Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Defence Spending and Economic Growth: Re-examining the Issue of Causality for Pakistan and India

What is the impact of carrying a heavy defence burden on the country’s economic development and growth? Views expressed in the literature1 argue that national defence is a consumption good which reduces economic growth by reducing saving and capital investment. A number of empirical studies have investigated the possible trade-offs between defence spending and other government expenditures like health and education. Empirical evidence concerning the relationship between defence spending and economic growth for developed countries is not inconsistent with the view that defence reduced the resources available for investment and hurts economic growth. See, for example, Benoit (1973). The evidence for developing countries, however, has not been entirely consistent or conclusive.2 Benoit (1978), using data on 44 less developed countries (LDCs) for the period 1950–65, found a strong positive association between defence spending and growth of civilian output per capita. Fredericksen and Looney (1982), using data for the period 1960–78 on a large cross-section, concluded that increased defence spending assists economic growth in resource-rich countries and not in resource-constraint ones. Using a sample of 54 LDCs pertaining to the period 1965–73, Lim (1983) found that defence spending hurts economic growth. Biswas and Ram (1986) in a sample of 58 LDCs for time-periods 1960–70 and 1970–77, using conventional and augmented growth models, concluded that military expenditures neither help nor hurt economic growth to any significant extent.
Habitat selection by young-of-the-year Dungeness crab Cancer magister and predation risk in intertidal habitats

Habitat selection by megalopae, and habitat preference and relative mortality of youngof-the-year (YOY) Dungeness crab Cancer rnagister Dana were evaluated In 4 habitat types. bivalve shell middens (Crassostrea gigas), eelgrass Zostera marina, mud with scattered shell and bare mud. Under laboratory conditions shell was the most preferred habitat by megalopae and YOY; eelgrass ranked second. Field tethering experiments showed that shell habitat provided the best protection from predation, and that the proportion of crab eaten was highest on bare mud. Field tethering experiments using small hooks attached to tether lines and glued to the crab showed that the sculpin Leptocottus arrnatus was the most important fish preying on YOY crab in this area. Cannibalism by larger instars of YOY, l + and 2+ Dungeness crab also may account for part of the YOY mortality. Most evidence suggests that intertidal shell habitat enhances Dungeness crab survival during the first several months of benthic life. It has led to the use of artificial shell habitat as a technique to increase juvenile crab abundance and compensate crab losses due to dredging.
Public Attention and Financial Information as Determinants of Performance in Telecommunication Industry

The remarkable progress of information technology has driven every firm to publish their financial performance by using internet. This circumstance results in the high public attention in order to generate the stock return. In addition, financial information such as financial ratio namely DER, LEV, NPM, ROI, and ROE are supposed to influence the firm’s performance either in positive or negative effects. This study focuses on the investigation of public attention (PA) and financial information as determinants of financial performance on four companies in Telecommunication sector, Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), within time period from 2007 to 2012. Hereby, we point out that public attention and financial information considerably contribute to firm performance, in which the Pooled Least Square (EGLS) with cross section and period weight is employed. The obtained results show that, Public Attention (PA) positively contributes towards stock return. Further, financial ratio such as debt-to-equity ratio (DER) negatively influences the return. Leverage (LEV), net profit margin (NPM) and return on investment (ROI) are positively related to return. However, return on equity (ROE) shows the contrary sign, in which it negatively influences the return but statistically insignificant. Then, we report that the stock price (LNSP) does not significantly contribute towards return (RET).
Socioeconomic Status and Obesity Relationship in Non- Menopause Women Aged 15-49 Years in Tehran, Iran

To investigate the association between socio-economic status and obesity in non-menopause women aged 15- 49 years in Tehran, Iran. Methods: This study was based on Iran National Health Survey conducted in 1999. Obesity is defined as a Body Mass In- dex over ≥30. Constructed area (per-person), educational level and job are considered as factors indicating the socioeconomic status. The results have been adjusted for age and mental health using univariate and multiple logistic regression. Results: A total number of 2859 non-menopause women aged 15-49 yr from urban areas of Tehran have been studied. The prevalence of obesity and overweight were 16.4% and 28.4% respectively. Women aged 30-49 yr had greater risk of obesity (adjusted OR= 2.53, 95%CI: 1.99-3.20). Comparing with students, homemakers and employees were at higher risk of obe- sity (adjusted OR= 4.33, 95%CI: 2.47-7.76, adjusted OR= 2.82, 95%CI: 1.41-5.63 respectively). Those with >= 12 years of education had lower risk of obesity compared to illiterate women (adjusted OR=.57, 95%CI: 0.38-0.86). Conclusion: The role of social factors is dominant over economic factor on obesity. This fact should be considered as one of the most important research priorities in future researches.
The Over-the-Counter Theory of the Fed Funds Market: A Primer

We present a dynamic over-the-counter model of the fed funds market, and use it to study the determination of the fed funds rate, the volume of loans traded, and the intraday evolution of the distribution of reserve balances across banks. We also investigate the implications of changes in the market structure, as well as the effects of central bank policy instruments such as open market operations, the Discount Window lending rate, and the interest rate on bank reserves.
Comparison of Time Lapse Embryo Morphokinetics Monitoring and Conventional Pronuclear Morphology Assessment to Determine Embryo Quality in Endometriosis Patients

Objective Endometriosis patients who underwent IVF program has poorer embryo quality, leads to low successive rate. In order to determine embryo quality, time lapse embryo monitoring and pronuclear (PN) morphology assessment were used to predict and select the most promising embryo. This research is expected to exhibit comparison the use of both methods in endometriosis patients in order to implement the most effective evaluation in future embryo implantation prognosis. Methods This cohort research was conducted to 72 embryos from 19 endometriosis patients who underwent IVF program in Yasmin Reproductive Clinic, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. After ICSI was performed two-nucleated embryo later be monitored by its cleavage time and would be classified into categories for good quality embryo and other classes were considered poor quality embryo for time lapse monitoring. Then from time lapse monitoring, PN morphology were assessed regarding pronuclear scoring. Results Based on 72 embryos observation, we found that there was no significant difference between good and poor quality embryo based on PN scoring with p=0.185, and also between time-lapse morphokinetic monitoring and embryo quality with p=0.526. However, we found that there was a weak correlation between PN scoring and embryo quality with p=0.049 and r=0.233. Conclusion There was no significant difference found between time lapse monitoring and PN scoring in endometriosis patients in order to determine embryo quality. However, there was a weak correlation between PN scoring and embryo quality. This might be due to small number of samples taken and visual bias during observation.
2 Does Geography Matter to Bondholders ?

This study investigates the effect of geography on bondholders. Based on previous empirical evidence that associates information gathering and monitoring costs to distance, we argue that as bondholders perceive corporate information of remote firms to be more difficult to obtain and monitor, they assign these firms a higher likelihood of withholding value relevant unfavorable information, and charge a higher risk premium. As predicted, we find that firms headquartered in remote rural areas, exhibit significantly higher at-issue yield spreads of both private and public debt (of up to 52 basis points) in comparison to similar firms headquartered in urban, highly populated cities. Our results hold when we control for information dissemination and monitoring factors that are associated with big cities, and are especially strong for firms with entrenched managers, bond issues without protective covenants in place, issues of non investment grade debt, and those made before the passage of the Sarbanes Oxley corporate reform Act. Overall, our findings reveal a geographic component to the pricing of both private and public debt, and have important implications for corporate external financing decisions.
An experimental study of reconstruction accuracy using a 12-Camera Tomo-PIV system

A tomographic PIV system composed of a large number of cameras is used to experimentally investigate the relation between image particle density, number of cameras and the reconstruction quality. The large number of cameras allows to determine an asymptotic behavior for the object reconstruction over a wide range of values for the tracer particles concentration. In order to quantify the effect of additional cameras, the quality of the reconstruction is evaluated through the reconstruction signal-to-noise ratio and the normalized intensity variance. The use of additional cameras even with small relative angular separation is shown to reduce the formation of ghost particles in the reconstructed volumes, resulting in a greater reconstruction signal-to-noise ratio and variance of the reconstructed object intensity. Object reconstructions are obtained for levels of the seeding density almost three times greater than a typical four-camera tomographic PIV system, based on evaluation of the reconstruction signal to noise ratio. This approach offers the perspective for future tomographic PIV measurements of higher resolution, particularly suited for the study of high-Reynolds number turbulent flows.
Dominant and Non-Dominant Groups' Responses to Social Change: The Economic Transformation Process in South Africa

In the field study we examined the assumptions proposed by Social Identity Theory (SIT) that dominant and non-dominant groups differ systematically regarding the functional interaction between beliefs about the intergroup situation and identity management strategies. Participants were university students from three racial groups: blacks (N = 100), coloured (N = 100), as non-dominant groups, and whites (N = 100) as dominant group in post-apartheid South Africa. A multiple group path analysis to test SIT revealed systematic differences between dominant and non-dominant groups regarding the impact of perceived legitimacy on ingroup identification, perceived legitimacy on social competition and on individual mobility. Furthermore, the results showed that ingroup identification differentiates between individual and collective strategies irrespective of the groups' status positions. The results also highlight the different effects (or lack of effects) of the socio-structural variables in the SIT model, which is argued to be determined by the concrete socio-historical context of the respective intergroup relations.
Godunov-type methods for two-component magnetohydrodynamic equations

This paper is concerned with a numerical solutions of two-component magnetohydrodynamic equations. While a hyperbolic system of wave equations admits a shock solution as a result of the selenoidality condition the MHD equations are not strictly hyperbolic. As a consequence of that these equations require special numerical treatment. An application of a resulting numerical code to a problem of solar wind interaction with the ionosphere of the planet Venus is presented.
Neural correlates of controlled memory processes in questionable Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by a progressive loss of controlled cognitive processes (processes requiring mental effort and attentional resources), and functional neuroimaging at early stages of AD provides an opportunity to tease out the neural correlates of controlled processes. Controlled and automatic memory performance was assessed with the Process Dissociation Procedure in 50 patients diagnosed with questionable Alzheimer’s disease (QAD). The patients’ brain glucose metabolism was measured using FDG-PET. After a follow-up period of 36 months, 27 patients had converted to AD, while 23 remained stable. Both groups showed a similar decrease in controlled memory processes but preserved automatic processes at entry into the study, suggesting that impairment of controlled memory would not be specific for AD. Patients who subsequently converted to Alzheimer type dementia showed significantly decreased brain metabolism at baseline compared to stable QAD in associative cortices known to be involved in AD (the left precuneus, the right inferior parietal lobule and bilateral middle temporal cortex). Voxel-based cognitive and metabolic correlations showed that a decrease in controlled memory processes was preferentially correlated with lower activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices in very early AD patients. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex would play a role in controlled memory processes as they relate to reflective and monitoring processes, while the posterior cingulate cortex is involved in the controlled access to previously encoded episodes. In stable QAD patients, reduced controlled performance in verbal memory correlated with impaired activity in the left anterior hippocampal structure, which would alter the reactivation of associations created at encoding. Controlled Memory in QAD 2
Bioconversion of Mango Processing Waste to Fish-feled by Microalgae Isolated from Fruit Processing Industrial Effluents

Fifteen different strains of blue green algae (including one green algae) collected from the wastewaters of fruit processing industrial areas were screened for production of algal biomass from mango processing waste. The utility of micro-algae was evaluated based on feeding trials of the biomass to the fish Tilipia mossambica. Only the growth of fish in terms of body mass gain was measured. The mango waste after removing the stones was macerated, and then diluted with water to 15-20 per cent mango waste and inoculated with blue green algae. The cultures were continuously illuminated (4000 lux light intensity) for 15-20 d. Among various strains of algae tested, only two (Scytonema sp and Microcystis sp) were found to be toxic while several others gave promising results. Through such efforts mango waste could be converted into fish-feed and then through fish growth into important protein source for human consumption.
Trace metal uptake rates in crustaceans (amphipods and crabs) from coastal sites in NW Europe differentially enriched with trace metals

This study set out to investigate the possible effect of life history strategy on the trace metal biology of crustaceans living in coastal sites contaminated by high availabilities of toxic metals. Amphipods brood their young, parents and offspring staying in the same habitat. Therefore a population of amphipods living in a trace-metal-rich estuary would have been selected over generations for any physiological adaptation reducing the potential toxic action of the trace metals, such as reduced rates of uptake of metals from solution. Crabs, on the other hand, are dispersed by a planktonic larval phase, the zoea, increasing the probability that the parents of individuals inhabiting a metal-rich estuary would have lived in a remote location not exposed to selection pressure to reduce metal uptake rates. Uptake rates of the dissolved trace metals Zn, Cd and Ag were, therefore, measured in amphipods Orchestia gammarellus and crabs Carcinus maenas and Pachygrapsus marmoratus from coastal sites in Britain and France exposed to different degrees of trace metal enrichment, in order to test 3 hypotheses: (1) the mean metal uptake rates of amphipods and crabs from a metal-rich site would be lower than those of the same crustaceans from a control site; (2) the mean metal uptake rates of amphipods would show a greater reduction from those of control amphipods than would those of equivalent crabs; (3) the mean metal uptake rates of amphipods from metal-rich sites would show smaller coefficients of variation than those of equivalent crabs. In practice the mean metal uptake rates of both amphipods and crabs did not show consistent significant differences between the crustaceans from the metal-rich and control sites. Furthermore there was no evidence to conclude that the coefficients of variation of the mean uptake rates of amphipods from the relatively metal-rich sites are lower than those of crabs from the same sites. It is concluded that the exposure of the crustaceans to raised trace metal availabilities has not been sufficient to select for a reduction in dissolved trace metal uptake rates, even in the case of the in situ populations of amphipods. It is relevant that a suite of physiological mechanisms for the amelioration of the potential toxic effects of trace metals is available to coastal invertebrates, and it remains possible that other physiological processes promoting metal tolerance may be active to differing degrees in crustaceans from metal-rich habitats.
Pembuatan Video Profil Sekolah Menengah Atas Negeri 7 Kota Tangerang Selatan Berbasis Audio Visual Sebagai Media Informasi dan Promosi

Media promosi merupakan suatu alat atau sarana untuk memperkenalkan dan menawarkan suatu produk atau jasa atau image atau perusahaan ataupun yang lain agar dapat dengan mudah diketahui oleh masyarakat lebih luas . Dahulu sebelum ada teknologi canggih seperti sekarang ini, media promosi dilakukan dengan cara dari mulut ke mulut. Lalu mulai muncul media promosi berupa surat kabar, radio, majalah, poster, banner dan lain sebagainya. Media-media ini cukup efektif sebagai media promosi tetapi media-media ini tentu punya kelebihan dan kekurangannya masing-masing. Semakin berkembangnya teknologi berkembang juga media promosi yang semakin kreatif, semakin menarik, dan semakin inovatif, diantaranya yaitu media promosi dalam bentuk video profil berbasis multimedia ini. Sekolah Menengah Atas Negeri 7 Kota Tangsel salah satu instansi pemerintahan yang bergerak di bidang pendidikan belum memiliki sarana untuk memberikan gambaran keadaan sekolah kepada masyarakat. Diharapkan dengan dibuatnya video profil ini masyarakat lebih dengan mudah mendapatkan semua informasi dan memiliki gambaran mengenai keadaan sekolah. Tujuan dibuatnya penelitian ini adalah untuk membantu pihak sekolah bagaimana caranya mempromosikan dan memberikan informasi keadaan sekolah kepada masyarakat luas tetapi dengan cara yang lebih kreatif dan tetap efektif mengenai sasaran dengan biaya yang tidak mahal. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode pendataan yaitu observasi dan wawancara. Metedologi pendekatan masalah meliputi definisi masalah, analisa kebutuhan, perencanaan, pembuatan video profile, editing video, uji coba. Penelitian ini tentu saja sangat bermanfaat untuk pihak sekolah selain itu bermanfaat sebagai dokumentasi tentang sekolah. Kata kunci : Media Promosi,Video Profile , Audio Visual
Effects of Vegetation Structure on Foliage Dwelling Spider Assemblages in Native and Non-native Oklahoma Grassland Habitats

Spiders are the most diversified predators in terrestrial ecosystems (Wise 1993). Spiders have co-evolved with insects (main prey) to exploit nearly all terrestrial habitats from the Arctic Circle to the southern most reaches of terrestrial ecosystems, excluding Antarctica (Turnbull 1973; Foelix 1996). Although spiders occur in the most barren landscapes, botanically complex regions sustain high spider diversity and abundance (Foelix 1996). Spider assemblages are highly influenced by variations in plant community structure, ecosystem dynamics such as disturbance, and abiotic factors such as soil and ambient humidity and temperature (Bonte et al. 2002). In terms of spider ecology, vegetation communities can be separated into four layers (Duffy 1966): (1) soil zone, which includes litter, stones, bare soil or water, and vegetation up to 15 cm in height; (2) field zone 1, comprised of vegetation between heights of 15 and 180 cm; (3) field zone 2, includes vegetation between heights of 180450 cm; and (4) wood zone, encompassing woody growth above 450 cm in height. It is across these vegetation zones that co-existing spider taxa partition limited resources. Varying physiological tolerances to abiotic factors such as light intensity, humidity, and temperature also contribute to ecological separation (NOrgaard 1951; Kuenzler 1958; Kleemolu 1963; Turbull 1973). Resource partitioning among spiders is also influenced by the presence of web building spiders as they display higher territorial behavior in order to protect energetically costly webs (Uetz 1978). Despite the fact that many ecological factors influence spider-habitat dynamics, assemblage structure is often attributed to vegetation community characteristics, including successional sere (Greenstone 1984; Bonte 2002). Although not as vertically stratified as forests, grasslands offer subtle vertical complexity along with complex horizontal heterogeneity. Habitat heterogeneity in prairies is maintained by disturbances such as fire, drought, and grazing at varying intensities. However, much of North America’s native grasslands have experienced accelerated effects of disturbance due to anthropogenic activities including urbanization, disruption of natural hydrology, crop farming, and livestock grazing. The latter two agricultural practices are of particular importance throughout North American prairies, of which over 80% have been degraded (Hickman et al. 2006). This project assesses the effects of grazing and the establishment of an introduced forage grass cultivar, plains bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum), on foliage dwelling spider assemblages.