Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interplay between pulsations and mass loss in the blue supergiant 55 Cygnus = HD 198 478

Blue supergiant stars are known to display photometric and spectroscopic variability that is suggested to be linked to stellar pulsations. Pulsational activity in massive stars strongly depends on the star's evolutionary stage and is assumed to be connected with mass-loss episodes, the appearance of macroturbulent line broadening, and the formation of clumps in the wind. To investigate a possible interplay between pulsations and mass-loss, we carried out an observational campaign of the supergiant 55 Cyg over a period of five years to search for photospheric activity and cyclic mass-loss variability in the stellar wind. We modeled the H, He I, Si II and Si III lines using the nonlocal thermal equilibrium atmosphere code FASTWIND and derived the photospheric and wind parameters. In addition, we searched for variability in the intensity and radial velocity of photospheric lines and performed a moment analysis of the line profiles to derive frequencies and amplitudes of the variations. The Halpha line varies with time in both intensity and shape, displaying various types of profiles: P Cygni, pure emission, almost complete absence, and double or multiple peaked. The star undergoes episodes of variable mass-loss rates that change by a factor of 1.7-2 on different timescales. We also observe changes in the ionization rate of Si II and determine a multiperiodic oscillation in the He I absorption lines, with periods ranging from a few hours to 22.5 days. We interpret the photospheric line variations in terms of oscillations in p-, g-, and strange modes. We suggest that these pulsations can lead to phases of enhanced mass loss. Furthermore, they can mislead the determination of the stellar rotation. We classify the star as a post-red supergiant, belonging to the group of alpha Cyg variables.
Alien insect species affecting agriculture and natural resources in Sudan

Agricultural crops in Sudan are usually attacked by different local pests at variable levels based on the prevailing climatic and ecological conditions. However, with the modernization of agriculture coupled with the rapid movement of global trade during the last decades, new species of insects were accidentally introduced to the country. Unfortunately, most of these insects are potentially harmful species, hence imposing serious threats to agriculture and/or natural resources. This paper sheds light on the important established alien insect species, their original homes and the main host plants affected. More than twenty five species believed to be exotic were listed, and brief accounts were given on important ones. They include devastating pests on field and horticultural crops, store products and natural flora, among which are species of stemborers, bollworms, leafminers, fruitflies, scale insects, beetles and others. The paper stressed the steady increase in the frequency of introductions as a consequence of trade globalization, and warned from the entry of some new invasive species in the near future. Finally, the paper emphasizes the importance of cooperation in combating alien pests, particularly through biological approach, and asks for upgrading of quarantine measures in our countries so as to keep pace with the accelerating world trade.
ANALYSIS OF AN EPISTEMOLOGY-BASED CURRICULUM IN THE VIEW OF PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS (CASE STUDY: SCIENCES OF EDUCATION MAJOR, UNIVERSITY OF KURDESTAN)

Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract ABSTRACT The aim of the research was to evaluate and compare epistemological beliefs of the professors and students at the Sciences of education department, University of Kurdistan in relation with the nature of knowledge and curriculum of this major. In terms of objectives, the research was applied and in terms of method of data collection, it was survey-type and descriptive. The statistical population included professors and students both B.As. and M.As, majoring in Sciences of education at the University of Kurdistan . A sample of 88 people was selected and discussed by way of in access sampling method. Tools for data collection was a researcher made questionnaire based on the Schumer's epistemology beliefs questionnaire that would measure epistemology beliefs in five categories of fixed ability, simple learning, simple knowledge, absolute knowledge and source of knowledge. The validity of the questionnaire, with reference to the experts' views was approved while its reliability was reported 0/73 according to the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. To analyze data, the mono sample t test, t test for two independent groups, one way variance analysis tests and Tukey post hoc test were applied. Findings revealed that the epistemological beliefs of the students and professors at the Sciences of education department were at a favorable and developed level. Findings also suggested that the epistemological beliefs of the M.A. students were found to be more developmentally significant than those of the B.A. students.
The sedimentary response to a pioneer geo‐engineering project: Tracking the Kander River deviation in the sediments of Lake Thun (Switzerland)

Human activities such as river corrections and deviations, lake‐level regulations and installations of hydropower plants affect and often strongly modify natural processes in lacustrine systems. In 1714, the previously bypassing Kander River was deviated into peri‐alpine Lake Thun. This pioneering geo‐engineering project, the first river correction of such dimensions in Switzerland, doubled the water and sediment input to the lake. In order to evaluate the sedimentary consequences of the Kander River deviation, the lacustrine sediments were investigated using a combined approach of high‐resolution (3·5 kHz) reflection seismic data and sediment cores (maximum length 2·5 m). The significance of this study is increased by the possible hazard represented by ammunition dumped into the lake (from 1920 to 1960) and by the recent installation of a gas pipeline on the lake floor in 2007/2008. The first 130 years after the river deviation were dominated by an extremely high sediment input, which led to the frequent occurrence of subaquatic mass movements. Slope failures primarily occur due to rapid sediment accumulation, but were occasionally triggered in combination with earthquake‐induced shocks and lake‐level fluctuations. After 1840, mass‐movement activity and sedimentation rates decreased due to a reduced sediment input as the Kander River adjusted to its new base level and, to a smaller degree, by further engineering of the Kander River bed and gravel withdrawal at the Kander Delta. A further consequence of the Kander River deviation is that the shores around Lake Thun have been more frequently affected by flooding due to the increased water input. In the time span from 1850 to 2006, six historically and/or instrumentally documented flood events could be correlated to flood turbidites in the sediment cores. This study demonstrates the significant usefulness of lacustrine sediments, not only in archiving natural hazards and human impact but also in assessing the consequences of future anthropogenic interventions on lacustrine systems.
Integrated Financial Supervision: An Institutional Perspective for the Philippines

This paper looks at the issue of reforming financial regulatory structures from the New Institutional Economics perspective. In particular, it examines how the broader institutional environment prevailing in developing countries like the Philippines may affect the institutional arrangements for financial regulation, and how these might be taken into consideration when designing or reforming financial regulatory structures. The paper argues that the state of financial conglomerates in the Philippines does not warrant a shift toward integrated financial supervision. Instead, any effort to reform the financial supervisory structure must explicitly address the countrys most fundamental need, which is to strengthen institutions and governance structures. Key institutional characteristics must already be in place to undertake such a reform successfully, including sound political and legal systems and enforcement mechanisms. That being said, properly structured independent regulatory agencies in the financial sector can play a part in strengthening the overall regulatory environment.
Transient resonance of machines and devices in general motion

The new, more accurate and general possibility of assessments of maximum amplitudes of vibratory machines and vibroinsulated systems during their passage through the resonance was considered in the paper. The energy balance of the system was applied and the analytical solution for typical systems of several degrees of freedom during free coasting was given. The formulated method can be applied to systems of multiple degrees of freedom including continuous systems.
Structural and functional characterization of a soil microbial community which is able to convert waste cooking oil to fatty-acid-derived fuels.

Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) is classified as waste material and harmful to the environment and human health. Searching a cost-effective and eco-friendly approach to recycle WCO is urgent in China. In this study, three soil samples were collected and their WCO degradation ability was investigated. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis revealed that a soil sample collected near a restaurant disposal site was able to convert WCO to fatty-acid-derived fuels after 90 days’ anaerobic fermentation. The calorific value of the fermentation products increased by 17.2%. 16S meta sequencing data showed that this microbial community has a unique structure. Proteobacteria was the most abundant microbial phylum representing 60.4298% of the whole community. The percentage was almost three times higher than that in the other two microbial communities which cannot degrade WCO. Magnetospirillum, a genus of Proteobacteria, was much more abundant than the other genera in this phylum, accounting for 11.2% of the total population. The unusual community composition might correlate with its ability of WCO degradation and Proteobacteria phylum and Magnetospirillum genus may play key roles in the decomposition of WCO. To our knowledge, this is the first finding that a microbial community is able to convert WCO to fatty-acid-derived fuels, which might provide an alternative approach of reprocessing WCO.
Assessment for Learning in the Chinese Context: Prospective EFL Teachers’ Perceptions and Their Relations to Learning Approach

This study examines how prospective EFL teachers conceive of assessment for learning (AfL) practices and how these perceptions relate to their learning approaches. The study evaluated, in three teacher training universities’ in China, 692 prospective EFL teachers’ responses to a self-report instrument regarding assessment for learning practices and students’ learning approach. Results indicate a significant positive correlation between their perceived AfL experience and their tendency to adopt an achieving or deep approach to learning. Results also reveal that a surface approach to learning was negatively correlated to AfL experience, suggesting that in the Chinese university environment, the more AfL features incorporated into the classroom teaching and assessment processes, the less likely students adopt a surface approach to learning. This study also provides evidence of the potential differences in students’ responses to AfL as a result of different institutional environments. Implications of the results for addressing potential barriers to implementation of AfL in the Chinese context are also discussed.
The Mediating Role of Conflict Management Styles Between Organizational Justice and Affective Commitment Among Academic Staffs in Malaysian Public Universities

This study analyzes in deep the effects of two major dimensions in organizational justice such as procedural and distributive justice on affective commitment through three conflict management styles such as integrating, compromising, and avoiding styles. These relationships are analyzed in advance on the extent of academic staff in Malaysian Public Universities. Partial Least Squares of Structural equation modelling (SEM) and Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) are utilized to determine the effect of the two variables and the mediating effect of the conflict management styles. The results exhibit that procedural and distributive justice is significantly related with integrating, and compromising styles while not significantly related to avoiding style. It also revealed that integrating and compromising styles were significant with affective commitment while avoiding style does not relate with affective commitment. In conclusion, the results also showed only integrating and compromising styles mediate the relationship between procedural and distributive justice and affective commitment.
Confronting challenges to e-learning in Higher Education Institutions

Technological innovations have not only brought benefits to business, but to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) where an unprecedented demand for tertiary education has seen students enrolling for courses, some doing so through distance education. This has made the internet a very significant and indispensable learning and business tool for information dissemination for both education purposes and business transactions. The Internet is a technological development that has the potential to change not only the way society retains and accesses knowledge but also to transform and restructure traditional models of higher education, particularly the delivery and interaction in and with course materials and associated resources. Utilising the Internet to deliver e-learning initiatives has created expectations both in the business market and in higher education institutions (Singh, O'Donoghue and Worton, 2005:3). Universities have been faced with the daunting task of having to re-adjust and re-organise themselves in preparation for the incorporation of e-learning within their institutions. Institutional leaders have also been faced with the challenge of having to align their institutional objectives to meet the needs and demands of the e-learning dispensation. Indeed, e-learning has enabled universities to expand on their current geographical reach, to capitalise on new prospective students and to establish themselves as global educational providers. This article explores the issues surrounding the implementation of e-learning into higher education, including the structure and delivery of higher education, the implications to both students and lecturers and the global impact on society.
Are fitness effects of density mediated by body size? Evidence from Drosophila field releases

Question: Does a high larval density decrease adult field fitness by reducing body size? Hypothesis: Larval density influences capture success by changing adult body size. Organism: Drosophila melanogaster reared under different larval density conditions. Field site: Eucalyptus woodland lacking soft fruit on which Drosophila breed. Methods: Flies from different density conditions were released at a central point, and then captured on banana bait in a series of experiments. Wing size was measured as a surrogate of body size. Conclusion: Capture success varied with density, but was not positively related to size in females. Females tended to be caught sooner than males and large females were caught sooner than small females when conditions were cool. Larval density influenced adult field fitness but not necessarily by affecting size.
Shareholder Wealth Creation in Response to Announcements of Acquisitions of Unlisted Firms: Evidence from Spain

We investigate shareholder value creation of Spanish listed firms in response to announcements of acquisitions of unlisted companies and compare this experience to the purchase of listed firms over the period 1991–2006. Similar to foreign markets, acquirers of listed targets earn insignificant average abnormal returns, whereas acquirers of unlisted targets gain significant positive average abnormal returns. When we relate these results to company and transaction characteristics our findings diverge from those reported in the literature for other foreign markets, as our evidence suggests that the listing status effect is mainly associated with the fact that unlisted firms tend to be smaller and lesser–known firms, and thus suffer from a lack of competition in the market for corporate control. Consequently, the payment of lower premiums and the possibility of diversifying shareholders’ portfolios lead to unlisted firm acquisitions being viewed as value–orientated transactions.
Isoperimetry in Two‐Dimensional Percolation

We study isoperimetric sets, i.e., sets with minimal boundary for a prescribed volume, on the unique infinite connected component of supercritical bond percolation on the square lattice. In the limit of the volume tending to infinity, properly scaled isoperimetric sets are shown to converge (in the Hausdorff metric) to the solution of an isoperimetric problem in ℝ2 with respect to a particular norm. As part of the proof we also show that the anchored isoperimetric profile as well as the Cheeger constant of the giant component in finite boxes scale to deterministic quantities. This settles a conjecture of Itai Benjamini for the square lattice. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Fitting isochrones to open cluster photometric data. III. Estimating metallicities from UBV photometry

The metallicity is a critical parameter that affects the correct determination fundamental characteristics stellar cluster and has important implications in Galactic and Stellar evolution research. Fewer than 10 % of the 2174 currently catalog open clusters have their metallicity determined in the literature. In this work we present a method for estimating the metallicity of open clusters via non-subjective isochrone fitting using the cross-entropy global optimization algorithm applied to UBV photometric data. The free parameters distance, reddening, age, and metallicity simultaneously determined by the fitting method. The fitting procedure uses weights for the observational data based on the estimation of membership likelihood for each star, which considers the observational magnitude limit, the density profile of stars as a function of radius from the center of the cluster, and the density of stars in multi-dimensional magnitude space. We present results of [Fe/H] for nine well-studied open clusters based on 15 distinct UBV data sets. The [Fe/H] values obtained in the ten cases for which spectroscopic determinations were available in the literature agree, indicating that our method provides a good alternative to determining [Fe/H] by using an objective isochrone fitting. Our results show that the typical precision is about 0.1 dex.
Value Chain Analysis and Competitiveness Assessment of Da Xanh Pomelo Sector in Ben Tre, Vietnam

Food value chain analysis is a key and flexible methodology to enhance the values to farmers and end-consumers. Da Xanh pomelo is an important fruit sector of Ben Tre economy. The purpose of this study is to understand the value chain, to estimate the financial contribution, and to measure the competitiveness. This paper employs the theory of value chain approach for analyzing entities participating in planting, processing and commercializing Da Xanh pomelo, calculating added value, and comparing efficiency indicators. The result confirms economic contribution to Ben Tre, reasonable benefit distribution to the actors, and the pomelo value chain is more competitive than other sectors. The paper also explains how value chain analysis methodology assesses and promotes the competitiveness of an agricultural sector. The survey further identifies current problems of pestilent insects and potential supply surplus of the fruit.
The Emission and Distribution of Dust of the Torus of NGC 1068

We present observations of NGC 1068 covering the 19.7–53.0 μm wavelength range using FORCAST and HAWC+ on board SOFIA. Using these observations, high-angular-resolution infrared (IR) and submillimeter observations, we find an observational turnover of the torus emission in the 30–40 μm wavelength range with a characteristic temperature of 70–100 K. This component is clearly different from the diffuse extended emission in the narrow line and star formation regions at 10–100 μm within the central 700 pc. We compute 2.2–432 μm 2D images using the best inferred clumpy torus model based on several nuclear spectral energy distribution (SED) coverages. We find that when 1–20 μm SED is used, the inferred result gives a small torus size (<4 pc radius) and a steep radial dust distribution. The computed torus using the 1–432 μm SED provides comparable torus sizes, pc radius, and morphology to the recently resolved 432 μm Atacama Large Millimeter Array observations. This result indicates that the 1–20 μm wavelength range is not able to probe the full extent of the torus. The characterization of the turnover emission of the torus using the 30–60 μm wavelength range is sensitive to the detection of cold dust in the torus. The morphology of the dust emission in our 2D image at 432 μm is spatially coincident with the cloud distribution, while the morphology of the emission in the 1–20 μm wavelength range shows an elongated morphology perpendicular to the cloud distribution. We find that our 2D clumpy torus image at 12 μm can produce comparable results to those observed using IR interferometry.
Why do referees end their careers and which factors determine the duration of a referee’s career?

Against the background that the number of referees has been falling in recent years, the German Football Association (DFB) needs to answer two key questions: (i) Why do referees end their careers, and, (ii) which factors determine the duration of referee careers? We studied these questions using data from a questionnaire study of former referees. Results of estimating linear regression models and a Cox model show that the duration of a typical referee career depends, among other factors, on how a referee thinks that the career developing according to his or her plan, and on whether the referee is successful in coping with insults, threats, and violence. The “survival rate” of a referee increases in the subjective evaluation of the importance of football-specific know-how. Approximately 39 % of the former referees stated that the end of their referee career could have been prevented.
Random Simulations of Braess's Paradox

This paper uses network theory to simulate Nash equilibria for selfish travel within a traffic network. Specifically, it examines the phenomenon of Braess’s Paradox, the counterintuitive occurrence in which adding capacity to a traffic network increases the social costs paid by travelers in a new Nash equilibrium. It also employs the measure of the price of anarchy, a ratio between the social cost of the Nash equilibrium flow through a network and the socially optimal cost of travel. These concepts are the basis of the theory behind undesirable selfish routing to identify problematic links and roads in existing metropolitan traffic networks [8], suggesting applicative potential behind the theoretical questions this paper attempts to answer. New topologies of networks which generate Braess’s Paradox are found. In addition, the relationship between the number of nodes in a network and the number of occurrences of Braess’s Paradox, and the relationship between the number of nodes in a network and a network’s price of anarchy distribution are studied. RANDOM SIMULATIONS OF BRAESS’S PARADOX 3