Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Financial Performance of Listed Pharmaceutical Companies on Ghana Stock Exchange

This paper examines the profitability, liquidity and solvency and probability of failure of listed pharmaceutical companies on the Ghana Stock exchange. The findings from the activities ratios indicated efficiency of Arytons management in utilizing the asset of the firms in day-to-day basis is declining in recent years whiles that of Starwin is improving even though Aryton Drug Ltd is generally more efficient than Starwin Ltd. The Average cash conversing cycles of Aryton and Starwin were found to be 196 and 282 respectively which are relatively higher than the bench mark in Germany, UK and US of 145 days, 127 days and 142days respectively. The liquidity ratio metric indicated that Aryton Drug Ltd manages it liquidity and is very good position to meet it long term obligation as well, as oppose to Starwin Ltd which has very limited cash to cover its short term debt and is less solvent. Starwin’s is more geared which has exposed the firm to higher interest expense. The study also discovered from the DuPont analysis that operating income- to- revenue and revenue- to- total assets ratios significantly influence ROE positively. Measurement of profitability, proxy by ROE and ROA, shows that Aryton generates more returns on it asset and on equity than Starwin Ltd, although lower than industrial bench marks in UK and US of 54.9% and 32.5% respectively, however Starwin Ltd is seen to be posting good returns in recent years which is almost at par with Aryton’s. Starwin’s COGS growth rate has been generally greater than its revenue growth rate which is note the case for Aryton Ltd. A test of financial soundness and stability with Altman’s Z-score revealed that Aryton is not financially distress but Starwin is in financial distress and likely to be bankrupt in the near future, exposing investors to serious risk. Thus Starwin Ltd should consider takeover offer or merger for reorganization of the firm.
Influence of Loan Characteristics on Microcredit Default in Kenya: a Comparative Analysis of Microfinance Institutions and Financial Intermediaries

This study sought to investigate causes of loan default within MFIs and Financial Intermediaries (FIs) in Kenya. The specific objective addressed was to evaluate the influence of loan characteristics on loan default in MFIs and FIs. A target population of 48 MFIs institutions and 76 Financial Institutions was used. A multistage sampling procedure and a sample of 48 MFIs and 48 FIs were selected. Random sampling was used to select the respondents since each participant had an equal opportunity to be selected. Primary data was collected by use of a questionnaire and analyzed by quantitative methods by use of SPSS; Version 21. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were employed to make generalizations. Data was presented in form of frequency tables, bar charts and pie charts for easy interpretation of results. A multiple regression model and Pearson correlation were used to establish relationships among the variables. The findings of the study indicated loan characteristics were significant among MFIs and FIs but with some differences in the parameters measured . The findings are of significance to policy makers, MFIs, FIs, small businesses, universities and the general public as a source of knowledge for future reference. Key Terms: Loan Default, Microcredit, Portfolio at Risk (PAR), Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), Financial Intermediaries (FIs) I.
Climate sensitivity of Storglaciären, Sweden: an intercomparison of mass-balance models using ERA-40 re-analysis and regional climate model data

Abstract Estimates of glacier contributions to future sea-level rise are often computed from mass-balance sensitivities derived for a set of representative glaciers. Our purpose is to investigate how mass-balance projections and sensitivities vary when using different approaches to compute the glacier mass balance. We choose Storglaciären, Sweden, as a test site and apply five different models including temperature-index and energy-balance approaches further varying in spatial discretization. The models are calibrated using daily European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts re-analysis (ERA-40) data. We compute static mass-balance sensitivities and cumulative mass balances until 2100 based on daily temperatures predicted by a regional climate model. Net mass-balance sensitivities to a +1 K perturbation and a 10% increase in precipitation spanned from –0.41 to –0.61 and from 0.19 to 0.22ma–1, respectively. The cumulative mass balance for the period 2002–2100 in response to the climate-model predicted temperature changes varied between –81 and –92m for four models, but was –121m for the fully distributed detailed energy-balance model. This indicates that mass losses may be underestimated if temperature-index methods are used instead of detailed energy-balance approaches that account for the effects of temperature changes on all energy-balance components individually. Our results suggest that future glacier predictions are sensitive to the choice of the mass-balance model broadening the spectrum in uncertainties.
Crystal chemistry and low-temperature behavior of datolite: A single-crystal X-ray diffraction study

Abstract The crystal chemistry of six natural datolites from different localities was investigated by electron microprobe analysis in the wavelength dispersive mode and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The chemical analyses show no significant site substitution. The single-crystal structure refinements confirm the structural model of datolite previously reported (with a ~ 4.83, b ~ 7.61, c ~ 9.63 Å, and β ~ 90.15°, space group P21/c). Intra-polyhedral bond distances and angles show common features in all samples at room T: (1) the Si-tetrahedron is strongly deformed, with Si-O distances ranging between ~1.57 and ~1.66 Å and O-Si-O angles ranging between ~105.4 and ~115.3°; (2) the B-tetrahedron is almost regular; (3) the Ca-polyhedron is significantly distorted, with bond distances ranging between ~2.28 and ~2.67 Å; (4) only one independent H-site occurs and its refined position suggests a bifurcated hydrogen bonding scheme with O5 as donor and O4 and O2 as acceptors [with O5-H ~ 0.8 Å and (1) O5···O4 ~ 2.99 Å, H···O4 ~ 2.33 Å, and O5-H···O4 ~ 140°, and (2) O5···O2 ~ 2.96 Å, H···O2 ~ 2.36 Å, and O5-H···O2 ~ 131°]. Low-temperature diffraction measurements between 300 and 100 K show that the thermal expansion of datolite is mainly governed by the axial response along [100] and [010], whereas the c-axis length is almost unchanged in this temperature interval. The volume thermal expansion coefficient (αV = V-1∂V/∂T) between 100 and 280 K is αV = 1.5(2)·10-5 K-1. The higher thermal expansion of the a-axis is due to the layered nature of the structure of datolite: the Ca-O bond distances are the most compressible and expandable, and govern the contraction, upon cooling, along the direction perpendicular to the polyhedral layers. The tetrahedral layer is significantly more rigid and no changes of the tetrahedral tilts are observed from 300 to 100 K.
Seasonal variation in the occurrence of the medicinal leech Hirudo orientalis in Guilan Province, Iran

Two small populations of medicinal leeches Hirudo orientalis Utevsky & Trontelj, 2005 were sampled monthly over the course of a year (November 2008 to October 2009) in 2 separate regions of Guilan Province in northern Iran. Environmental factors, including host availability, tem- perature and vegetation density (biomass in g km -2 ) were analyzed to assess their impact on leech populations. The study areas supported only low densities (ind. km -2 ) of medicinal leeches, mostly due to agricultural activity which has caused habitat destruction and has gradually limited the distri- bution of leeches to small, patchy bodies of water. Agricultural activity is seasonal, so leeches are not affected by this activity equally year round. Leeches were most abundant in May/June, were present in small numbers in July/August, and hibernated from December to March 2009 at both sites. Leech density was significantly correlated with amphibian density (biomass in g km -2 ), the major hosts in the sample areas. Temperature and aquatic vegetation densities affected leech numbers directly (temperature influencing leech growth rate and vegetation providing shelter from potential preda- tors) and indirectly (due to the impact of temperature and vegetation on the amphibian population, the leeches' major prey). Leeches of 5 g were predominant in September.
The Bigger Picture of Corruption: Europe in Comparative Perspective

Author(s): Kubbe, Ina | Abstract: Recent scandals all over Europe illustrate that corruption permeates political systems. In 2013, Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe even claimed that “Corruption is the biggest threat to democracy in Europe today”. Generally, corruption is detrimental to economic, social and political development and, in particular, violates the fundamental principles of democracy. Given its large negative impact, much stands to be gained from understanding the causes of corruption, especially in relation to region-specific factors, and the ways in which it can be reduced.Building on prior corruption research, this study investigates the extent and dynamics of corruption in European states both longitudinally as well as cross-nationally; employing multiple levels of analysis. The study considers 37 European countries at the macro level and 20 countries at the micro level, over the period 1995-2010.My findings reveal that a country’s contextual conditions such as the economic development, international integration, women’s percentage in parliaments, Protestantism, the degree and duration of democracy and historical factors such as the post-communist past influence the extent of corruption over time and across European countries. Furthermore, I have identified that corruption is likely experienced differently depending on certain values, norms, and attitudes such as interpersonal trust and the justification of bribery. However, socio-demographic features such as an individual’s gender, age, employment status and level of income do not show any influence.Overall, this bundle of factors adding up to a specific “democratic culture” that hinders the growth of corruption by generating strong democratic institutions and fostering citizen norms and values aimed at monitoring and sanctioning corrupt actors. As a result, democracy promotion seems to be the best remedy against corruption spread in Europe.
Strategies for trade liberalization in the Americas

Regional free trade zones have been unexpectedly successful in the last decade. Since 1980 the European Community enlarged significantly its membership and its scope. It now includes southern European countries, and market-integrating features allowing goods, people, services and capital to flow freely around an area accounting for about one fourth of world economic output. Based on economies of scale - we find a condition that determine whether trading blocks Such as NAFTA and the EU are complementary with and encourage global free trade - when this condition fails, instead, trading blocks undermine free trade. It is the purpose of this paper to re-examine the positive and negative aspects of trading blocs as they relate to gains from free trade. The paper is primarily a discussion of conceptual issues, although it is based on facts and on particular cases which are of interest to the trade liberalization in the Americas. We take a somewhat different approach to a familiar issue. Rather than asking the standard question of whether regional blocs help or hinder global free trade, we ask a more detailed question: what type of customs union is likely to lead to a trade war between the blocs, and what type of customs union is, instead, likely to lead to expanded global trade. In practical terms: what type of trade policies within the blocs will provide economic incentives for expanding free trade. We shall compare the impact on the world economy of free trade blocs which are organized around two alternative principles: one is traditional comparative advantages, the other is economies of scale. The aim is to determine how the patterns of trade inside the blocs determine the trade relations among the blocs.
A Study On Wheat Middling's Usage On Layer's Performances.

Two trials were conducted to determination of chemical composition and nutritive value of grade 1 wheat middlings wastes and its suitable levels in layer diets were investigated.Experiment 1 evaluated the chemical composition, and energy and protein content. The experiment 2 was conducted by 240 hyline w36 layers from 24 to 40 weeks of age. Four rations were used as a four treatments includes (0, 7.5,15,22.5%) of wheat middlings in layer diets. Four replicates with 15 birds were arranged in each.All of diets were Isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. Experiment statistical was in complete random design (CRD), data analysed by SAS programme and means were examined by Duncan multiple test.The metabolizable energy and protein content were 3220 kcal/ kg and 14.2% respectively. No significant differences were found in body weight (BW), feed conversion ratio(FCR) and and egg production percentage (P%) between different levels of wheat middlings in diets (p>0.05). In egg composition including egg weight, egg mass, albumen%, yolk%, shell%, dirty eggs% ,no significant were found (p>0.05). There were significant variables in cost of 1kg of egg production. The treatments fed with wheat middlings have had less cost than control treatment (p<0.05). However, it would suggested that 22.5% of wheat middlings in layer ration could leads to decrease the ration price and egg production cost and approach more benefits for poultry industry.
Evolution of cosmic filaments and of their galaxy population from MHD cosmological simulations.

Despite containing about a half of the total matter in the Universe, at most wavelengths the filamentary structure of the cosmic web is difficult to observe. In this work, we use large unigrid cosmological simulations to investigate how the geometrical, thermodynamical and magnetic properties of cosmological filaments vary with mass and redshift (z $\leq 1$). We find that the average temperature, length, volume and magnetic field of filaments are tightly log-log correlated with the underlying total gravitational mass. This reflects the role of self-gravity in shaping their properties and enables statistical predictions of their observational properties based on their mass. We also focus on the properties of the simulated population of galaxy-sized halos within filaments, and compare their properties to the results obtained from the spectroscopic GAMA survey. Simulated and observed filaments with the same length are found to contain an equal number of galaxies, with very similar distribution of halo masses. The total number of galaxies within each filament and the total/average stellar mass in galaxies can now be used to predict also the large-scale properties of the gas in the host filaments across tens or hundreds of Mpc in scale. These results are the first steps towards the future use of galaxy catalogues in order to select the best targets for observations of the warm-hot intergalactic medium.
Effects of time of day on resistance exercise-induced anabolic signaling in skeletal muscle

This study examined the effect of morning versus afternoon exercise on acute responses in phosphorylation of proteins regulating muscle size and metabolism. Twenty-two untrained men, divided into the morning (n = 11) or afternoon (n = 11) group, performed maximal isometric leg extensions before and after resistance loading at 07:30–08:30 h and 16:00–17:00 h, respectively. Muscle pre- and postloading biopsies were analyzed for phosphorylated Akt, p70S6K, rpS6, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), Erk1/2, and eukaryotic elongation factor (eEF) 2. Muscle force declined after exercise in both groups (p < 0.001). p70S6K Thr389 (p < 0.05) and Thr421/Ser424 and rpS6 (all p < 0.001) increased after exercise in both groups. The afternoon but not morning group showed postloading decrease (p < 0.05) and increase (p < 0.01) in eEF2 and p38MAPK, respectively. Akt and Erk1/2 were statistically unchanged. In conclusion, the time of day did not have an overall effect on protein synthesis signaling, but morning phosphorylated eEF2 and p38MAPK showed significantly larger between-subject variability in the exercise response compared to the afternoon.
African Americans in California

The significance of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the educational experience of African American students has been well documented. However, recent court decisions challenge these institutions ' continued ability to folfill their historical missions. Therefore, it is more vital than ever to understand the unique role played by HBCUs in the African American community, particularly in the educational plans of students and their families. The current study analyzes interview and focus-group data with African American students, parents, and counselors at 20 southern California high schools. While participants acknowledge that these institutions remain important educational and cultural resources, they also reveal surprising barriers to the accessibility of HBCUs.
Automorphism Properties and Classification of Adinkras

Adinkras are graphical tools for studying off-shell representations of supersymmetry. In this paper we efficiently classify the automorphism groups of Adinkras relative to a set of local parameters. Using this, we classify Adinkras according to their equivalence and isomorphism classes. We extend previous results dealing with characterization of Adinkra degeneracy via matrix products and present algorithms for calculating the automorphism groups of Adinkras and partitioning Adinkras into their isomorphism classes.
The relationship between ecosystem diversity and function focused on the leaves of the northern pitcher plant (S. purpurea) as a model system

Pitcher plants have been the focus of many ecological studies involving food webs as of late. Pitchers of Sarracenia purpurea contain a unique habitat within the liquid contained in the leaves of the plant. We hypothesized that the enzymatic activity of extracellular bacteria increased as bacterial species richness in pitchers increased. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was used to characterize bacterial populations in the liquid of pitchers from the same bog. DGGE revealed that individual pitchers contain unique, diverse bacterial populations. We conclude that pitchers of S. purpurea maintain high bacterial diversity and also possess variation between individual pitchers within the same location.
Contribution to the knowledge of the Moroccan mountain vegetation

Different types of plant communities, till now undetected in Morocco, are here described using the phytosociological method. The following new subassociations and associations are proposed: Anthyllido polycephalae-Stachydetum fontqueri subass. quercetosum rotundifoliae is a machia from the Northern Rif Mountains; Genisto anglicae-Ericetum ciliaris subsass. pinguiculetosum lusitanicae is a heathland from the Bou Hassim range in the Western Rif; Cephalario maroccanae-Inuletum maletii is a megaphorbic community from the Middle Atlas; Bellis caerulescendis-Heracletum sphondyllii is a megaphorbic community from the High Atlas; Arenario armerinae-Sideritetum matris-fi liae is a high mountain grassland from the Tichchoukt range in the Middle Atlas. New data are given for the syntaxa already described but with the distribution, variability and ecology not well known. This is the case of the following associations: Polysticho setiferi-Prunetum lusitanicae, a riverine woodland from the W Rif Mountains; Primulo acaulis-Betuletum celtibericae, a birch woodland from the C Rif and Astragaletum numidico-maroccani a high mediterranean mountain plant community from the Western Rif. As a conclusion, the vegetation of the peculiar habitats that occur in reduced areas is only partially known.
The Almelund Shale, a replacement name for the Upper Didymograptus Shale and the Lower Dicellograptus Shale in the lithostratigraphical classification of the Ordovician succession in Scania, Southern Sweden

The formation name Almelund Shale is proposed for a lithostratigraphically defined unit to replace the outdated chronostratigraphical designations Upper Didymograptus Shale and Dicellograptus Shale in the Middle and lowermost Upper Ordovician succession in Scania. The Almelund Shale is a lithologically uniform unit of dark-grey to black shales with rare carbonate interbeds between the Komstad Limestone and the Sularp Shale. Apart from a diverse graptolite fauna it yields a few shelly fossils (mostly lingulate brachiopods) and biostratigraphically diagnostic conodonts and chitinozoans. In the type sections of the Almelund Shale along the Sularp Brook in the F (a) over circle gels (a) over circle ng area; W-central Scania, the top of the unit is taken to be the base of the F (a) over circle gels (a) over circle ng Phosphorite, and its basal contact is at the top of the underlying Komstad Limestone. Its total thickness in the F (a) over circle gels (a) over circle ng drill-core is 28.32 m. The unit is widely distributed in the subsurface in a SE-NW belt across Scania. (Less)
Black List of Unreported Pathogenic Bambusicolous Fungi Limiting the Production of Edible Bamboo

Edible bamboo species are now domesticated and commercialized because of their nutraceutical values. The production of edible bamboo species are restrained by diseases caused by pathogenic bambusicolous fungi valued at 40% losses of the total $818.6 million generated annually in bamboo trade in North East India. Based on a systematic survey performed for 2 years in succession, only one Basidiomycota, a Perenniporia sp. was identified and validated by pathogenicity test. Ascomycota was the dominant and diverse group of pathogenic bambusicolous fungi. Some rDNA locus sequences failed to match sequences in the up-to-date databases and indicated novel species or genera. Divergence study based on rDNA locus showed that pathogenic bambusicolous fungi were located in the class of Ascomycetes, Sordariomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, Dothideomycetes and Basidiomycetes. The data demonstrated for the first time that Fusarium, Cochliobolus, Daldinia, Leptosphaeria, Phoma, Neodeightonia, Lasiodiplodia, Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Peyronellaea, Perenniporia, Nigrospora and Hyporales are potent pathogenic bambusicolous fungi genera restraining the production of edible bamboo Dendrocalamus hamiltonii.
Lab-on-a-Tube Surface Micromachining Technology

In this chapter, the lab-on-a-tube surface micromachining technology will be used to fabricate a flexible implantable microtemperature sensor for hyperthermia application and a three-electrode system on a polymer tube surface for glucose monitoring application. This micromachining process is based on two homemade equipments: a spray coating equipment and a programmable UV 3D projection lithography system with alignment. In the spray coating system, there is a heater nozzle next to the spray nozzle for real-time heating. Pure nitrogen is flowed through the heater nozzle, warmed up and sprayed onto the tube substrate surface. The programmable UV lithography equipment for cylindrical substrate mainly consists of four parts: a uniform illumination system, a reduced projec- tion lithography system, a synchronized motion stage system, and a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) multilayer alignment system which is used to observe simultaneously the projected mask’s patterns and those ever fabricated on the tube. Using the developed lab-on-a-tube surface micromachining technology, an implantable flexible microtemperature sensor and a three-electrode microstructure are successfully fabricated on the flexible polymer tube with 330 μm outer diameter, respectively. The test temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of the temperature sensor is 0.0034/°C. The measured cyclic voltammetry curve shows that the three-electrode system has a good redox property.