Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
1 AUTOMATED NDE OF PT CONCRETE STRUCTURES

Synopsis: Non-destructive testing (NDT) of post-tensioned concrete structures is both challenging and complex. Locating areas in tendons without corrosion protection (un-grouted) is technically difficult. Typically, Bridges are large structures, any testing of the complete surface with point test methods can only be done with automated systems. At present there are acoustic and electromagnetic methods which cover a large area of application and which can be used complementarily. But in most cases, only one method is applied to solve a distinct problem. In this contribution, results will be presented based on the investigation of internal structure of post-tensioned concrete bridges with three different NDT methods. Measurements with radar, ultrasonic echo and impact-echo were carried out on three bridges in Germany and Austria. Furthermore different scanning systems, developed at BAM, were applied. The main object was the demonstration of the improved effectiveness of radar, impact-echo and ultrasonic echo due to the automated measurements and the application of new software for the data processing and data visualisation. A new ultrasonic device with real-time imaging capabilities allows detailed measurements in smaller areas without special scanning devices.
Business model elements in different types of organization in software business

The business model concept has been discussed widely during the current millennium. On one hand most of the discussion is not academic in nature and on the other hand the industry practitioners have been rarely included nor have their voice been heard in the academic studies. This has lead to differences in definitions of the business model concept between academic studies and the thinking of industry practitioners. In this study we dive into practitioners’ views and investigate how they fit to business model canvas, a tool that is now popular in business practice. We also investigate how different types (in terms of age and size) of organizations working on different software business fields utilize the business model concept in their own ways. The findings showed variation in how different organizations promote different elements of the business model as more important and how the elements included different content even within the software business domain. We also demonstrate some of the similarities that prevail in software business, such as people being the key resource, regardless of the field or type of business.
Expression of HIF-1 α and Robo 4 in the retinas of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice

Purpose: This study investigated the expression of HIF-1α and Robo4 in the retinas of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced mice and determined the expression correlation of these two factors in early diabetic retinas in vivo. Methods: A high-fat diet together with STZ stimulated type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). HE staining was used to observe the morphologic features of the retinas following 4, or 8 weeks of hyperglycemia. Immunofluorescence was carried out to analyze the expression of HIF-1α and Robo4 in the retinas at different time points. HIF-1α and Robo4 mRNA and protein expressions were quantified by real-time PCR and western blot. Results: The arrangements of the retinal nerve fiber layer (NFL) and the ganglion cell layer (GCL) were slightly turbulent in the 4-week old diabetic mice, which became aggravated by NFL edema and cytoplasmic vacuoles in the 8-week old group. In the 4-week old group, HIF-1α was expressed slightly higher in NFL and GCL, and Robo4 expression increased in NFL and GCL. In the 8-week old diabetic retinas, HIF-1α expression was enhanced in NFL, GCL, and the outer plexiform layer (OPL); Robo4 expression increased apparently in NFL and GCL. HIF-1α and Robo4 mRNA and protein expressions were also increased slightly in the 1-week old retinas and significantly after 4 and 8 weeks. Conclusions: With aggravating retina structure turbulence in DM mice, both HIF-1α and Robo4 expressions were increased and mainly concentrated in the GCL, INL, and OPL, suggesting a regulatory role of HIF-1α on Robo4 and their combined effect on DM retina damage in vivo.
Optimal Capital Structure and the Effects of Deviations from Target Leverage on REIT Return Performance

This paper examines U.S. REIT leverage decisions and their effects on risk and return. We find that REITs are highly levered relative to industrial firms, with an average market leverage of 46 percent over our 1990-2012 sample period. We next investigate the determinants of optimal leverage levels and estimate the speed at which REITs close the gap between current debt levels and target levels. We find the speed of adjustment is 17 percent annually, with over-levered REITs tending to adjust more quickly to their target leverage ratios than under-levered REITs. We also find that REITs that are highly levered relative to the average REIT tend to underperform REITs with less debt in their capital structure. However, REITs vary considerably in their ability to undertake leverage. Moreover, REITs that are highly levered relative to their target (predicted) debt ratio actually perform better on a riskadjusted basis than under-levered REITs–consistent with a positive relation between leverage and returns. When we separate over-levered (under-levered) REITs into two leverage buckets each year based on the mean leverage of over-levered (under-levered) firms, we find that REITs with low-tomoderate leverage outperformed over-levered REITs, which is consistent with the general findings of Green Street (2015) and Ling and Naranjo (2015). However, REITs that are highly under-levered relative to their target underperform all other leverage-sorted REIT samples by a wide margin. Thus, it is the under-performance of REITs operating with the lowest leverage that is driving the relative underperformance of firms with leverage below their targets. Taken together, our results suggest that incorrect inferences may result from analyses that do not consider the cross-sectional variation in the ability of REITs to undertake leverage.
Replication Studies Are replication studies possible in qualitative second / foreign language classroom research ? A call for comparative reproduction research

A widely accepted orthodoxy is that it is impossible to do replication studies within qualitative research paradigms. Ontologically and epistemologically speaking, such a view is largely correct. However, in this paper, I propose that what I call comparative re-production research—that is, the empirical study of qualitative phenomena that occur in one context, which are then shown also to obtain in another—is a well-attested practice in ethnomethodological conversation analysis (CA). By extension, I further argue that researchers who do research on second and foreign language (L2) classrooms inspired by the conversation analysis-for-second-language acquisition movement should engage in comparative re-production research in order to make broad statements about the generality or prototypicality of the qualitative organization of particular practices across languages, cultures and institutional contexts.
Customized Nudging to Improve FAFSA Completion and Income Verification

Informational and behavioral barriers hinder social benefit take-up. We investigate the impact of mitigating these barriers through providing personalized information on benefits application status and application assistance on filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the gateway to college financial aid. Through a multidistrict experiment, we assess the impact of this outreach, delivered via text message. This data-driven strategy improves FAFSA completion and college matriculation and potentially reduces the negative consequences of additional procedural hurdles such as FAFSA income verification, required of approximately one third of filers nationally.
Environmental and experimental studies of aluminium toxicity on the liver of Oreochromis niloticus ( Linnaeus , 1758 ) fish

Specimens of water and the freshwater fish (Oreochromis niloticus) were sampled from Al-Atf drainage canal, Al-Minufiya Province, Egypt, for one year to determine aluminium (Al) concentrations in water and its accumulation in livers of such fish. It was found that Al accumulated in livers of O. niloticus in levels higher than that of the canal water. The concentrations of Al in water were higher than the world permissible limits. Experimentally, O. niloticus fishes were exposed to three doses of Aluminium sulphate and Al effects were evaluated with regard to hepatosomatic index and liver histopathological alterations. The hepatosomatic indices of fish treated with the three doses of Aluminium sulphate were higher compared to the control group. Fish exposed to the highest dose had significantly higher (P<0.05) hepatosomatic indices than the control fish. Liver tissues of treated fish revealed various histopathological lesions. From this investigation, it was suggested that, the liver of O. niloticus is convenient for testing the toxicity of metals such as aluminium. [Mohammad M.N. Authman. Environmental and experimental studies of aluminium toxicity on the liver of Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) fish. Life Science Journal. 2011;8(4):764-776] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com
Self Rated Assessment of Conflict at Work among Staff Nurses of Tertiary Care Hospital in Delhi

Introduction: Among the list of stressful professions all over the world, Nursing Profession tops the list. In most tertiary care hospitals, nurses are the ones who are most stressed out due to conflict at the workplace though working at the bottom of the hierarchy. There is a lack of data on stress among nurses due to conflicts at work and other work-related issues, which led to this study. Method: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 102 randomly selected staff nurses working in a tertiary care teaching hospital of Delhi. Data were collected using a pre-tested and self-administered questionnaire. Socio-demographic profile, general job information, conflict at work, and work hazards were assessed. The data was fed and analyzed using SPSS 16 software. Results: Out of the total 102 nurses,80% of nurses were females, and 98% were married. The mean age of the study group was 38.52(7.107). Mean work experience in this profession was 16.40(5.880) years, and with the present employer is 4.57(1.680) years. Mean work duration per week is 49.90(7.976) hours. Out of the total nurses, 45.1% agreed that there were clashes between subgroups within their group.
A Country in Focus Review of recent applied linguistics research in Finland and Sweden , with specific reference to foreign language learning and teaching

This review covers recent applied linguistic research in Finland and Sweden during the years 2006–2011, with particular emphasis on foreign language learning and teaching. Its primary aim is to inform the international research community on the type of research that is going on in these countries. Special attention is given to topics which have attracted a lot of interest in the area: language immersion schools and CLIL, cross-linguistic influence, corpus linguistics (English as a lingua franca) and language use in multilingual urban settings.
Overexpression of peptidyl-prolyl isomerase 1 ( Pin 1 ) and cyclin D 1 in endometrial cancer

The aim of this study is to investigate the expression and correlation of peptidyl-prolyl isomerase 1 (Pin1) and cyclin D1 in endometrial cancer. This retrospective study included 52 newly diagnosed endometrial cancer patients in Tai’an Central Hospital from January 2011 to June 2015. Endometrial cancer samples were obtained from all 52 patients. Adjacent non-cancerous endometrium was also collected from 15 patients and used as control. The endometrium from 29 patients with uterine leiomyomata in the same period was also obtained as control. The expression of Pin1 and cyclin D1 in endometrium was detected by immunohistochemical staining (SABC method). The expression of Pin1 and cyclin D1 in different groups was compared by chi-square tests. The association between protein expression and clinical characteristics was also analyzed by chi-square tests. The relationship between Pin1 and cyclin D1 expression was analyzed by Pearson’s correlation test. The expression of Pin1 and cyclin D1 in endometrial cancer was significantly higher compared with both normal endometrium and adjacent non-cancerous endometrium (P < 0.05). High expression of Pin1 and cyclin D1 was significantly associated with high clinical stage, pathological grade, lymphatic metastasis and the depth of myometrial invasion (P < 0.05). The expression of Pin1 was positively correlated with cyclin D1 (P = 0.001). In conclusion, Pin1 and cyclin D1 are highly expressed in endometrial cancer, and is associated with clinical stage, pathological grade, lymphatic metastasis and the depth of myometrial invasion, suggesting their regulatory role in the occurrence and development of endometrial cancer.
The Korean financial crisis

Pulling down the curtain on its economic miracle of the last three decades, South Korea suddenly fell into a financial crisis in 1997, and was rescued by the IMF. The causes of the crisis are identified in four different sectors of the Korean economy: the real sector, the banking sector, the securities market and the foreign exchange market. Underlying the numerous causes identified for the crisis is the failure of the very institutions and economic structure that propelled Korea to its economic success, in adapting to emerging changes in domestic and international environments. The IMF rescue package is therefore intended to remedy the institutional and structural flaws. The Korean economy is at a crossroads. If it complies well with the IMF conditionality, the economy will be revitalized based on a firmer institutional and structural foundation within a few years. If, however, Korea fails to do so, it will remain an IMF recidivist. Although it has made substantial progress, Korea still faces serious challenges for a successful completion of the IMF programme.
WOMEN IN POVERTY ; A CASE STUDY ON DAYAK MALI ETHNIC OF WEST KALIMANTAN , INDONESIA

This paper tells about Dayak Mali women, who live poor in rural West Kalimantan. They farmed with traditional knowledge. Nomaden field still exists as traditional life of farming. A method used in this paper is descriptive with the case study approach. A case study conducted in Cowet village district Sanggau, West Kalimantan. The data collections by observation, in-depth interview and literature study. The data used was primary data and secondary data which derived from relevant literature. This research result indicates that Dayak Mali women have still life in poverty. The marginalization of Dayak Mali women in develpment of human resources. Local tradition shaped patriarkhi is barrier for Dayak Mali women got out of poverty situation today.
Hegemonic Masculinity , Food and Identity – Uncovering the Relationship between Dominant Discourses and Future Diets

Food consumption plays an important role for future sustainable livelihoods and, in particular, the vegan diet is becoming increasingly popular among consumers of different societies. Understanding how people change their food habits is a major research quest and there is growing interest in the role of social media sites since these are important platforms for visual presentation online where individuals can influence others. This article investigates how vegan ‘men’ present themselves on the social media network Instagram. Drawing on the analytical framework of ‘hegemonic masculinity’, the study examines what values these individuals visually portray online. By conducting a content analysis of 600 top-posts that appear under the hashtag #veganmen, narratives are examined for what they convey and how certain ‘masculine’ perceptions are re-shaped or reinforced. The findings reveal the visual significance of ‘masculine’ self-presentation by vegan ‘men’ over other narratives that portray values of sustainability, compassion and empathy. Nonetheless, this narrative of ‘masculine’ self-presentation can still be understood as an attempt to motivate other individuals to embrace a plant-based diet and thereby contribute to change towards more ‘sustainable’ food consumption habits.
Neonicotinoids in U.S. Maize: Insecticide Substitution Effects and Environmental Risk

This study exploits a novel dataset containing more than 89,000 farm-level surveys over a 17-year period to investigate how neonicotinoid seed treatments in maize, now ubiquitous, have affected the use of other insecticides. Neonicotinoid insecticides are the most used class of insecticides in the world, but they are controversial because of their high toxicity to honeybees. In the United States, maize production accounts for the majority of neonicotinoid use, mostly as seed treatments. We find that neonicotinoids substituted for other major insecticides: plots planted with neonicotinoid-treated seeds were 52% and 47% less likely to be treated with a pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticide, respectively. Although honeybees have been put at greater risk by neonicotinoids, the changed pattern of pest control instruments has reduced toxicity risk for mammals, birds, and fish. We also find that adoption of genetically engineered insect-resistant maize varieties significantly reduced the use of organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides, thereby reducing toxicity exposure to all examined taxa. Policies aimed at restricting neonicotinoid use may need to account for undesirable unintended consequences.
On the Development of the Mobile based Agricultural Extension System in Tanzania : A Technological Perspective

Agriculture is the back bone of Tanzania’s Economy. For it to contribute significantly to the economy, farmers need access to agricultural information and knowledge in timely, complete and quality manner. The traditional practice for delivering agricultural information in Tanzania is mainly through farmer-to-farmer visits, farmers’ own experience and extension officers. The practice requires extension officers to visits farmers in order to give advisory services. Thus due to the few number of extension officers, the system is overstretched which necessitates the urgent need to find an alternative method to improve extension services. This paper presents a mobile based Farmers’ Advisory Information System (M-FAIS) aimed at improving the coverage of extension services in Tanzania. The philosophy behind this initiative is on capacitating the extension officers to serve many farmers anywhere anytime. The study contributes to the approach for testing complex system in agricultural informatics. The approach integrates the conventional system testing approaches (technology-centric approach) and extends it to include consideration of system usability (usercentric testing approach) prior to system release.
Simple Visualizations Enhance Speaker Identification when Listening to Spatialized Voices

Spatial audio has been demonstrated to enhance performance in a variety of listening tasks. The utility of visually reinforcing spatialized audio with depictions of voice locations in collaborative applications, however, has been questioned. In this experiment, we compared the accuracy, response time, confidence in task performance, and subjective mental workload of 18 participants in a voice-identification task under three different display conditions: 1) traditional mono audio; 2) spatial audio; 3) spatial audio with a visual representation of voice locations. Each format was investigated using four and eight unique stimuli voices. Results showed greater voice-identification accuracy for the spatial-plus-visual format than for the spatialand mono-only formats, and that visualization benefits increased with voice number. Spatialization was also found to increase confidence in task performance. Response time and mental workload remained unchanged across display conditions. These results indicate visualizations may benefit users of large, unfamiliar audio spaces.
Cadmium Chloride Induced Biochemical Changes in Triticum aestivum ( L . ) Var . MP LOK 1

The seeds of Triticum aestivum var. MP LOK1 were sown in earthen pots and cadmium chloride treatment was given. The plants were treated with increasing concentrations of cadmium chloride i.e., 25, 50 and 100 ppm. The aim of this work was to determine the effects of cadmium chloride on the photosynthetic pigments, polyphenol, proline and antioxidative response in Triticum aestivum. It is evident from the results that chlorophyll content of the wheat was not much affected by the lower levels of cadmium chloride but significantly affected at 100 ppm level. It was slightly increased only at 25 ppm by 5.10%. The polyphenol content of the leaves was increased at 25 and 50 ppm of the cadmium chloride but decreased by 16.54% at 100 ppm of the metal salt. Maximum increase in proline content was found as 27.36% at 100 ppm of cadmium chloride. The increased levels of polyphenols at elevated levels of cadmium chloride might be to tolerate higher levels of cadmium stress. The elevated activities of catalase and peroxidase under metal salt probably came for maintenance of cellular membranes while decrease at elevated levels of cadmium chloride might be due to the toxic nature of cadmium chloride. The details of the parameters studied are discussed in the present paper.
CO2 sequestration in a capillary tube via an interfacial chemical reaction between pressurized CO2 gas and aqueous glycerol Ca(OH)2 solution.

xi CHAPTER 1. EQUILIBRIUM INTERFACIAL TENSION MEASUREMENT OF AQUEOUS GLYCEROL Ca(OH)2 SOLUTION AND CO2 GAS . 1 1.