Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bolt profile configuration and load transfer capacity optimisation

Both bolt profile shape and spacing (rib spacing) have been found to influence the bonding capacity of the grouted rock bolt. The bolt surface profile configuration has greater importance to rock bolting in strata reinforcement in mining than the steel rebar used in civil engineering construction. This is because a rock bolt in mining usually is subjected to greater dynamic loading than the steel rebar in civil engineering construction. The increased bonding capacity of a bolt is important when supported ground is either heavily fractured, faulted or the supported ground is of soft formation, typically that of coal measure rocks. Past laboratory studies have identified the bolt profile spacing as of significant relevance to bolt resin rock bonding increase, however, no attempt has been made to determine the optimum spacing between the bolt profiles spacing. Accordingly, a series of laboratory tests were carried out on 22 mm core diameter bolts, commonly used in Australian mines, installed in cylindrical steel sleeve. The study was carried out using both push and pull testing methods. The push test was carried out in 150 mm long sleeves while the pull testing was conducted in 115 mm long sleeves. Profile spacing tested include, 12.5, 25.0, 37.5, and 50 mm lengths. Additional studies undertaken include modelling the profile of the load-displacement data of pull testing. Bolts with a profile spacing of 37.5 mm were found to provide optimum load bearing capacity as compared to other tested profile spacings.
Short-term electricity demand forecasting in the time domain and in the frequency domain

This paper compares the forecast accuracy of different models that explicitely accomodate seasonalities in the time domain with methods in the frequency domain. The forecast accuarcy of the methods are evaluated by their MAPE’s using a time series of half-hourly electricity demand for England and Wales. The methods in the time domain include a well-specified multiplicative seasonal ARIMA model, standard Holt-Winters method, double seasonal HoltWinters method both with and without residual auto-correlation correction. The methods in the frequency domain introduced in this paper are Fourier series that are modified to accomodate stochastic dependence. The last class of models in the frequency domain is shown to perform almost as good as the methods in the time domain and is promising in terms of accuracy and adaptability.
Oil Price and Exchange Rate Volatility in Nigeria

Nigeria being a mono-product economy, where the main export commodity is crude oil, changes in oil prices has implications for the Nigerian economy and, in particular, exchange rate movements. The latter is mostly important due to the double dilemma of being an oil exporting and oil-importing country, a situation that emerged in the last decade. The study examined the effects of oil price, external reserves and interest rate on exchange rate volatility in Nigeria using annual data covering the period 1970 to 2011. The theoretical framework of this study is based on Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasity modeled by Tim Bolerslev (1986) and Exponential General Autoregressive Conditional heteroskedastic modeled by Daniel Nelson (1991). These models were used to estimate the relationship between oil price changes and exchange rate. Relevant descriptive and econometric analyses were employed. The econometric tests adopted include the unit root tests, Johansen co-integration technique and the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM); the time series property examined shows that all the variables were stationary at first difference. The long run relationship among the variables was determined using the Johansen Co-integration technique while the vector correction mechanism was used to examine the speed of adjustment of the variables from the short run dynamics to the long run. It was observed that a proportionate change in oil price leads to a more than proportionate change in exchange rate volatility in Nigeria; which implies that exchange rate is susceptible to changes in oil price. The study therefore recommend that the Nigeria government should diversify from the Oil sector to other sectors of the economy so that Crude oil will no longer be the mainstay of the economy and frequent changes in crude oil price will not influence exchange rate volatility significantly in Nigeria.
EVALUATING STABILITY OF RESTRUCTURED PORK ADDED WITH GINGER EXTRACTS BY MEANS OF CHEMICAL AND SENSORY ANALYSIS

The aim of the study was to examine the possibility to use ginger extract for stabilizing restructured pork. Ginger extracts were prepared by extraction with ethanol. The extracts were added to minced pork at concentration of 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.4% with regard to dry matter. The samples were then subjected to bake at 180 o C and store at 4 o C. During the storage, samples were taken for measurement of the malonaldehyde content and sensory evaluation of appearance, flavour and taste using 1-10 intensity scale. The results have shown ginger extracts retard the autooxidation of lipid and have a positive effect on the sensory quality of baked pork during the storage. In general, these effects increase with the concentration of the extract.
Spray drift measurements in Italian vineyards and orchards

Also in Italy, following the indications of the EU Directive 128/2009/EC on sustainable use of pesticides, it is foreseen the introduction of mandatory buffer zones. Agrochemical companies, in the registration process of new PPP, shall evaluate also the eventually required buffer zones width and mention it in the PPP label. In this evaluation process due to the lack of national drift value references also in Italy are used procedures and models based on the “Ganzelmeier curves” (now known as Julius Kuhn Institute drift reference curves) that have been realized thanks to experimental data acquired in Germany, therefore in an agricultural and environmental context that is quite different from the Italian one.
An Investigation of the Impact of Corporate Governance Mechanisms on Level of Corporate Risk Disclosure: Evidence from Kuwait

This study investigated the association between corporate governance mechanisms and corporate risk disclosure (CRD) in the annual reports for a sample of 109 Kuwaiti listed non-financial companies in 2012. The study used a manual content analysis to measure risk disclosure by counting the number of risk-related sentences in annual reports. A multiple regression analysis was used to test the impact of board size,non-executive directors, percentage of family members on board, role duality, and audit committee on CRD. The quantity of risk disclosures in the Kuwaiti companies' annual reports was very limited. The results showed that the larger board size has a positive impact on CRD. However, the findings also indicated the existence of role duality lead to lower risk disclosure. Other corporate governance mechanisms did not explain variation in CRD.
Through the Looking Glass: Reflected Knowledge and Trust in Global Collaboration

Scholars argue that firsthand experience with distant colleagues is crucial for fostering trust in global collaboration. However, their arguments focus mainly on how trust accrues from direct knowledge about distant collaborators’ personal characteristics, relationships, and behavioral norms. We suggest that an equally important trust mechanism is 'reflected knowledge,' knowledge workers gain about the personal characteristics, relationships, and behavioral norms of their own site by interacting with their collaborators. Through surveys of 140 employees in a division of a global chemical company, we found that direct knowledge and reflected knowledge enhanced trust. While both enhanced feelings of closeness with others, results indicate that direct knowledge increased focal actors’ understanding of their distant colleagues, while reflected knowledge promoted feelings of being understood. We discuss implications of reflected knowledge to theories of trust and interpersonal dynamics in globally distributed collaboration.
C 1 q binding to Dengue Virus inhibits infection of THP-1 and cellular inflammatory responses

Bruno Douradinhaa,b,†, Sean P. McBurneyb, Klecia M. Soares de Melob,c, Amanda P. Smithb, Neel K. Krishnad, Simon M. Barratt-Boyesb,e, Jared D. Evansb,f, Eduardo J. M. Nascimentob,e, and Ernesto T. A Marques Jrb,c,e aFondazione Ri.MED, Via Bandiera 11, 90133 Palermo, Italy bUniversity of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research, 3501 Fifth Av 9th floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA cVirology and Experimental Therapy Laboratory, Aggeu Magalhães Research Center, Fiocruz, Recife, Pernambuco 50670-420, Brazil dDepartment of Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Lewis Hall, Room 3184, 700 W. Olney Road, Norfolk, VA 23507 USA eDepartment of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, 130 DeSoto Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA fDepartment of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 523 Bridgeside Point II, 450 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA
Comparative analysis of career choices by students in Latvia and the UK

The purpose of this research study is to examine theoretical findings and, based on them, to identify the career choice factors that affect Latvian and UK secondary school students’ occupational interests. The research was based on the theoretical concepts of the occupational interests, and the data gained from a survey of Latvian and UK secondary school students. The results of the research indicate that the most essential factors that help individuals to choose a career is to understand their own interests and explore their own capabilities. Also, learning experience and parents' advice is important for them. The occupational interests of the students, who were interviewed, are not harmonized with the demand in the economy.
The Long-Run Relationship between House Prices and Income: Evidence from Local Housing Markets

The proposition that "housing prices can't continue to outpace growth in household income" (Wall Street Journal; July 25, 2002) is the received wisdom among many housing-market observers. More formally, many in the housing literature argue that house prices and income are cointegrated. In this paper, I show that the data do not support this view. Standard tests using 27 years of national-level data do not find evidence of cointegration. However, it is known that tests for cointegration have low power, especially in small samples. I use panel-data tests for cointegration that have been shown to be more powerful than their standard time-series counterparts to test for cointegration in a panel of 95 metro areas over 23 years. Using a bootstrap approach to allow for cross-correlations in city-level house-price shocks, I show that even these more powerful tests do not reject the hypothesis of no cointegration. Thus the error-correction specification for house prices and income commonly found in the literature may be inappropriate.
MATHEMATICAL MORPHOLOGY AND UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION APPLIED TO THE STUDY OF DUAL PHASE STEEL FORMATION

Dual Phase steels (DP steels) have shown high potential for automotive and other applications, due to their remarkable property combination between high strength and good formability. The mechanical properties of the material are strictly related with the spatial distribution of the two phases composing the steel, ferrite and martensite, and their stochastic geometry. Unfortunately the experimental costs to obtain images of sections of steel samples are very high, thus one important industrial problem is to reduce the number of 2D sections needed to reconstruct or simulate in a realistic way the 3D geometry of the material. This reduction causes an increase of the uncertainty in the parameters estimates of suitable geometric models for the material. In this work we present an approach based on the definition of a germ-grain model which approximates the main geometric characteristics of the martensite. The parameters of the model are estimated on the basis of the morphological characteristics of the images of about 150 tomographic sections of a real sample, and plausibility regions for the estimated parameters are computed. The increase in uncertainty on the parameters estimates in presence of a reduced number of sections is then quantified in terms of increase in the volume of the corresponding plausibility regions. Even though the model still needs some improvements in the fitting with the real data, the overall procedure for uncertainty quantification that we have obtained can be generalized to other study cases and can be used by the industry to set up a suitable experimental plan to fit a model to the data with a desired accuracy.
Has Migration Been Beneficial for Migrants and Their Children?

The study compares the social mobility and status attainment of first-and second-generation Turks in nine Western European countries with those of Western European natives and with those of Turks in Turkey. It shows that the children of low-class migrants are more likely to acquire a higher education than their counterparts in Turkey, making them more educationally mobile. Moreover, they successfully convert this education in the Western European labor market, and are upwardly mobile relative to the first generation. When comparing labor market outcomes of second generations relative to Turks in Turkey, however, the results show that the same level of education leads to a higher occupation in Turkey. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Working Paper n o 02 / 16 Oil shocks on unemployment in Central and Eastern Europe

The aim of this paper is to shine some light on the effect of oil price movements on unemployment in Central and Eastern Europe. In order to do so, we disentangle oil prices movements by their sign. From there we analyse the separate effect of positive and negative movements of oil prices on unemployment rates. We find that although oil prices and unemployment are not very much correlated in the short run, the effect of oil price shocks on the natural rate of unemployment goes in the same direction, i.e. increases or decreases in oil prices increase or decrease the natural rate of unemployment. Juan Carlos Cuestas EestiPank Luis A. Gil-Alana University of Navarra
UNVEILING PICOEUKARYOTIC DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION IN THE BAY OF LARGE RESERVOIR SYSTEM

Few studies have reported about the diversity and distribution of picoeukaryotes in the ecosystem of reservoir bay. In this study, Sanger-based clone libraries of 18S rRNA gene were used to determine the picoeukaryotic diversity of three sampling sites; these sites were located across the Xiangxi Bay of Three Gorges Reservoir, China. The sampling sites were monitored across all four seasons in 2013. We identified 13 phyla in Xiangxi Bay. In this experimental survey, we found that picoeukaryotic community was dominated by three main phyla, namely, Cryptophyta, Chlorophyta, and Ciliophora (69.9% of clones in all). Moreover, the remaining 10 phyla showed a relative abundance of less than 6%. In Xiangxi Bay, the seasonal variability of communities overwhelms spatial patterns; upper reaches exhibited highest species diversity, whereas middle reaches exhibited lowest species diversity. The community temporal stability had decreased from upstream to downstream. Primary producers were dominant in all the sample sites, irrespective of the season. In Xiangxi Bay upstream, terrestrial microbes may be integral components of the microbial community assembly. In Xiangxi Bay, the distribution pattern of picoeukaryotes might have been affected by the mainstream of Three Gorges Reservoir.
Gas-Driven Fracturing of Saturated Granular Media

Multiphase flows in deformable porous materials are important in numerous geological and geotechnical applications, however the complex flow behaviour make subsurface transport processes difficult to control or even characterise. Here we study gas-driven (pneumatic) fracturing of a wet unconsolidated granular packing confined in a Hele-Shaw cell, and present an in-depth analysis of both pore-scale phenomena and large-scale pattern formation. The process is governed by a complex interplay between pressure, capillary, frictional and viscous forces. At low gas injection rate, fractures grow in a stick-slip fashion and branch out to form a simply connected network. We observe the emergence of a characteristic length-scale – the separation distance between fracture branches – creating an apparent uniform spatial fracture density. We conclude that the well defined separation distance is the result of local compaction fronts surrounding fractures, keeping them apart. A scaling argument is presented that predicts fracture density as a function of granular friction, grain size, and capillary interactions. We study the influence of gas injection rate, and find that the system undergoes a fluidisation transition above a critical injection rate, resulting in directional growth of fractures, and a fracture density that increases with increasing rate. A dimensionless Fluidisation number F is defined as the ratio of viscous to frictional forces, and our experiments reveal a frictional regime for F < 1 characterized by stick-slip, rate independent growth, with a transition to a viscous regime (F > 1) characterized by continuous growth in several fracture branches simultaneously.
Exploring the effects of a universal classroom management training programme on teacher and child behaviour: A group randomised controlled trial and cost analysis

Teachers frequently struggle to cope with conduct problems in the classroom. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Training Programme for improving teacher competencies and child adjustment. The study involved a group randomised controlled trial which included 22 teachers and 217 children (102 boys and 115 girls). The average age of children included in the study was 5.3 years (standard deviation = 0.89). Teachers were randomly allocated to an intervention group (n = 11 teachers; 110 children) or a waiting-list control group (n = 11; 107 children). The sample also included 63 ‘high-risk’ children (33 intervention; 30 control), who scored above the cut-off (>12) on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for abnormal socioemotional and behavioural difficulties. Teacher and child behaviours were assessed at baseline and 6 months later using psychometric and observational measures. Programme delivery costs were also analysed. Results showed positive changes in teachers’ self-reported use of positive classroom management strategies (effect size = 0.56), as well as negative classroom management strategies (effect size = −0.43). Teacher reports also highlight improvements in the classroom behaviour of the high-risk group of children, while the estimated cost of delivering the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Training Programme was modest. However, analyses of teacher and child observations were largely non-significant. A need for further research exploring the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Training Programme is indicated.
Assessment of the Modern Fish Assemblage in Mound Pond (Lonoke County) and Comparison with the Archeological Record

Arkansas River. The lake has been disconnected from the Arkansas River main channel for The lake lies adjacent to the Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park, which contains the Toltec Mound Complex (3LN42). In Octo multiple Mound Pond was conducted using boat electrofishing, mini nets. Across all gears, 501 fish specimens were collected and identified to species. Percent Sim Index (PSI) and Shannon values were calculated using data from this survey and a previous survey conducted in 2006. had a fish species richness of 11 in 2012 compared to 12 in 2006. PSI values indicated the assemblages 2012 and 1.465 in 2006 did not differ significantly ( 0.05). Genus calculated for pairwise comparisons of ichthyofaunal remains recovered from Toltec M the two modern fish surveys. Fish assemblages depicted from remains recovered at the two mounds were highly similar (J = 0.769), whereas the two modern surveys were only moderately similar (J = 0.545). Modern and ancient assemblages we generally dissimilar (J = 0.333 observation inhabitants of 3LN42 were likely not acquired from Mound Pond in spite of its close proximity
Surgical management of pancreatic ascites

Background: Pancreatic ascites is a challenging problem faced by clinicians. The management requires a multidisciplinary approach. Timely surgical intervention is the key especially in patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic ascites where conservative and endoscopic treatments were not successful. Methods: The data was retrieved from a prospectively maintained database for a period of 4 years. A total of 14 patients were included. They were initially optimized with ascitic fluid drainage, nutritional supplementation either enteral or parenteral. Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) was done in patients with failed conservative treatment after 2 weeks. Endoscopic pancreatic stenting was attempted in proximal ductal disruptions. Nonresponders were taken up for surgery. The type of surgery was based on the site of leak and associated pancreatic pathology like pseudocyst. Results: Initially three patients were responded to conservative management. ERCP was done in 9/14 patients. ERCP demonstrated leak of contrast into peritoneal cavity in 3 (3/9), leaking pancreatic pseudocyst in 3 (3/9) and non-visualisation of distal duct in 2 (2/9). ERCP and stenting of pancreatic duct was attempted in three patients and was successful in resolution of symptoms in one. Nine out of fourteen needed surgical intervention. Surgery was based on site of leak and presence of pseudocyst. Conclusions: Majority of the patients in our study were ethanolics and a change in life style early in the course can prevent this morbid disease. Nasojejunal tube feeding with blendarized home feeds will improve the nutritional status. CECT abdomen and ERCP will give a road map in deciding the type of intervention. For proximal ductal disruption endoscopic stenting should be tried before going for a major surgical intervention. Surgery provides definitive cure.
An Epidemiological Study of Mental Retardation without a Common Genetic Cause in the Population of Himachal Pradesh, India

This study evaluated the contribution of potential risk factors of mental retardation without a common genetic cause of aware the population and delineate intercession methods. The present study included 150 MR of unrevealed causes and 150 normal children as a control for taking account of attribution of dysmorphic features, deformities, development deceleration, pedigrees of MR, delayed development, etc. For ascertaining the degree of mental retardation, Stanford-Binet Intelligence test was conducted for every patient and alienated into two categories i.e. Mild (IQ 70 to 5055) and serious category (IQ< 50-55). We abstracted information on demographic, prenatal, perinatal and neonatal risk factors of MR which was selected stringently based on recent literature. The parental age effect was not observed in mild MR but in severe mental retardation, risk augmented steadily and autonomously with increasing maternal age. Lack of maternal education, history of pregnancy loss, no consanguinity, birth at home, neonatal infections, lack of breast feeding, diarrhea were independently associated with mild congenital abnormality. Whereas, the prevalence of serious congenital abnormality was found to be concomitant with maternal illiteracy, consanguinity, multiple births, neonatal jaundice and lack of breast feeding. This work is uncovering the present situation and ascertains the utmost tenacious interventions to decrease the occurrence of childhood MR in Himachal Pradesh.