Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study on the Seed Susceptibility of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Cultivars to Impact Damage

Mechanical damage due to harvesting, handling, and other processes is an important factor that affects the seeds quality. Seed damage results in lower grain value and more storability problem and reduces seed germination and seedling vigor and subsequent yield of crops. Tests were conducted to determine the percentage of physical damage (PPD) and percentage of loss in germination (PLG) of wheat seeds due to impact. The effect of wheat seed cultivar and impact velocity was determined. Wheat seed cultivars selected for testing included: Kohdasht, Maron, Simereh, Sardari and Zagros. Four impact velocities: 10, 20, 30 and 40 m s -1 were used. Results showed that effects of impact velocity and seed cultivar on seed damages were significant. PPD to seeds was higher than PLG in higher impact velocities. It found that the total damage of seeds increased from 4.17% (0.48 PPD and 3.68 PLG) to 73.32 % (47.59 PPD and 25.73 PLG) as impact velocity increased from 10 to 40 m s -1 for all wheat cultivars studied. Impact results indicated that Sardari wheat cultivar was more susceptible to PPD (27.39 %), while Maron seeds were more susceptible to PLG (14.70%). Among the cultivars studied, Sardari wheat seeds showed the highest level of total damage i.e.sum of PPD and PLG.
Globalisation , Productivity and Technology Research Paper 2010 / 12 The Decision to Export and the Volatility of Sales By

This paper studies the export decision of risk-averse firms in a model featuring aggregate uncertainty and no capital markets. Firms seeking to enter the foreign market face a sunk cost as well as a fixed participation cost every period they export. Using a calibrated version of the model, I show that firms are more likely to export when the correlation between domestic and foreign aggregate shocks is negative and when their degree of risk-aversion is higher. Counterfactual experiments show that exporting increases the volatility of total sales. JEL classification: F12, F40.
Unintentional Poisoning in Children Admitted to Tabriz Pediatric Hospital

Background: Poisoning is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children. Medicines and household cleaning products are responsible for the majority of cases. The aim of the present study is to analyze poisoning cases presenting to Tabriz children hospital. Methods: The present descriptive cross-sectional study, of all poisoning cases presenting to the children hospital during January 2014 to July 2015 and children from one to twelve years of age were included. The data was collected through referring to all parents of the children and using a questionnaire that included demographic and poisoning characteristic information. The demographic features included gender, age, place of residency and type of poisons was investigated. Also parents were interviewed by using structured questionnaire containing information on socio-demographic factors, parental smoking, parental education level, child's behavior, and storage practices of hazardous substances of caregivers inside homes. Results: Children poisoning was common among low educated family with parental smoker and was higher for boys (59%) than girls (41%). However, there was no mortality. Poisoning was unintentional and most of the poisoned cases, 63 (61.7%) of the children involved were below the age of four years i.e., between 1 and 3 years of age. Pharmaceutical products were the commonest agents accounting for 50% of all cases; followed by pesticides (15.7%), poisonous mushrooms (13.7%), Petroleum products (10.8%) and household detergents (9.8%). Conclusion: Improvement in the socioeconomic status of parents and health education on proper/ safe storage of medicines, chemicals and household detergents will help in reducing the incidence of poisoning.
Influence of varied crop residues and green biomass composts to rabi sorghum growing soils on uptake of major nutrients, microbial biomass and soil fertility status

A field experiment was conducted on vertisols (pH of 7.56 with organic carbon content of 0.55%) at Re- search Institute on Organic Farming, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur coming under northern Karnataka during rabi season of 2015-16 to study the Influence of varied crop residues and green biomass composts to rabi sorghum growing soils on uptake of major nutrients, organic carbon and soil fertility status. In general application of Cotton stalks, Redgram stalks, Glyricidia, combination of cotton and redgram stalks composts, FYM and combina- tion of organic and inorganic fertilizers helped to buildup soil nutrients with respect to organic carbon, available nitro- gen and phosphorus. Significantly higher nitrogen (227.3 kg ha-1), phosphorous (75.7 kg ha-1) and potassium (141.7 kg ha-1) uptake by rabi sorghum was recorded with combined application of recommended FYM (3 t ha-1) and NP fertilizers (50:25 kg N, P2O5 ha-1) (T14) followed by Cotton stalks +Redgram stalks + Glyricidia sp. with C:N ratio of 30:1 compost @ 50 kg N equivalent (T12: 222.0, 74.0 and 132.3 kg ha-1). The least uptake was recorded with abso- lute control (T15: 127.0, 42.0 and 71.7 kg ha-1). Similar trend was observed with organic carbon, available nitrogen and phosphorus. Combined application of recommended FYM (3 t ha-1) and NP fertilizers (50:25 kg N, P2O5 ha-1) followed by Cotton stalks +Redgram stalks + Glyricidia sp. with C:N ratio of 30:1 compost @ 50 kg N equivalent at the time of sowing recorded higher major nutrients uptake, microbial biomass and soil fertility status.
Performance Evaluation of the Effect of waste paper on Groundnut Shell Briquette

Current energy shortage and environmental issues resulting from the use of fossil fuels have lead to exploitation of renewable energy resources that includes municipal waste and agricultural residues. These residues are available, indigenous and are environmental friendly but some can not be used directly in combustion process due high moisture content and low volumetric energy unless by briquetting. The study was undertaken to assess the combustion characteristic of binderless briquettes produced from waste paper and groundnut shell. Combustion characteristics investigated were ignition time, burning time, calorific values, burning rate, specific fuel consumption, fuel efficiency and water boiling time. The calorific values of the briquettes ranged from 19.51 - 19.92 MJ/kg, while the thermal efficiency ranges between 13.75 – 21.64%, other results shows that the average burning rate between 0.511 and 1.133 kg/hr and the specific fuel consumption ranges between 0.087 and 0.131 J/g. The recorded boiling time values were between 17.5 and 30.0 minutes for cold start and 15.0 and 20.0 minutes for hot start. The results shows that waste paper and groundnut shell up to 25% in composition composite briquettes were found to have good combustion characteristics which qualify them as alternative to firewood for domestic and industrial energy. However, production of briquettes from waste paper and groundnut shell at mixing ratio of 85:15 was found to comparatively better from all experiment conducted.
Estimating the Resiliency of Zambian Smallholder Farmers: Evidence from a Three-Wave Panel

Aggregate African agricultural production is expected to fall due to changes in temperature and rainfall under current economic models, but 65 percent of the African labor force is employed in agriculture activity. Therefore, climatic changes have the potential to significantly impact all African citizens, especially farmers. Agricultural producers must adapt to these climatic changes and the risk filled environment that rural households operate, especially small-holder farmers, which makes them particularly vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity without successful adaptation. The limited success of improving agricultural technology in Zambia makes it important to understand the determinants of changes in farm yield for major staple crops, including maize, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, and cassava. This paper generates an empirical model of the determinants of changes in farm yields using a three wave panel dataset for three agricultural seasons. Results indicate that over households have made minimal changes in crop choice and little impact has been observed due to changes in climate for Zambian farmers. Increases in yearly average rainfall and temperature positively affect maize yields. As temperatures continue to rise in the future, this relationship may not hold as the climate becomes unsuitable for large scale maize production. Changes in rainfall negatively affect household groundnut and sweet potato production which might result from switching between crops as weather changes. Finally, increased temperatures negatively affect cassava production.
Willingness to Compete in a Gender Equal Society

A number of experimental studies have found that females are more competitively inclined than males, and it has been argued that this difference potentially can explain a wide range of real world economic phenomena, including observed gender differences in labor markets (Balafoutas and Sutter, 2012; Flory et al., 2010; Gneezy et al., 2003; Gneezy and Rustichini, 2004; Niederle and Vesterlund, 2007, 2011; Sutter and R¨utzler, 2010). Recent evidence suggests that the gender difference in willingness to compete largely reflects cultural norms, which has been seen as providing justification for gender equalizing public policies aiming at eliminating this asymmetry between males and females (Gneezy et al., 2009). The Scandinavian countries have for a long time pursued such policies, and are today considered among the most gender equal societies in the world; in fact, Norway ranks highest on the UN gender equality index comprising measures of educational attainment, labor market participation and health.1 Still, in a large lab experiment conducted with adolescents in Norway, we find a substantial gender difference in the willingness to compete, in line with what has been observed in Sweden (C´ardenas et al., 2012). We argue that these observations from Scandinavia provide a challenge to the gender policy debate, namely how to view preference differences in free and gender equal societies. Economists have traditionally assigned great importance to respecting individual preferences, as exemplified by the recent literature on libertarian paternalism (Sunstein and Thaler, 2008), but have been more willing to consider policies that nudge people in a particular direction if this is to overcome a particular behavioral bias, for example when individuals hold incorrect beliefs about their own abilities.
Gender Inequality and Women Discrimination In Real Estate Firms in Lagos State , Nigeria

This study evaluates the women discrimination in the real estate industry in Lagos State, Nigeria. A total of seventyeight (78) Estate Surveying and Valuation firms were randomly selected in the study area, Forty-five (45) questionnaires were retrieved and analysed using descriptive statistics. The study found that there were more male Estate Surveyors and Valuers than female in the study area. Most of the female estate surveyors and valuers are attached to property management departments of their firms and the challenges they encounter range from difficulty in balancing work and the home front to the fact that women are seen as not being capable of practicing the profession amongst others. The study recommended that the female Estate Surveyors and Valuers should be proactive and strive to be at par or even better than their male colleagues.
Warholian Repetition and the Viewer’s Affective Response to Artworks from His Death and Disaster Series

In his Death and Disaster series, Andy Warhol repeated gruesome images of suicides and car crashes. The artist’s use of repetition has been discussed extensively but not in terms of its direct impact on the viewer’s perceptual and cognitive processing. This article considers the viewer’s affective experience resulting from repeated exposure to negative images in artworks from the Death and Disaster series. The authors put forward an account of the potential affective experience of Warholian repetition based on existing experimental findings and by way of the artist’s own remarks on the relationship between repetition and affect.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON OF MEAN AREAL PRECIPITATION ESTIMATES FROM WSR-88D, OPERATIONAL AND HISTORICAL GAGE NETWORKS

The National Weather Service River Forecast System (NWSRFS) is a comprehensive set of models and hydrologic techniques used by the National Weather Service (NWS) River Forecast Centers (RFC) to conduct hydrologic forecasting. The Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting (SACSMA) model (Burnash et al.,1973), which uses mean areal precipitation (MAP) input and outputs runoff, is an important component of the prediction program in the NWSRFS (Fread et al, 1995).
Non-destructive testing of concrete treated with penetrating surface sealant using a Karsten-tube

Surface treatment is increasingly becoming acceptable as a means of ensuring concrete durability by way of controlling or preventing the ingress of various deleterious agents of concrete deterioration. In practice, a combination of non-destructive and semi-destructive evaluation of the concrete surface is often necessary to decide on the need for treatment or re-treatment of previously treated surfaces. The owners of structures and restorers appreciate simple and non-destructive methods in making any interventions on surfaces that have been treated previously. Existing knowledge would suggest that correct interpretation of these test results would depend on an understanding of the effect of factors such as the initial moisture content, quality of the concrete and exposure conditions. This paper presents the result of a study to assess the applicability of the “Karsten-tube” in measuring the water uptake of treated and un-treated concrete surfaces and the effects of the concrete quality, and environmental conditions upon the test results. The results are compared with complementary tests for oxygen permeability and porosity of the concrete specimens studied. Three concrete mixes and five different exposure conditions were investigated. Some specimens were soaked in 3% Sodium Chloride solution to study the effects of aggressive agents. The results indicates that Karsten-tube is a quick non-destructive method for obtaining useful information about the condition of treated and un-treated concrete surfaces and could be used for rapid and reliable assessment of the need for re-treatment of previously treated surfaces. Well-treated surfaces will have low water uptake values, irrespective of the quality of the concrete.
Zakat Institution in Malaysia : Problems and Issues

Zakat administration in Malaysia is a State matter in particular relating to the passing of regulations and statutes. The respective Heads of States (the rulers) are heads of Islam as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. This paper gives a chronicle of the transformation and phases of development of zakat institution in Malaysia. Zakat institution can play an important role in complementing the Government’s poverty eradication effort although its scope is for the poor and needy Muslims only. Besides the poor and needy, there are other beneficiaries allowed by the Syariah. Its success would also help to buffer the effects of recession of the economy on the poor through capacity building and mindset transformation. The effectiveness of the zakat institution in carrying out its duties would depend on a number of factors viz. expansion of new resources for zakat, the collection of zakat from tangible and intangible properties, systematic zakat management, efficient zakat distribution and the thoroughness of implementation of Islamic rules. The article would discuss on matters that should be dealt with in order to improve zakat institutions in Malaysia in terms of the inefficiency issue, prospective payers, and capacity building.
Comparison of User Performance with Interactive and Static 3d Visualization - Pilot Study

Interactive 3D visualizations of spatial data are currently available and popular through various applications such as Google Earth, ArcScene, etc. Several scientific studies have focused on user performance with 3D visualization, but static perspective views are used as stimuli in most of the studies. The main objective of this paper is to try to identify potential differences in user performance with static perspective views and interactive visualizations. This research is an exploratory study. An experiment was designed as a between-subject study and a customized testing tool based on open web technologies was used for the experiment. The testing set consists of an initial questionnaire, a training task and four experimental tasks. Selection of the highest point and determination of visibility from the top of a mountain were used as the experimental tasks. Speed and accuracy of each task performance of participants were recorded. The movement and actions in the virtual environment were also recorded within the interactive variant. The results show that participants deal with the tasks faster when using static visualization. The average error rate was also higher in the static variant. The findings from this pilot study will be used for further testing, especially for formulating of hypotheses and designing of subsequent experiments.
Can Ethical Leaders Heal The Wounds? An Empirical Research

Leaders form the character and the nature of the organizations. In this respect ethical leaders may be the solution for organizations in corruption and employees in trouble. For this reason we treated ethical leadership as a healer, and analyzed its effects on intention to quit along with moderation effect of perceptions of organizational politics and mediation effect of organizational identification on this interaction. To that end, data were collected from 103 sales persons, who work at an international white good producing firm, in Ankara, Turkey through questionnaire. The data were analyzed with multifarious statistical techniques. The findings affirm healing effect of ethical leadership on intention to quit. In addition, as a new discovery, moderation effect of perceptions of organizational politics on healing effect of ethical leadership was found. Finally it was discovered that organizational identification and ethical leadership predict intention to quit separately.
Income Skewness, Redistribution and Growth: A Reconciliation ∗

The so-called “fiscal policy approach" predicts that increases in income skewness should be associated with an intensification of redistributive efforts, at least in democracies. If redistribution is detrimental to growth, then this implies that a poor middle class is bad for long-run productivity; a prediction which has found empirical support. However, cross-country studies tend to find a negative association between income skewness and the amount of redistribution taking place, and, a positive relationship between redistributive taxation and growth. This paper offers a reconciliation of the existing theory and these puzzling findings. Specifically, the model predicts that the traditionally stipulated chains of causality holds within countries, whereas the puzzling correlations mentioned above may arise across countries. We provide a test of our explanation and find support for our approach using data on income taxes, taxes on property and expenditures on education.
A World Without Intellectual Property? Boldrin and Levine, Against Intellectual Monopoly

In their recent book, Against Intellectual Monopoly, Michele Boldrin and David Levine conclude that patents and copyrights are not necessary to provide protection for either innovation or creative expression and should be eliminated. The authors note the many flaws of the U.S. system of intellectual property protection and argue that other means are available to appropriate the benefits of invention and creative expression. However, the authors overlook important functions of intellectual property. Their efforts would be put to better use by more carefully analyzing policy proposals that may improve our system of intellectual property rights and have some potential to be implemented.
Analysis of the damage mechanisms in mixed-mode delamination of laminated composites using acoustic emission data clustering

In this study, acoustic emission (AE) technique is used to investigate different time-to-failure mechanisms of delamination in glass/epoxy composite laminates. Woven and unidirectional layups were subjected to the double cantilever beam, end notch flexure, and mixed-mode bending tests and the generated AE signals were captured. Discrimination of the AE events, caused by different types of the damage mechanisms, was performed using wavelet packet transform (WPT) and fuzzy clustering method (FCM) associated with a principal component analysis (PCA). The FCM and WPT analyses identified three dominant damage mechanisms. Furthermore, different interface layups and different GII/GT modal ratio values (ratio of mode II strain energy release rate per total strain energy release rate) indicated different time-to-failure mechanisms incidence. Additionally, the damaged mechanisms were observed using scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis. The results showed that the dominant damage mechanisms in all the specimens are matrix cracking and fiber–matrix debonding. Besides, some fiber breakage appeared during the tests, and the percentage of this damage mechanism in the unidirectional specimens and mode I condition was higher than those in the woven specimens and mode II. SEM observations were also in good agreement with the obtained results. It was found that the presented methods can be utilized to improve the characterization and discrimination of damage mechanisms in the actual occurring modes of delamination in composite structures.
Student Engagement and Assessment Modes: A Study

The aim of this project is to attempt a factorial analysis of the congruence amongst three layers of assessments of Oral Presentation: Expert, Self, and Peer. Participants included graduate and undergraduate students of Asian background studying Research Writing at a technological university. The research instrument consisted of a set of assessment checklists with weighted and specified criteria for Expert, Self and Peer assessment of research presentations. Broader criteria were based on the following four factors: Use of spoken media, Use of visuals, Interrelationships, and Communicative Effect. Participants received training and were involved in a practice session on self and peer assessment before engaging in the assessment tasks. While the pilot study is unable to conclusively establish congruence among the modes of assessment, it is expected that results from a wider database would indicate the nature of well-defined assessment criteria and the ways they can be effectively communicated to assessors. The present study suggests that the differences in ratings given by peers and experts are not due to a lack of capability on the part of students, but due to lack of orientation and training. It is necessary to evolve criteria that are well-documented to enable students to evaluate their own performance as well as the performance of their peers as effectively as done by experts.