPÖ. The theoretical case for such implications appears sound as party programmes for radical right-wing populist parties invoke rhetoric that should appeal to individuals with either of these characteristics. To date, these implications have not been examined. This article examines quantitative survey data from five Western European countries with electorally viable radical right-wing populist parties to determine whether radical right-wing populist parties are preferred by authoritarians and/or exclusive-nationalists. Analyses indicate that the radical right-wing populist parties studied here are consistently preferred by exclusive-nationalist individuals, though not necessarily to all other parties, but only inconsistently preferred by authoritarian individuals. While more nuanced investigation is still needed, it is clear that, contrary to the assumptions in the authoritarianism literature, radical right-wing populist parties cannot always rely on authoritarian individuals for support.
Financing Strategies of New Technology-based Firms 1

In this paper, we examine the financing strategies of startup firms included in the Kauffman Firm Survey with a focus on the financing strategies of new technology-based firms. Our findings support the Pecking Order and Life Cycle theories, at least in the case of new technology-based firms. Our results reveal that technology-based firms used a higher ratio of owner provided financing and lower ratios of financing from other insiders or external debt than all firms during their startup year. Thus, they were more dependent on the entrepreneur’s personal financial resources than new firms overall. In spite of this, however, our findings reveal that technology-based firms raised larger amounts of capital than all firms during their startup year. This was particularly true for growth oriented technology firms and technology firms with high credit quality. JEL Classifications: G31; M13; O30
Macroeconomics of natural disasters : Meta-analysis and policy options

textabstractWe use the case of the impact of natural disasters to analyse strengths and weaknesses of meta-analysis in an emerging research field. Macroeconomists have published on this issue since 2002 (we identified 22 studies to date). The results of the studies are contradictory and therefore the need to synthesize the available research is evident. Meta-analysis is a useful method in this field. First, we observe many methodological differences in terms of heterogeneity in the data sources, the samples (country coverage and research period), the econometric specifications and the estimation procedures. We use meta-analysis both to identify the extent of heterogeneity and its potential impact and to find out research needs. Second, in this emerging scientific field the findings are preliminary and often contradictory due to the scientific process of finding out the ‘true’ effect. Meta-analysis can be used to distil this effect that often cannot be observed on the basis of individual studies. Third, as meta-analysis provides a transparent and objective way to synthesize research, this tool is useful in an area that like natural disasters impact is vulnerable to bias due to the ideological or intrinsic motivation of the researcher. An aim of our paper is to show how one can use the identified methodological characteristics to better understand the significance of future findings. Understanding the robustness and importance of new findings is crucial because they influence policy decisions with a potentially long-run impact, especially since both prevention and mitigation require investments over considerable periods of time. The second aim is to find out what are the most important research needs from the perspective of the emerging literature. We identify strengths and weaknesses in terms of coverage and robustness of control variables showing gaps in the literature and highlighting the importance of some rigour in the phase of reporting results and, for example, suggest that it is necessary to include population and institutions more often among the control variables. We also provide a study on the IPCC’s special report Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation in order to contrast the meta-analysis and its findings with an influential traditional review of literature (that also comprises qualitative research). The two methods force two different perspectives on researchers and each perspective helps to uncover other (aspects of) literatures. Our conclusion is that research synthesis would benefit from combining the two approaches. A meta-analysis without a traditional review of the literature is incomplete.
Bhat: A new source of genetic divergence for soybean improvement

Black soybean, a treasure house of the medicinal properties; can it be used to break the yield and quality barrier? For this, study was conducted by in 2012 on genetic divergence for yield and different yield contributing traits in 48 genotypes of black soybean collected from Uttarakhand hills, using D2 Mahalanobis cluster analysis with correlation between the 13 trait taken and variability studies was done. These genotypes were grouped in 12 clusters. The Cluster I comprised of five genotypes while the Cluster II comprised thirteen genotypes. Cluster III had four genotypes, Cluster IV consisted of nineteen genotypes and largest cluster whereas Cluster V, VI, VIII, IX, X, XI and XII were found to be monogenotypic each, while Cluster VII had two genotypes. Intra-cluster average D values ranged from 0.00 to 10.004. The inter-cluster average D2-value was maximum between Cluster IX and XI both with one genotype (90.85), followed by average D2-value between Cluster IX and XII with one genotype each (84.10). The divergence pattern shows that some of these genotypes are of real importance for hybridisation and for F1s and for obtaining trangressive segregants. These genotypes definitely having different yield and yield component with quality too, compared to normal soybean. Key words: Bhat, genetic divergence, clusters.
The Study of the Effects of Cultural Intelligence on Service Staff's Professional Commitment

Service organizations today are looking for employees who are highly committed to their profession and who are also able to continuously communicate with people from different cultures; therefore, service employees are required to have cultural intelligence. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Cultural Intelligence on service staff's professional commitment in general and sepah bank staff working in Isfahan, in particular. Therefore, the population of the study comprises the staff working at Isfahan sepah bank. Using finite population sampling (Cochran formula), the sample size is determined to be 94. A researcherdeveloped questionnaire with the reliability of 0.75 is used to collect data; the questionnaire also enjoys face validity. Results from testing hypotheses show that cultural intelligence affects staff's professional commitment. It is also concluded that cultural intelligence affects attractive and continuance professional commitment, while it doesn’t affect normative professional
Influence of landscape structure on Euglossini composition in open vegetation environments

Abstract: The fauna of Euglossini bees is poorly known in savanna regions, making it difficult to understand how these bees use open vegetation environments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of landscape structure on species abundance and composition of Euglossini bees in naturally heterogeneous savanna landscapes. Nine sites were sampled monthly using six traps with chemical baits. Three aromatic essences (eucalyptol, methyl salicylate and vanillin) were used to attract the Euglossini. Surrounding environmental conditions were measured using three independent variables, calculated in multiple scales: index of local vegetation and two landscape indices (Shannon Diversity and area-weighted shape). We compared the competing hypotheses through model selection based on Second-order Akaike Information Criterion (AICc). The four competing hypothesis were: (1) The local vegetation complexity favors Euglossini bees species richness and/or abundance (local vegetation hypothesis); (2) The proportion of the native vegetation types favors Euglossini bees species richness and/or abundance (habitat amount hypothesis); (3) Higher landscape diversity shall increase species richness of Euglossini bees (landscape heterogeneity hypothesis); (4) More complex landscape configuration shall favor the Euglossini bees richness and/or abundance (landscape heterogeneity hypothesis). We sampled 647 individuals belonging to six species of two distinct genera. Our results support the habitat amount hypothesis since bees’ abundance was strongly related with the proportion of habitat in the surrounding landscape. This may be related to the availability of floral and nesting resources in some types of savanna vegetation.Keywords: bees, habitat amount hypothesis, landscape heterogeneity, landscape configuration
Synthesis and Characterization of Nanosilica from Rice Husk Ash Prepared by Precipitation Method

Nanosilica was prepared by precipitation method and characterized by various analytical techniques. Transmission electron micrographs show nano- silica particles are in the agglomerate form with dimension of 50 nm. The par- ticle shape was found to be uniform and agglomerated. The diffraction pattern of the particles shows a diffuse ring pattern with indicative of amorphous phase. X-ray diffractograms show that the obtained product is amorphous nanosilica and the specific surface area is 656 m 2 g -1 . Subsequently, the infrared spectra data supports the presence of hydrogen bonded silanol group and siloxane groups in silica. In this study, nanosilica was introduced in cement paste. From the experimental results, it was found that the incorporation of the nanosilica in the cement paste increase the compressive strength when compared withthat of the portland cemen paste.
Collagen from Tendon of Yezo Sika Deer ( Cervus nippon yesoensis ) as By-Product

Collagen from tendon of Yezo sika deer was prepared by limited pepsin digestion. The yield of collagen was very high; 35.7% on the basis of lyophilized dry weight. The secondary structure of this collagen was different from that of porcine skin by ATR-FTIR analysis, although it was the same characteristics, e.g. SDS-PAGE, subunit composition, ther-mal behavior, as porcine collagen. Since taking up a problem of bovine spongiform encephalopathy infection in land animals such as calf or bovine, collagen from aquatic materials has been used in various industries. However, the present study indicates that tendon of Yezo sika deer as by-product of meat industry will have potential as an important collagen source for use in the foods, cosmetics, and medical fields.
EXPLORING CITRUS CULTIVARS FOR UNDERDEVELOPED AND SHRIVELLED SEEDS: A VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR SPONTANEOUS POLYPLOIDY

Citrus cultivars were explored for seed development in response to genotype and plant sides. Number of developed, under-developed and shrivelled seeds per berry per cultivar was found different. Kinnow showed the highest number of shrivelled seeds 3.7 per berry compared with Feutrell’s early, Musambi and Succari cultivars that ranged 2.1-2.4 seeds per berry. The interaction of different plant sides i.e., east, west, north and south with seed development and number has shown a significant impact. Sweet orange cultivars showed better root and shoot growth In vitro compared to mandarins.