Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The systematic position of Aspidytidae, the diversification of Dytiscoidea (Coleoptera, Adephaga) and the phylogenetic signal of third codon positions

Characters of the newly discovered larvae of the South African Cliff Water Beetle Aspidytes niobe were examined and integrated into a data matrix including all families of Dytiscoidea as well as Haliplidae. Fifty-three morphological characters of adults and larvae were analysed separately and combined with molecular data from six nuclear and mitochondrial genes. The phylogeny of the group is reconstructed for the study of the evolution of swimming behaviour and larval feeding habits, as well as the shift in diversification rates leading to the two most speciose lineages. The parsimony analysis of all equally weighted morphological and molecular characters combined resulted in a single well supported tree with the topology (Noteridae (Hygrobiidae ((Aspidytidae, Amphizoidae) Dytiscidae))), in agreement with the molecular data alone, but in contradiction to the morphological data, which favoured a topology in which Hygrobiidae is sister to Dytiscidae. The exclusion of third codon positions of the three protein coding genes resulted in a topology identical to that obtained with the morphological data alone, but the use of Bayesian probabilities or the amino acid sequence resulted in the same topology as that of the tree obtained with parsimony using all equally weighted characters. We concluded that interactions of third codon positions with the other data are complex, and their removal is not justified. There was a significant increase in the diversification rate at the base of the richest families (Noteridae and Dytiscidae), which could be associated with the development of simultaneous stroke and higher swimming performance, although data on the swimming behaviour of some basal groups of Noteridae are incomplete. The presence of larval mandibular sucking channels may have contributed to the diversification of Dytiscidae and the species-rich noterid genera Hydrocanthus and Canthydrus.
Verb movement in Japanese revisited

Abstract This paper argues for verb movement in Japanese. In Taro-ga sushi-o mo tabe-ta 'Taro also ate sushi,' for example, we claim that tabe 'eat' actually moves past mo 'also,' as in [Taro-ga sushi-o t tabe mo tabe-ta]. This analysis is supported by the interpretation of the adjunct clitic mo. We further claim that the verb-movement operation, coupled with the so-called Morphological Merger, successfully accounts for various data involving su-support (analogous to do-support in English). As a consequence, the present analysis has an important implication for the language typology on verb movement.
Efficiency Economic Of Chainsaw and Timber Jack 450C Skidder Evaluation in Felling Operation and Ground-Base Skidding System

In this research, an empirical time study was carried out, to estimate effects of a tree felling and skidding operations on time consumption, productivity rate, cost, and present a regression model of chainsaw and Timber jack 450C skidder. The study revealed that the hourly production of felling with and without delay times was 51.6 (9.5 trees/hr) and 86.2 (16 trees/hr) cubic meters per hour, respectively. The survey of total production of tree felling operation using a chainsaw showed that, increasing tree diameter increase total production rate without delay time as power model, similar to this production cost for one cubic meter is decreased. The average net and gross time, of a felling cycle was equal 3.74, 6.24 min per cycle, respectively. The total production rate with and without delay times in skidding with Timber jack 450C model skidder was 7.92 and 12.1 cubic meters per hour, respectively. The rate of machine 687.69 US$ per hour was estimated. The cost of skidding with and without delay times was 117.19 US$ and 76.64 US$ per cubic meter, respectively. Therefore, total delay times in skidding with Timber jack 450C model skidder were devoted to the two working cycles as follows: travel loaded and travel empty. The effects of all variables affecting on change of the time-consuming and skidding cost firmed that increasing all variables increase skidding cost as power model.
Mechanical properties of braided reinforced composites

This work presents the study that is being done at University of Minho concerning the development of braided reinforced composites for civil engineering purposes. A research study has been undertaken to understand the mechanical behaviour of core reinforced braided fabrics. Various samples have been produced using polyester fibers, for the production of the braided fabric, and glass, carbon, polyethylene and sisal fibers, for the core reinforcement. The results of tensile and bending tests carried out in the correspondent core reinforced braided fabrics obtained are presented and discussed. Moreover, the influence of the testing conditions and the braiding angle is also presented and discussed. In order to produce braided reinforced composite rods to be used as concrete reinforcement, a special technique has been developed using a standard vertical braiding machine. The tensile and bending properties of braided reinforced composite rods have been evaluated and the results obtained are presented, discussed and compared with those of conventional materials, such as steel.
Does Conflict Help or Hinder Creativity in Teams? An Examination of Conflict’s Effects on Creative Processes and Creative Outcomes

We examine the relationship between conflict and creativity-relevant intra-group processes over time. Morespecifically, we explore whether task and relationship conflict have effects on the extent to which teams engagein information exchange and creative problem solving. We test these relationships with multiple waves oflongitudinal data collected from 141 individuals across 35 project teams. We find that, replicated across multipleperiods of time, task conflict does not have an effect on either information exchange or creative problem solving,but relationship conflict does. Furthermore, while relationship conflict undermines intra-group creativeprocesses, only task conflict appears to affect the creativity of the group’s final outcomes. Contrary to the viewof conflict as functional and stimulating, the outcome effect of task conflict was negative.
A population survey and foraging analysis of the Double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) on the Santee lakes, South Carolina

This study was designed to determine whether Double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) were having an impact on the Santee lakes fishery for Striped bass (Morone saxatilis). I surveyed the lakes’ population in the summer of 2007 and winter of 2008 to determine population levels and 76 birds were necropsied in order to determine foraging preferences. Summer populations were estimated at 203 birds and winter at 6000. Clupeids (primarily Gizzard, Threadfin, and American shads) made up the bulk of the diet in both seasons with an overall percentage of 86.19%. No bass of any size or species were found in the stomachs of birds collected. Though this most likely indicates there is no direct impact by the Double-crested cormorants on the Striped bass fishery; however indirect effects are more difficult to quantify and more data is required before any conclusions can be drawn about effects from interspecific competition. The Double-crested cormorants do share a prey base with the Striped bass, and further examination of the energetic needs of the Striped bass as well as population estimates for the forage fish are necessary. Bomb calorimetry yielded the energetic densities for primary target fish and I estimated daily fish consumption for Double-crested cormorants on the Santee lakes to be approximately 8 fish/day. Management recommendations consist of continued population monitoring on lakes and roost harassment if local stakeholders continue to take issue with the birds’ presence.
New Ideas in Scoring the Mental Rotation Test

Abstract Spatial ability development is of paramount importance in engineering training, especially for architects. The paper aims to compare results achieved by the world-wide Mental Rotation Test (MRT) at the University of Ljubljana and at the Ybl Faculty of SzIU in Budapest, with respect to total scores, improvement and hand preferences. The paper concludes that the mental rotation aspect of spatial intelligence can significantly be developed by Descriptive Geometry courses in both countries. Sophisticated statistical analysis, however, leads to new ideas in scoring MRT. The main goal of the paper is to present an alternative scoring system, which seems to be fairer and provides the expected statistical behavior of samples.
The Impact of Intellectual Capital Measurement on the Financial Markets: A Meta-Analysis Approach

Ключевой целью данной статьи является подготовка системного обзора литературы, который посвящен измерению взаимодействия между интеллектуальным капиталом и эффективностью фирмы, используя технику мета-анализа. Мета-анализ это статистический метод, который позволяет объединить количественные данные из различных исследований, посвященных анализу взаимосвязи независимой величины (в данном случае интеллектуального капитала) и зависимых переменных (в данном случае показателей эффективности деятельности фирмы) и предусматривает количественную оценку согласованности или расхождений результатов различных исследований. Мета анализ очень редко используется в бизнес-исследованиях, хотя его применение увеличилось за последние несколько лет. Новизна данного исследования заключается в применении новой техники статистического анализа для исследования интеллектуального капитала. После публикаций Пулича (Pulic 1998, 2000, 2004), который ввел метод VAICTM для измерения зависимости интеллектуального капитала от финансовых данных компании, получаемых из ее отчетности, последовало широкое развитие исследования корреляции между интеллектуальным капиталом и эффективностью деятельности фирмы. В данной статье совершена попытка суммирования исследований, в которых анализировалась взаимосвязь интеллектуального капитала и эффективности деятельности фирмы. При этом используется статистический метод мета-анализа, который себя очень хорошо зарекомендовал, несмотря на некоторые недостатки и ограничения, связанные с эффективностью измерений. Ключевым результатом мета-анализа является найденная положительная взаимосвязь интеллектуального капитала и эффективностью фирмы. В то же время, тщательный анализ показал, что данная зависимость сильно разнится в зависимости от экономического контекста, выбранных переменных эффективности фирмы, отрасли, в которой функционирует компания и прочих характеристик.
Structure and characteristics of long lake axis-parallel lake-effect storms

Lake-effect snowstorms which form parallel to the long axis of a Great Lake can produce enormous snowfall rates and total storm accumulations (> 8 cm hr and > 130 cm, respectively). Niziol et al. (1995) give a thorough description of these severe local storms. These storms have also been observed to become electrified with significant lightning production (Moore and Orville 1990). They have significant societal impacts and can shut down a community for days (e.g., Lake Storm Iron paralyzed the Oswego, NY area for 3 days in late January 2004; NWS Buffalo 2008). It is difficult to forecast the initiation, demise, changes in location, and intensity of these narrow storms (width is typically < 20 km). Indeed, Ballentine and Zaff (2007) showed that the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF; Skamarock et al. 2005) modeling system had significant errors in forecasting band characteristics between 6 and 36 hours from model initialization. For example, the simulated band location had a persistent south bias for both model cores (NMM and ARW) by approximately 14 km. Long lake axis-parallel (LLAP) bands have a different structure and dynamics compared to the wind-parallel rolls (WPR) mainly associated with the western Great Lakes (e.g., Kelly 1982). Kristovich and Steve (1995) show that LLAP-type bands (they call them shore-parallel bands; SPB) increase in frequency the farther east the lake is located (i.e., Erie and Ontario as the prevailing wind during the winter is more likely to cross the longest axes of these lakes). Incidentally, we do not agree with the term “shore-parallel” band as it doesn’t discriminate which shore the band is parallel to (short or long axis of the lake). Indeed, 32% of lake-effect bands over Lake Ontario are of the LLAP type, while ~10% of lake-effect cloudiness over the western lakes of Superior, Michigan, and Huron were associated with these intense storms. When checking the literature the authors believe there has not been enough research attention given to these more ________________________________________ * Corresponding author address: Scott M. Steiger, SUNY Oswego, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Oswego, NY 13126; e-mail: steiger@oswego.edu. intense storms that can affect more people when contrasted with WPR-type bands.
An Effect Analysis of Layout Concepts on the Performances in Manufacturing Lines for Automotive Engine

Automotive manufacturing is a complex task that requires the production and assembly of thousands of different components or parts. The engine and the transmission are the major components that constitute a power train system. Although manufacturing processes of an engine are similar, the layouts of the manufacturing lines are different from factory to factory. It is due to the different design concept that how to combine the serial and parallel structures. In this paper, three engine lines of different factories are introduced, and the simulation technology is used to make the performance analysis for different design concepts.
Technical efficiency in rain-fed maize production in Adamawa state Nigeria: Stochastic approach

The study analysed the technical efficiency of rain-fed maize cultivation in Adamawa state, Nigeria using stochastic approach. The study was based on primary data collected from 140 respondents using simple random sampling for the period of 2014-15 Kharifmaize. The result reveals that resources were under-utilized in rain-fed maize cultivation in Adamawa state, Nigeria. Moreover, the mean technical efficiency of 0.69 indicates that an average farmer in the study area have the scope for increasing technical efficiency by 31 per cent in short-run under the existing technology. The study therefore, recommends that government should pay more attention on the land consolidation programme. It will help farmers to adopt improved agronomic practices and enhance the production and productivity of rain-fed maize production in Adamawa state. Keywords— Technical efficiency, Inefficiency parameters, Rain-fed Maize, Data, Random sampling.
Getting the Effect of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth Right: An Issue of Addressing Endogeneity Bias.

Estimating the effect that foreign aid has on economic growth is complicated by the endogeneity of foreign aid to aid recipient countries' per capita GDP growth. To quantify the endogenous response of foreign aid to economic growth, I use rainfall as an instrumental variable to generate exogenous variation in per capita GDP of 47 LDC countries during the period 1960-2000. My instrumental variable estimates yield a quantitatively large and statistically significant negative effect of per capita GDP on foreign aid: an exogenous 1% increase in GDP per capita reduced foreign aid by over 3%. I show that once such quantitatively large reverse effects are accounted for that foreign aid did indeed have a statistically significant positive effect on per capita GDP growth of aid recipient countries.
Analysis of Metal Contents of Seaweed (Ulva lactuca) from Istanbul, Turkey by EDXRF

The aim of this study is to investigate the contents of essential and toxic trace element by the energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) in seaweed (Ulva lactuca) from collected eight different regions of Istanbul (Turkey) in the years of 2006 and 2007. It has been analyzed by the samples using two annular radioactive sources and an Ultra-LEGe detector. A radioisotope excited X-ray fluorescence analysis using the method of multiple standard additions was applied for the elemental analysis of seaweed samples. In this study, the metal concentrations in the seaweed samples vary within 0.8- 1.8% and 1.1-2.1% for Cl, 0.6-2.3% and 0.2-3.4% for K, 0.9-2.7% and 0.4-2.7% for Ca, 0.2-1.0% and 0.2-0.3% for Ti, 0.7- 2.1% and 0.7-2.3% for Fe, 0.05-0.1% and 0.04-0.1% for Br, 0.3-0.6% and 0.3-0.4% for Sr, 0.1-0.2% and 0.1-0.2% for I, and 0.09-0.3% and 0.09-0.1% for Ba in the years of 2006 and 2007, respectively. The results demonstrated that these seaweeds contain some essential element, but no toxic element.
Better cross hedges with composite hedging? Hedging equity portfolios using financial and commodity futures

Unless a direct hedge is available, cross hedging must be used. In such circumstances portfolio theory implies that a composite hedge (the use of two or more hedging instruments to hedge a single spot position) will be beneficial. The study and use of composite hedging has been neglected; possibly because it requires the estimation of two or more hedge ratios. This paper demonstrates a statistically significant increase in out-of-sample effectiveness from the composite hedging of the Amex Oil Index using S&P500 and New York Mercantile Exchange crude oil futures. This conclusion is robust to the technique used to estimate the hedge ratios, and to allowance for transactions costs, dividends and the maturity of the futures contracts.
Influence of Advertising to Children on Family Purchase Decisions of Households in Kenya

The objectives were to establish the effects how advertising to children influence their family purchase decisions of households and to make recommendations in Kenya. Primary data were collected from 200 respondents selected at random from four county districts of Nairobi, using a semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered through a personal interview and responses were analyzed using SPSS for Windows. To test the hypotheses developed for the study, appropriate statistical tests such as the F test was used. This was achieved through correlation analysis, multiple and step-wise regression analysis, and ANOVA. This study found out that advertising to children creates a positive effect and significantly influences on family purchase decisions in Kenya.
Association between the biochemical profiles in blood and bone mineral density in Chinese Han population: findings from a cross-sectional study

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Sport commitment differences among tennis players on the basis of participation outlet and skill level.

The purpose of this study was to investigate potential differences in the levels of reported sport commitment model variables on the basis of participation outlet and skill level, thereby allowing a direct comparison of commitment factors between these important marketing segments. A total of 515 recreational tennis players and 245 NCAA collegiate tennis players participated in the study. Results indicated collegiate athletes reported significantly higher levels of sport commitment, involvement opportunities, and social constraints, while reporting lower sport enjoyment levels compared to recreational players. When investigating skill level, advanced players reported significantly higher levels of sport commitment than intermediate and beginner players, and beginner players reported significantly lower levels of sport commitment than intermediate players. In addition, advanced players reported significantly lower sport enjoyment and significantly higher involvement opportunities and social constraints than lesser skilled players. The results provide further theoretical validation to the use of sport commitment model variables in comparing sport populations. iMarketing implications are forwarded.
Wage-led vs. profit-led growth: a comprehensive empirical analysis

This study investigates the impact of various economic factors in determining the relationship between functional income distribution and economic growth. Inspired by the seminal paper of Bhaduri and Marglin (1990), we base our analysis on a demand-driven distribution and growth model for an open economy that allows for either profit-led or wage-led growth. To this end, we use a cross-country panel dataset consisting of 41 countries from 1961 to 2011. In the first step of the empirical analysis, we first estimate whether growth regime is wage-led or profit-led in each country. Next, in the second step, using probit and meta-regression approaches with cross-country data, we analyse the effects of various macroeconomic variables on the nature of economic growth. Our results strongly reflect that a higher level of trade openness is associated with a lower probability of being wage-led. Moreover, we find evidence that lower wage inequality would make an economy more wage-led and that countries with a greater private credit-to-GDP ratio are more likely to be profit-led.
Effect of Yeast : Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Marine Yeast as probiotic supplement on performance of poultry

I PUTU KOMPIANG. 2002. Effect of Yeast : Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Marine Yeast as probiotic supplement on performance of poultry. JITV 7(1): 18-21. An experiment had been conducted to evaluate the effect of marine yeast and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc) as probiotic supplement on poultry performance. Marine yeast isolated from rotten sea-weed and commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae were used. Evaluation was conducted by comparing performance of broiler chicken supplemented with marine yeast or Sc, which were given through drinking water (5 ml/l) to negative control (feed without antibiotic growth promotor/GPA), positive control (feed with GPA), and reference commercial probiotic. Forty DOC broiler birds were used for each treatment, divided into 4 replicates (10 birds/replicate) and raised in wire cages for 5 weeks. Body weight and feed consumption were measured weekly and mortality was recorded during the trial. The results showed that there were no significant difference on the birds performance among marine yeast, Sc, positive control and probiotic reference control treatments. However their effects on bird performance were better (P<0.05) than treatment of negative control. It is concluded that marine yeast or Saccharomyces cerevisiae could replace the function of antibiotic as a growth promotant.