Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Load Transfer Characteristics of Plain and Spiral Cable Bolts Tested in New Non Rotating Pull Testing Apparatus

The load transfer mechanisms of cable bolts differ from normal rebar bolts. Cable bolts used in mines are basically steel strands with different constructions depending on the number of wires or elements and the way that these elements are laid. Tendon bolts (rebar and cable) are normally evaluated for strength and load transfer properties. The strength of tendon can be carried out by tensile failure tests, while the load transfer strength is evaluated by pull and shear strength tests. Short Encapsulation Pull Testing (SEPT) is used to study of the load transfer capacities of tendons, and can be undertaken both in the laboratory and in situ. A new apparatus known as Minova Axially Split Embedment Apparatus (MASEA) was used to study load-displacement characteristics of smooth versus spiral profile cable bolts. Minova Stratabinder grout was used for encapsulating 400 mm long 19 wire 22 mm diameter superstrand cable in the embedment units. The anchorage of the cable on two sides of the embedment apparatus were intentionally installed at different lengths, to allow the cable to be pulled out from one side of the anchorage. The spiral wire strand cable bolts achieved higher peak pull-out load at minimum displacement in comparison with smooth surface wire strand. The peak pull out force increased with the age of encapsulation grout. The MASEA was easier to assemble and test at a short period of time, thus allowing quick and repeated tests to be undertaken.
The Effect of Bottom Ash on Fresh Characteristic, Compressive Strength and Water Absorption of Self-Compacting Concrete

Bottom ash is a solid residue produced through combustion process in a coal-fired power plant. It has been catogarized as a waste and usually disposed in the utility disposed site. With higher demand on the power energy, more coal-power plant are constructed and abundance of bottom ash are produced. Recently, the utilization of bottom ash in the construction industry has gained the interest of researches. Since it has similiar particle size distribution as normal sand, many attempt has been made in studying it potential use in mortar and concrete. In complementary to that, this paper presents the effect of bottom ash on fresh and hardened properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC). Bottom ash is used as fine aggregate replacing sand with replacement ratio range from 0% to 30% by volume. The effects of bottom ash on the SCC were investigated by comparing the test result of SCC mixed bottom ash with control specimens (0% of bottom ash). The test result on fresh properties of the concrete mixture revealed that, as the replacement level of bottom ash increased, the slump flow, L-box passing ratio and segregation resistance ratio (SR) decreased. Nevertheless, the slump flow time (T500) result increased with the increased of bottom ash content. The results show that the porosity and the irregular shape of the bottom ash particle has great influence on workability and viscosity of the fresh concete. The compressive strength and water absorption test are carried out on the sample at curing time of 7 and 28days. In terms of strength, the use of bottom ash in the production of SCC has increased the compressive strength of the concrete up to 15% replacement level. The increase in strength show the presence of the pozzolanic reactivity in a concrete with bottom ash particle. The water absorption rate was observed to be lower with a sample which having 10% and 15% replacement level.
The Value Relevance of Earnings and the Prediction of One-Year-Ahead Cash Flows

In this paper we examine the validity of using one-year-ahead cash flows prediction tests as a substitute for the value relevance test of earnings. We show theoretically that the R2 of the cash flows prediction regression is contaminated by the presence of (1) noise in the cash flows and (2) spurious, i.e., value-unrelated, correlation between one-year-ahead cash flows and current earnings. We test if either of the above two factors contribute to the result of Kim and Kross (2005) that the ability of earnings to predict one-year-ahead cash flows has increased over the recent decades, in contrast to the evidence of decreasing value relevance of earnings. We find empirical evidence that both factors contributed to their result and conclude that the cash flows prediction test is a poor substitute for the value relevance test of earnings.
Assessment of School Backpack Weight and Other Characteristics in Elementary Schools, Yazd-Iran

Introduction: The carry of heavy backpacks by school children may be associated with several potential health consequences. The aim of this study was to determine the percentage of body weight represented by school backpacks and other related factors. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study has been done in eight primary schools in Yazd city in which a total of 783 students’ boys (217 subjects in boys’ private schools and 566 ones in boys' governmental schools), grades 1 to 5, were studied. Measures included body mass and school bag weight of students and then the relative backpack weight (RBW) was calculated as percentage of body weight. Results: The average backpack weight was 4.6 kg (range, 1.3 kg to 20.6 kg) and represented 12.9% (range, 5.5% to 37%) of the subjects’ body weights. In private schools, about 43.7% of the students carried backpacks weighing less than 10 percent, 38.4% between 10 – 14% and 17.9% of the students 15 percent or more of their body weights versus 66.2%, 23.5% and 10.3% in governmental schools, respectively. The majority of students carried their bags over one or two shoulders and only 4% used roller bags. The contents of backpacks were mainly text books, exercise books or test books. Conclusion: In conclusion the result of this study indicated that the students of private schools carried heavier backpacks than those of governmental ones and therefore it appears to be reasonable to lighten the load of backpacks and educate students for carrying correctly school backpacks.
Carbon-Accounting Methods and Reforestation Incentives

The emission of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, and the consequent potential for climate change are the focus of increasing international concern. Eventually, an international agreement will likely be enacted to reduce greenhouse gas emission levels and assign rules for emission trading within and between countries. Temporary land-use change and forestry projects (LUCF) can be implemented to offset permanent emissions of carbon dioxide from the energy sector. Several approaches to accounting for carbon sequestration in LUCF projects have been proposed. In this paper, the economic implications of adopting some of these approaches are evaluated in a normative context, based on simulation of Australian farm-forestry systems.
Fourteen months of on-line measurements of the non-refractory submicron aerosol at the Jungfraujoch (3580 m a.s.l.) – chemical composition, origins and organic aerosol sources

Abstract. Chemically resolved (organic, nitrate, sulfate, ammonium) data of non-refractory submicron (NR-PM1) aerosol from the first long-term deployment (27 July 2012 to 02 October 2013) of a time-of-flight aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ToF-ACSM) at the Swiss high-altitude site Jungfraujoch (JFJ; 3580 m a.s.l.) are presented. Besides total mass loadings, diurnal variations and relative species contributions during the different meteorological seasons, geographical origin and sources of organic aerosol (OA) are discussed. Backward transport simulations show that the highest (especially sulfate) concentrations of NR-PM1 were measured in air masses advected to the station from regions south of the JFJ, while lowest concentrations were seen from western regions. OA source apportionment for each season was performed using the Source Finder (SoFi) interface for the multilinear engine (ME-2). OA was dominated in all seasons by oxygenated OA (OOA, 71–88 %), with lesser contributions from local tourism-related activities (7–12 %) and hydrocarbon-like OA related to regional vertical transport (3–9 %). In summer the OOA can be separated into a background low-volatility OA (LV-OOA I, possibly associated with long-range transport) and a slightly less oxidised low-volatility OA (LV-OOA II) associated with regional vertical transport. Wood burning-related OA associated with regional transport was detected during the whole winter 2012/2013 and during rare events in summer 2013, in the latter case attributed to small-scale transport for the surrounding valleys. Additionally, the data were divided into periods with free tropospheric (FT) conditions and periods with planetary boundary layer (PBL) influence, enabling the assessment of the composition for each. Most nitrate and part of the OA are injected from the regional PBL, while sulfate is mainly produced in the FT. The south/north gradient of sulfate is also pronounced in FT air masses (sulfate mass fraction from the south: 45 %; from the north: 29 %). Furthermore, a detailed investigation of specific marker fragments of the OA spectra (f43, f44, f55, f57, f60) showed different degrees of ageing depending on season.
ASSESSING E-GOVERNMENT SERVICE QUALITY MODEL AND AN APPLICATION : AN EXAMPLE OF MUNICIPALITY OF NAZILLI

The most important impulsion to improve e-governments’ services is to desire to furnish better services to the citizens. To present paramount service quality, primarily, it is necessary to understand how the citizens perceived and appraised e-governments’ services by the governances. This is only came up with defining what the e-government service quality is and identifying and measuring its underlie facets correctly. In this study, by using e-government service quality model (e-GovQual) developed by Papadomichelaki and Mentzas (2012), it is labouring to measure e-government service quality supplied by Nazilli Municipality that tries to inform local citizens and presents electronic services. The factors which determined after analyzing the data collected with survey method, will throw a new light on future studies about e-municipality service quality evaluations.
The Role of Market Women in the Informal Urban Economy in Kumasi

In this paper, the authors examined the role of market women in the informal urban economy and the factors that threaten the effective performance of their roles. Interviewing 360 foodstuff sellers from the Kumasi Central Market and the Race Course Markets, the authors identified that the market women had made significant contributions towards Ghana’s fiscal decentralisation through the payment of levies and rents. They have also created jobs, provided incomes for households, ensured food security and sufficiency, and provided a platform for generational development of entrepreneurial skills and competence. However, their roles in the informal economy were constrained by the inadequate basic infrastructure in the markets, limited access to credit facilities and transportation difficulties. The paper therefore recommended the provision of basic life enhancing infrastructure and credit facilities complemented with capacity building in business management.
Relationships between Otolith Size and Body Size for Hawaiian Reef Fishes1

ABSTRACT Estimating body size of fishes from remains recovered from piscivores, archaeological sites, and sedimentary deposits is desirable but rarely accomplished because the relationships between the size of a fish and its durable anatomical structures are largely unknown. Regression equations to predict the size or weight of 41 common Hawaiian reef fishes from sagittae (saccular otoliths) are presented. Data are also grouped into higher taxa to permit size predictions when otoliths cannot be assigned to species.
Genetic parameters for milk flow and relationships with bacterial infection, SCC and production traits in Lacaune dairy sheep

Improving milking ability is a major issue for consideration in dairy species. Milk flow is not yet recorded in dairy sheep flocks and so far recorded only in the INRA experimental sheep flock of La Fage. The objective of our study was thus to estimate heritability estimates for milk flow traits and genetic correlations with milk production and with udder health traits in dairy Lacaune sheep. Genetic parameters were estimated by multivariate REML with an animal model on first-lactation field data of 377,945 Lacaune ewes for milk production and somatic cell count traits, on additional experimental data of 1,641 ewes for milk flow and 518 ewes for intra-mammary bacterial infection. Heritability estimates were high for annual milk flow traits (ranging from 0.36 to 0.64) and moderate for subclinical intra-mammary infections (0.18). A low to moderate (from -0.13 to +0.53) genetic correlations were found between milk yield and milk flow traits and indicated that the current selection in Lacaune sheep based on yield is associated to an increase of both parameters, milk flow and milking time. Lactation somatic cell score was positively correlated with subclinical intra-mammary infections (+0.72) and unfavourably associated with milk yield (+0.12). These results reinforce the interest of including LSCS in the breeding objectives of dairy sheep in order to balance the negative effect of selecting for increased production on udder health. The genetic correlation of intra-mammary infections with latency time was unfavourable and moderate (-0.33). The hypothesis was that ewes with high milk flow rate may have a lower sphincter tone facilitating pathogen entry.
The diet of the paradoxical frog Pseudis paradoxa in Trinidad, West Indies

The diet of adult and late metamorphic Pseudis paradoxa in Trinidad was assessed from stomach contents. Pseudis paradoxa consumed a wide taxonomic and size range of invertebrates, mostly insects, but also arachnids, crustaceans (crabs) and annelids. There was little evidence for ontogenetic changes in prey taken, but larger females had taken larger prey than smaller individuals. Although most prey items could have been captured above the water surface, some must have been taken below the surface. The significance of these findings is discussed in the light of Pseudis's unique life history and evolution (individuals are essentially full size at metamorphosis; adults are fully but secondarily aquatic) and in comparison with previous reports.
Active Learning with Partially Annotated Sequence

We propose an active learning framework which requires human annotation only in the ambiguous parts of the sequence. In each iteration of active learning, a set of tokens from the ambiguous parts are manually labeled while the other tokens are left unannotated. Our proposed method is superior to the method where unambiguous tokens are automatically labeled. We evaluate our proposed framework on chunking and named entity recognition data provided by CoNLL. Experimental results show that our proposed framework outperforms the previous work using automatically labeled tokens, and almost reaches the supervised F1 with 6.37% and 8.59% of tokens being manually labeled, respectively.
GDP Growth and Credit Data

It is a well-known fact that there is a strong relationship between bank credit and economic activity. Thus, it is a reasonable question whether credit data can be used in nowcasting GDP growth. It is important for policymakers to make on-time decisions with the most available data. Most macroeconomic variables are made available to public after a considerable delay; however, bank credit data may be very valuable for the early estimate of current GDP as it is available only with a few days delay. In this paper, we aim to investigate the feasibility of using credit data in explaining the variability in Turkish GDP growth as well as nowcasting it. For this purpose, we use credit impulse and new borrowing, two measures of credit flows. We show that both are significant in explaining the pattern of the Turkish GDP growth and have significant contribution in nowcasting it.
Higher Order Beliefs and the Dynamics of Exchange Rates

We estimate a model for exchange rate dynamics when expectations present higher order beliefs. A structural macro model for exchange rates is proposed where agents form their one-step-ahead predictions under a Bayesian learning process and in which aggregation of their choices is considered into the dynamics of exchange rates. Bayesian estimation of the structural parameters is implemented by using survey data on heterogeneous forecasts and fundamentals. Results show that higher order beliefs are relevant in building the subjective expectations' process and this phenomenon is dependent on information uncertainty. First, public information coordinates heterogeneous expectations of predictors leading to overweighting of signals from specific fundamentals. Second, predictors mis-perceive them as the most prevalent factors to form their forecasts, although the role of their own private assessments fades away.
The Effect of Customer’s Orientation of Service Employee on Customer’s Satisfaction of Health Services

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of customer’s orientation of service employee (COSE) on customer satisfaction as well as its impact on the customer loyalty in C type of private hospitals in Surakarta, Central Java. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study uses three variables, namely customer’s orientation of service employee (COSE), customer’s satisfaction, and customer loyalty. This research uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) as research method, and data analysis technique using AMOS 23.0. Findings: The result of the study shows that COSE had influenced the customer’s satisfaction and the customer’s loyalty. In conclusion, the customer’s satisfaction is an intervening variable that can mediate the effect of variable COSE on the customer’s loyalty. Practical Implications: COSE is something important to affect the performance of the resulting service which will provide customer’s satisfaction that will affect customer’s loyalty and improve the higher sustainable interaction between service providers (hospital) and patients. Originality/Value: This is part of a research on the effect of COSE on customer’s satisfaction on health services, especially for private hospitals in Indonesia.
A STUDY OF ASCORBIC ACID CONCENTRATION IN THE AQUEOUS HUMOR AND INTRA OPERATIVE CHALLENGES DURING CATARACT SURGERY IN PATIENTS WITH PSEUDO EXFOLIATION AS COMPARED TO NORMAL

PURPOSE: To compare the concentration of ascorbic acid in the aqueous humor and serum of cases of pseudoexfoliation and age and sex matched controls and to observe the intra operative challenges faced during cataract surgery in cases of pseudo exfoliation and controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a case control study with 40 cases of pseudo exfoliation and 40 age and sex matched controls with similar grade of cataract. Procedure involved collection of 0.15ml of aqueous humor in a tuberculin syringe prior to the side port incision, from cases and controls which was and immediately sent for biochemical analysis by spectro photometry. Intra operative difficulties were observed and compared. Serum samples of 5ml each from cases and controls were also analyzed for as corbate concentration and compared. The statistical analysis was done using standard ttest and p value estimation. RESULTS: The ascorbic acid concentration in aqueous humor of cases is significantly lower than in controls and the intra operative challenges during cataract surgery were more in cases than in controls. CONCLUSION: The lowering of ascorbic acid concentration in the aqueous humor of pseudo exfoliation patients emphasizes the role of oxidative damage in the etiology of pseudo exfoliation. The study throws light on the challenges encountered during cataract surgery in pseudo exfoliation.
Influence of particle size distribution on in vivo and in vitro limestone solubility

A study was conducted to determine the in vivo and in vitro limestone solubility of different mixtures of small and large particle limestone. Small (0 - 1.0 mm) and large (2.0 - 3.8 mm) particles were blended to obtain five distribution mixtures consisting of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% large particles limestone. Thirty three individually caged Lohmann-Silver laying hens were randomly allocated to each of the five treatments for the determination of in vivo limestone solubility. A hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution was used as solvent for in vitro limestone solubility determination. An increase in the percentage large particle limestone resulted in a significant increased in vivo and decreased in vitro limestone solubility. A significant increased intestinal limestone content (ILC) and decreased faecal limestone content (FLC) were observed with an increase in the percentage large particle limestone. These results suggest that an increased percentage of larger particle limestone in distribution mixtures, resulting in a prolonged retention time in the gizzard, could provide more Ca 2+ to laying hens due to the increased in vivo limestone solubility rate thereof.
Corporate Bond Selection with Option Information

When markets are efficient all available information is quickly incorporated into all asset prices. Markets are, however, not efficient due to disturbances such as transaction costs, liquidity constraints or regulations. The factor investing literature illustrates this market inefficiency by finding significant premiums in asset markets that are different from the traditional asset class premiums. This research contributes further to this literature by applying information from options to construct profitable trading strategies with corporate bonds. This shows that not all available information from the option market is incorporated in the corporate bond market. Furthermore, many insights are provided as to what kind of information can be obtained from the option market. The results of this research reinforce the notion of the option market as an important source of information for investors.
Effect of scarification on soil change and establishment of and artificial forest regeneration under Nothofagus spp. in Southern Chile

Soil scarification has been used as a silvicultura method to facilitate the regeneration of some forests, but it may have a negative impact on the properties of the soil. We evaluated the effect of a mechanized scarification on a volcanic soil after a shelterwood cutting in a Nothofagus spp. forest, located in the Andean region of southern Chile (39° 54 'S, 71° 56' 5 W, 970 m asl). A plantation of Nothofagus nervosa was established after scarification, and its physical (moisture content, bulk density, penetration resistance) and chemical (pH, organic matter, macro and microelements; saturation Al) soil properties were analyzed in scarified gaps and undisturbed forest. The size of N. nervosa planted trees was measured eleven months after their establishment (June 2010). The volumetric water content of the soil was similar with and without scarification (30-50%), regardless of the time of year. The bulk density was higher in the scarified soil when compared to the undisturbed forest. The soil nutrient supply in the gaps (0-20 cm) decreased when compared to the undisturbed forest (0-10 cm), but showed little difference between gaps and between locations within them. The N. nervosa plantation developed properly, with similar growth in gaps of different size. Scarification decreased soil quality; the effects on regeneration will need further evaluation throughout a longer period.