Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electrical Switching in Thin Film Structures Based on Transition Metal Oxides

Electrical switching, manifesting itself in the nonlinear current-voltage characteristics with S- and N-type NDR (negative differential resistance), is inherent in a variety of materials, in particular, transition metal oxides. Although this phenomenon has been known for a long time, recent suggestions to use oxide-based switching elements as neuristor synapses and relaxation-oscillation circuit components have resumed the interest in this area. In the present review, we describe the experimental facts and theoretical models, mainly on the basis of the Mott transition in vanadium dioxide as a model object, of the switching effect with special emphasis on the emerging applied potentialities for oxide electronics.
Designing a collaborative learning game: Its validation with a turn- taking control scheme in a primary science unit Kubaşik Bir Öğrenme Oyunu Tasarimi: Tasarimin İlköğretim Fen Bilgisi Ünitesinde Sirali Arayüz Kontrolüyle Geçerlenmesi

This study first attempted to blend the framework of the activity theory for tool and context interaction, some other game design models for pedagogical principles, and collaborative learning issues for promoting shared understanding between learners. The study then outlined a model for designing a collaborative game, accordingly implemented a learning game for elementary science, and examined it with two groups of students under two different play and control schemes: The students played the game collaboratively scored higher in the posttest, and their progress scores were higher than individually playing students. Additionally, in collaborative mode, the students taking control first had similar post-test and progress scores to the ones taking the control second. The result favored players’ turn-taking control over a chain of tasks for desired collaborative learning outcomes.
The Motherhood Wage Penalty in a Mediterranean Country: The Case of Spain

We present evidence for the motherhood wage penalty in Spain as a representative Southern European Mediterranean country. We use the European Community Household Panel (ECHP, 1994-2001) to estimate, from both pool and fixed-effects methods, a wage equation in terms of observed variables and other non-observed individual characteristics. The empirical results confirm that there is clear evidence of a wage penalty for Spanish working women with children. Specifically, the fact that there is a birth in the family during the current year means that the woman loses 9% of her wage. We also find that having one child living in the household means a significant loss in wages of 6%, having two children, almost 14%, and having three or more, more than 15%.
Histological and immunohistochemical study of the possible protective effect of folic acid on the methotrexate- induced cardiac muscle toxicity in male albino rats

Introduction: Methotrexate is widely used as a chemotherapeutic agent in cancers, ectopic pregnancies and rheumatic arthritis. Folic acid is found in dark green leafy vegetables. Methotrexate is folic acid antagonist that prevents its conversion to tetrahydro folic acid.Aim: This research aimed to study the protective effect of folic acid on the histological changes produced by methotrexate in cardiac muscles.Materials and Methods: Thirty adult male albino rats were divided into three equal groups. Group I (control group) 10 rats injected intraperitoneally with saline. Group II rats were intraperitoneally injected with methotrexate at a dose of 5mg/kg/day for one month. Group III: were intraperitoneally injected with methotrexate at a dose of (5mg/kg/day) with concomitant oral folic acid at a dose of (0.1mg/kg/day) for one month. After 24 hrs of the last dose, the animals were dissected. Hearts were processed for haematoxyline and eosine stain, immunohistochemical stains and electron microscopic examination.Results: Both degenerative and apoptotic changes were observed in the cardiac muscles in the methotrexte-treated group, these changes were attenuated by administration of folic acid.Conclusion: Folic acid is beneficial to the cardiac muscles during methotrexate treatment and should be used concomitant with methotrexate treatment.
Coarticulation and Gesture: an Analysis of Melodic Movement in South Indian Raga Performance

This article presents an analysis of small-scale melodic movement in South Indian rāga performance employing the concept of coarticulation, defined here as the tendency for the performance of a unit to be influenced by that which precedes or follows it. Coarticulation has been much studied in phonetics and also explored to some extent in sign language and the kinematics of instrumental performance. Here I seek to account for variation in the performance of Karnatak musical units known as svaras (the scale degrees of a rāga) and gamakas (ornaments) through the phenomenon of coarticulation, thus providing an analysis of small-scale melodic movement that focuses on the dynamic processes which form the style rather than on the categorisation of discrete elements. The material investigated is a video recording of ālāpana (improvisation) in rāga Toḍi performed by the Karnatak violinist T. V. Ramanujacharlu in Tamil Nadu, South India. A section of the recording is transcribed into staff notation and visualised through pitch-contour graphs created in Praat sound-analysis software. The hand movements required to produce the musical phrases are described from observation of the video alongside figures showing motion-tracking data. Interviews with musicians, participant observation and the author's experience as a student of Karnatak violin provide the foundation for interpretation of the material. Results show that coarticulation can be seen between svaras through the oscillatory gamakas with which they are performed. Atomistic and gestural conceptions of South Indian music are discussed, following which suggestions are made for the implications of this research in modelling the Karnatak style, as well as for potential applications in musical information retrieval (MIR).
Modelling Organizational Change in the International Olympic Committee

Abstract The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has grown from a nineteenth-century amateur-based gentlemen's club to a multi-national, non-governmental, professionally run sport organization in the twenty-first. Commercial development and subsequent high integration with webs of outside organizations wrought change to sport and to the IOC, especially under the impacts of environmental disturbances. The research is based on historical documents of the organization and secondary sources of data. These data were examined first in the context of Laughlin's (1991) model of organizational change. Although this model reveals succinctly the way in which change can be represented historically, it does have limitations, so we subject Laughlin's model to a critical post-modern framework as adopted by Skinner, Stewart, and Edwards (1999). In the end, organizational change is a complex phenomenon that filters through the organization with differing ramifications.
Assessing the Success of ICT’s from a User Perspective: Case Study of Coffee Research Foundation, Kenya

The study was conducted to validate the application of DeLone & McLean’s Information System (IS) success model (2003) in a local setup in Kenya and to evaluate the success of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from a user perspective. It was carried out at Coffee Research Foundation (CRF) in Kenya. A number of past studies to measure the success of information systems in different settings were reviewed leading to the choice and use of the updated DeLone & McLean IS success model in this study. The research involved the use of questionnaires as well as interviews and focus group discussion (FGD). A number of hypotheses were formulated and tested and the results indicated that the updated DeLone & McLean’s IS success model was valid as a useful model for this particular study. The study also indicated that the variables system quality, information quality, and service quality stood out as critical determinants of how information and communication technology systems can be used to improve organizational performance.
SETA-SPIGOT HOMOLOGY AND SILK PRODUCTION IN FIRST INSTAR ANTRODIAETUS UNICOLOR SPIDERLINGS (ARANEAE: ANTRODIAETIDAE)

A scanning electron microscope study of the silk spigots of the first free postembryonic insta r ofAntrodiaetus unicolor shows that their spigots and setae are more similar in early instar spiderlings than i n the adult spiders . This ontogenetic evidence supports the hypothesis that the silk spigots of spiders evolve d from setae . These observations also suggest that spigots with a deep articulation between the base and shaft ar e more primitive than the non-articulated spigots . "Among the arachnids, spiders alone produce silk from opisthosomal glands that open throug h modified setae called spigots, which in turn are located on reduced abdominal appendages, th e spinnerets" (Shear et al. 1989). Much is known about the uses, chemistry, and physics of spider silk, but little is known about its evolutionar y origin. Several hypotheses have been propose d to explain the evolution of silk production i n spiders. McCook (1889) and Savory (1928) (a s summarized by Shear 1986) suggest that th e primitive arachnids trailed excretory materia l from coxal glands, serving as a trail back to a safe retreat . However, Shultz (1987) most re- cently has postulated that silk evolved primarily for reproductive needs, where it was used to con - struct egg sacs and spermatophores . Rovne r (1987) also suggested that silk first served a re- spiratory function, allowing spiders in floode d areas to construct a silken retreat that exchange d oxygen with the surrounding water . These hy- potheses along with others (Decae 1984; Foelix 1982) are derived primarily from knowledge of extant silk use. An alternative approach focuses on the morphology of the spinning apparatus of primitive spiders (Palmer et al . 1982 ; Palme r 1985). Palmer (1990) proposed two simulta- neously plausible hypotheses regarding the evo- lutionary origin of the silk producing apparatus: 1) the silk glands were derived from dermal gland s and 2) silk spigots were derived from sensor y setae. Scanning and transmission electron mi- croscope observations of adult female Antro- diaetus unicolor show that there are both externa l
Do the Dose And the Starting Time of Clomiphene Citrate in Induction Protocol Affect the Clinical and Endocrinological Response

OBJECTIVE To compare the standard ovulation induction protocol with the protocol of starting clomiphene citrate on the first day of cycle and for only 3 days. METHODS Fifty-nine women between 20 and 32 years of age, who were diagnosed as anovulatory by the criteria of World Health Organization Class II and had not received any medications for infertility were included in this prospective randamised study. Group I received clomiphene citrate 50 mg! day for 3 days starting on the first day of the cycle and group II 50 mg! day for 5 days starting on the fifth day. Estradiol level on the 11th day and estradiol and progesterone levels on the 22nd day, endometrial thickness, ovulation rate, pregnancy rate and miscarriage rate were studied. RESULTS In group 1, serum levels of estradiol and progesterone and the rate of ovulation were found to be lower and the rate of abortion higher. CONCLUSION Starting therapy with Clomiphene citrate on the first day of the cycle with short duration does not give any benefit to endocrinological and clinic outcomes.
Finite element modeling of composite steel-concrete beams with external prestressing

In this paper, a nonlinear finite-element analyses have been carried out to investigate the behavior up to failure of simply supported composite steel-concrete beams with external prestressing, in which a concrete slab is connected together with steel I-beam by means of headed stud shear connectors, subjected to symmetrically static loading. ANSYS computer program (version 12.0) has been used to analyze the three dimensional model. This covers: load deflection behavior, strain in concrete, strain in steel beam and failure modes. The nonlinear material and geometrical analysis based on Incremental-Iterative load method, is adopted. Three models have been analyzed to verify its capability and efficiency. The results obtained by finite element solutions have shown good agreement with experimental results.
Evolutionary Properties of Helium-rich, Degenerate Dwarfs in Binaries Containing Compact Companions

The evolution of binaries containing low-mass donors (≤2 M☉) and degenerate accretors (i.e., white dwarfs [0.7 M☉] or neutron stars [1.4 M☉]) is systematically investigated over a wide expanse of parameter space. The donors are assumed to have metallicities in the range of 0.0001 ≤ Z ≤ 0.02 and could be either unevolved (zero-age main sequence) or ascending the red giant branch at the onset of mass transfer [corresponding to 5 ≲ Porb(hr) ≲ 2 × 103]. The evolutionary tracks form part of a very detailed grid of nearly 200 sequences, each corresponding to a different set of initial conditions. During the initial phases of their evolution, the systems resemble either low-mass X-ray binaries or cataclysmic variables. However, as has been pointed out by several authors (e.g., Podsiadlowski et al.), the evolutionary tracks can exhibit a wide variety of behaviors and outcomes. We focus on systems that evolve to produce helium-rich degenerate dwarfs (HeDDs) that are either detached or still losing mass after a Hubble time. Of the systems that avoid dynamical instability, some evolve to ultrashort values of Porb (<60 minutes), while others that lie above the bifurcation limit (which we show to be quite sensitive to the assumed metallicity) produce wide binary millisecond pulsars (BMSPs) containing HeDD companions that have Porb values of ≲2 × 104 hr. We also show that the mass and composition of the envelopes of HeDDs that are about to descend the cooling branch are particularly sensitive to the input physics and this in turn dictates whether they experience extremely vigorous hydrogen shell flashes. Our computed values of the envelope mass, menv (corresponding to the mass of those layers below the surface containing some hydrogen), typically have a dependence on the final donor mass (mf) and metallicity (Z) that can be expressed as menv ∝ mZ-0.2. Furthermore, for systems that do not evolve too close to the bifurcation limit, we find that the final orbital period is given by Porb,f(hr) ≅ 2.5 Z0.3 × 10. Finally, we use our results to comment on the properties of the optical companions to binary millisecond pulsars and compare their inferred ages with the spin-down times of the pulsars. The structure of young HeDDs should be particularly useful as starting models for more sophisticated cooling calculations that take into account important long-term physical processes and thus we are making our models available for retrieval.
Cultural epidemiology: An introduction and overview

Although the value of interdisciplinary collaboration between epidemiology and anthropology is both widely acknowledged and hotly contested, effective international health policy and multicultural health programmes require it. The EMIC framework for cultural studies of illness was developed in response to such needs, and a cultural epidemiology emerged from that framework as an interdisciplinary field of research on locally valid representations of illness and their distributions in cultural context. These representations are specified by variables, descriptions, and narrative accounts of illness experience, its meaning, and associated illness behaviour. Specialized interactive qualitative and quantitative research methods provide a descriptive account, facilitate comparisons, and clarify the cultural basis of risk, course, and outcomes of practical significance for clinical practice and public health. This paper discusses the theoretical underpinnings of cultural epidemiology and an operational formulation for examining patterns of distress, perceived causes, and help-seeking. Five additional papers in this special issue of Anthropology and Medicine indicate how the EMIC has been used and has engendered an ethnographically grounded cultural epidemiology. Although this overview and these papers are concerned exclusively with mental health, a complementary stream of active research on leprosy, tuberculosis, epilepsy, and other tropical infectious, neurological, and medical disorders is ongoing. Next steps for cultural epidemiology in mental health research are discussed, including (1) further clinic-based studies of psychiatric disorders, (2) studies of deliberate self-harm in clinic and community settings, (3) complementary cultural components of psychiatric epidemiological surveys, (4) baseline assessments to guide community programmes, and (5) contributions to intervention studies.
Monetary Uncertainty and Demand for Money Stability in Nigeria: An Autoregressive Distributed Lag Approach

This paper investigates the effect of monetary uncertainty (MUC) on the stability of money demand function in Nigeria using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach for the period of 1980-2014. The demand for money in Nigeria is specified as a function of income, domestic interest rate, inflation, nominal exchange rate and MUC. The effect of MUC on money demand function has not been previously studied in the demand for money literature in Nigeria. The results from the bound testing indicate that MUC, income, domestic interest rate, inflation, exchange rate and broad money (M2) are co-integrated. The finding shows that MUC has a significant influence on the demand for money function in Nigeria. Evidence has shown a unidirectional causality running from MUC to money demand without feedback. The CUSSUM and CUSSUMSQ stability test established that the broad money demand function in Nigeria is stable over the period under study. By implication the monetary policies aimed at monetary targeting could be very effective even when there is the presence of significant MUC.
Chapter 4 The Quality of Organically Produced Food

Organic farming began to develop in the modern world as a response to intensified farming and industrial agriculture, using synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, introduction of monocultures into large areas, the separation the animal husbandry from plant production and using heavy machinery. All of this leads both to environmental degradation, and on the other hand, the overproduction of food. At the same time the food quality decreases contin‐ uously with regard to nutritional value, which is also the effect of strongly developed food technology.
Life cycle and spring phenology of Temora longicornis in the Baltic Sea

The seasonal variation in abundance, biomass and vertical distribution of nauplii and copepodites of Temora longicornis in the Bornholm Basin was studied from March 2002 to May 2003 to understand the overwintering, spring development and life cycle of this species in the Baltic Sea. The analysis of the life cycle by means of stage structure, copepodite length and stage duration revealed that T. longicornis produced 5 to 6 generations yr–1. The species overwintered in low abundance as an active, slowly developing generation with adults appearing from February/March onwards. The onset of the spring bloom in April triggered reproduction and initiated the first spring generation (G1) with a strong rise in nauplii abundance. The stock biomass increased in May with the occurrence of the copepodites of G1 and remained high during the succeeding generations G2 and G3 until August. The stock was distributed in the upper, brackish 30 to 60 m of the water column. In summer, copepodite stages concentrated in the cool intermediate water during daytime and migrated to the surface at night. This seasonal submergence explains the persistence of T. longicornis in the Bornholm Basin throughout the year because the average temperature experienced by the population was low (5 to 14°C) compared with the unfavourable warm surface temperatures (>20°C). The study further showed that the timing of the spring biomass increase of the species is associated with the maturation of the first generation and can vary considerably between years. A delay of ~1 mo was observed in 2003 when environmental conditions during the cohort development were unfavourable. We conclude that the spring development of T. longicornis is complex and depends not only on prevailing temperatures, but also on spring bloom timing and post-bloom food availability.
Perceived Benefits and Challeges of IFRS Adoption in Ghana: Views of Members of Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG)

This paper provides an empirical evidence regarding the perceived benefits and challenges of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) adoption in Ghana. It draws on rich body of knowledge in IFRS from both developed and developing countries to develop a conceptual framework for the perceived benefits and challenges that come with IFRS adoption. It used data from a cross-section of 762 members of the Institute of Charted Accountants, Ghana. This study found that a number of perceived benefits and challenges with the adoption of IFRS in Ghana, notable among the benefits was the ease of comparability of financial data across borders, and the top-most challenge was the continuous amendments to IFRS. There were few differences in evaluation between old and young accountants among the respondents. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. This study contributes to the limited empirical research regarding the perceived benefits and challenges of IFRS adoption in Sub-Saharan African in general and Ghana in particular.
CONSTRUCTAL DESIGN OF A VORTEX TUBE FOR SEVERAL INLET STAGNATION PRESSURES

The present paper shows a numerical study concerned with the geometrical optimization of a vortex tube device by means of Constructal Design for several inlet stagnation pressures. In the present study, it is evaluated a vortex tube with two-dimensional axisymmetric computational domain with dry air as the working fluid. The compressible and turbulent flows are numerically solved with the commercial CFD package FLUENT, which is based on the Finite Volume Method. The turbulence is tackled with the k - ε model into the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach. The geometry has one global restriction, the total volume of the cylindrical tube, and four degrees of freedom: d 3 / D (the ratio between the diameter of the cold outlet and the diameter of the vortex tube), d 1 / D (the ratio between the diameter of the inlet nozzle and the diameter of the vortex tube), L 2 / L (the ratio between the length of the hot exit annulus and the length of the vortex tube) and D / L (the ratio between the diameter of the vortex tube and its length). The degree of freedom L 2 / L will be represented here by the cold mass fraction ( y c ). In the present work it is optimized the degrees of freedom y c and d 3 / D while the other degrees of freedom and the global restriction are kept fixed. The purpose here is to maximize the amount of energy extracted from the cold region (cooling effect) for several geometries, as well as, investigate the influence of the inlet stagnation pressure over the optimal geometries. Results showed an increase of the twice maximized cooling heat transfer rate of nearly 330 % from 300 kPa to 700 kPa. Moreover, the optimization showed a higher dependence of ( d 3 / D ) o for the lower range of inlet pressures, while the optimization is more dependent of y c,oo for higher inlet stagnation pressures.