Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between merger announcement and stock returns: evidence from Indian banking

This paper examines the relationship between merger announcements with the stock returns in the Indian Banking during the period of 1999-2008. Using event study methodology, it attempts to ascertain whether the bidder banks experience significant abnormal returns during the post-announcement and pre-announcement periods. The results indicate that bidder banks may or may not experience any significant abnormal returns during the post-announcement period. No bank specific characteristics could explain the pattern of market reaction to merger announcements. How-ever, significant abnormal returns were observed in daily share prices in majority of the cases, during the pre-announcement period, indicating possibility of leakage of information in the market.
Changes in storminess on the western coast of Estonia in relation to large-scale atmospheric circulation

Intensification of coastal erosion caused by windstorms is an important problem in the coastal regions of Estonia. The objective of this study was to analyse relationships between storms observed at Vilsandi, the westernmost station in Estonia, and large-scale atmospheric circulation. Statistical analyses reveal close correlation between parameters of atmospheric circulation and the number of storms. Windstorms are related to intense zonal circulation, i.e. westerlies, while reduced storminess is associated with meridional circulation. The Arctic Oscillation (AO) index has the highest correlation (0.68) with the frequency of storms during the winter season (December to February). Even the correlation coefficients for the local zonal circulation index for Estonia do not exceed this value. These results show that large-scale circulation patterns determine circulation on the local scale. Results of the conditional Mann-Kendall test confirm that the increasing trend in winter storminess is induced by a positive trend in the intensity of westerlies, as seen in time series of the AO index and in the frequency of the circulation form W of Vangengeim and Girs. These changes were most substantial in February.
Estimation of soil Fertility and Yield Productivity of Three Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Cultivars Under Sahl El-Tina Saline Soils Conditions

Salt stress is a serious environmental problem throughout the world which may be partially relieved by breeding cultivars that can tolerate salt stress. Three alfalfa cultivars, i.e., Ismaelia, New Valley and Siwa, were sown under three levels of salinity (8.73, 10.63 and 15.31dSm -1 ). A field experiment was carried out in sandy clay loam soil at North Sinai Governorate during two successive seasons from mid-spring 2011 to late-Autumn 2012. The results of this study indicated that long growing duration of alfalfa cultivars under different soil salinity levels led to a slight decrease in soil pH and soil EC. The available macronutrients (N, P and K) and micronutrient (Fe, Mn and Zn) contents accumulated in soil recorded positive increasing effects, depending on the length of alfalfa cultivation period. Evaluation at the germination stage is absolutely critical in developing cultivars that can establish a good stand. Natural selection through frequent cutting and salinity stress is an excellent means to screen large sets of salt tolerant genotypes and get an idea for regrowth potential under high salinity levels. Siwa cultivar was the highest yielding across all seasons and salinity levels; it also recorded the highest mean of total fresh and dry forage yield (53.06 and 12.60 t fed -1 , respectively), while New Valley cultivar recorded the lowest means (40.66 and 10.12 t fed -1 , respectively) across all salinity levels. Siwa cultivar was superior over Ismaelia and New Valley in most of the agronomical characters under study. The high level of salinity (EC= 15.31dSm -1 ) depressed the number of tillers plant -1 , fresh and dry forage weight (g) plant -1 . New developed alfalfa population (Sinai-1) was the most tolerant and adaptable to saline soils in Sahl El- Tina conditions. (Zeinab, M. Abd El-Naby, Nabila, A. Mohamed and Kh. A. Shaban. Estimation of soil Fertility and Yield Productivity of Three Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Cultivars Under Sahl El-Tina Saline Soils Conditions. Life Sci J 2013;10(1):2082-2095) (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 296
Uncommon causes of gingivitis

Dental plaque causes chronic gingivitis, but aggravating factors could be related to mouthbreathing and ankyloglossia. An adult female with a complaint of “bleeding gums” and an adult male with a complaint of “painful gums” were seen at a periodontal clinic. Authors found markedly enlarged tonsils compromising the airway with associated gingivitis in the female patient and ankyloglossia with associated mild gingivitis and Miller’s class II gingival recession in the male patient. For these particular cases, chronic mouth-breathing and ankyloglossia appeared to be important in the aetiopathogenesis of chronic gingivitis and periodontitis. Key words: Adverse effects, mouthbreathing, rare causes of gingivitis.
Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies common variants in CTNNA2 associated with excitement-seeking Terracciano, A

Terracciano , A , Esko , T , Sutin , A R , de Moor , M H M , Meirelles , O , Zhu , G , Tanaka , T , Giegling , I , Nutile , T , Realo , A , Allik , J , Hansell , N K , Wright , M J , Montgomery , G W , Willemsen , G , Hottenga , J-J , Friedl , M , Ruggiero , D , Sorice , R , Sanna , S , Cannas , A , Räikkönen , K , Widen , E , Palotie , A , Eriksson , J G , Cucca , F , Krueger , R F , Lahti , J , Luciano , M , Smoller , J W , van Duijn , C M , Abecasis , G R , Boomsma , D I , Ciullo , M , Costa , P T , Ferrucci , L , Martin , N G , Metspalu , A , Rujescu , D , Schlessinger , D & Uda , M 2011 , ' Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies common variants in CTNNA2 associated with excitement-seeking ' Translational Psychiatry , vol. 1 , no. Article Number: e49 . https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2011. 42
Triple burden on women in science : A cross-cultural analysis

Science professes the self-acclaimed ideal of 'universalism' and an irrelevance of personal or social attributes in judging scientific claims. However, in actual practice, science has been a male domain, and has a social structure dominated and hitherto regulated by men, in which, women find themselves unwelcome. This creates hidden barriers in the practice of science. Although these barriers take various forms, stressors in the work environment are found in widely different cultures. Here we argue that social organization of science and gender-role expectations create common barriers in diverse cultures of India, Germany and the US. The organizational environment in which science is practised reflects a contradiction between the norms and practice of science and induces a stress, which we call the first burden. The second burden is common to women in most professions, that of managing unequal domestic responsibilities. There is a third burden carried by women in science, that of grappling with a deficit of social capital and relative exclusion from strong networks. The interaction among these burdens induces a 'surplus of anxiety'. The responses to and possible alleviation of a triple burden have also been discussed here.
Evaluating the controlled release properties of inhaled nanoparticles using isolated, perfused, and ventilated lung models

Polymeric nanoparticles meet the increasing interest for inhalation therapy and hold great promise to improve controlled drug delivery to the lung. The synthesis of tailored polymeric materials and the improvement of nanoparticle preparation techniques facilitate new perspectives for the treatment of severe pulmonary diseases. The physicochemical properties of such drug delivery systems can be investigated using conventional analytical procedures. However, the assessment of the controlled drug release properties of polymeric nanoparticles in the lung remains a considerable challenge. In this context, the isolated lung technique is a promising tool to evaluate the drug release characteristics of nanoparticles intended for pulmonary application. It allows measurements of lung-specific effects on the drug-release properties of pulmonary delivery systems. Ex vivo models are thought to overcome the common obstacles of in vitro tests and offer more reliable drug release and distribution data that are closer to the in vivo situation.
Service Quality Domains Impelling Patient’s Return Intentions in Nisa Premier Hospital Abuja

Nisa Premier Hospital (Nisa) is a private for-profit hospital established in 1996 in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja Nigeria. The main purpose of this work is to provide an efficient tool for determining the domains of SERVQUAL that influences patients return intentions in a typical privately owned hospital in Nigeria that is striving towards world class standard. The study adopted a cross-sectional and case study sample based survey design using a modified SERVQUAL structured questionnaire. A total of 205 questionnaires were analysed in this study, thereby yielding a valid response rate of about 46%. Results of the percentage distribution of items within each domain that influenced patients return intention were rated in the following order; Tangibles (83%), Assurance (77%), Empathy (72), Responsiveness (74%) and Reliability (66%). Binary logistics regression analysis following six-sigma quality improvement methodology enhanced the modelling approach and indicated two items within the five domains of SERVQUAL, i.e. reliability and empathy with p-values <. 05 as responsible for the return intentions. The means by which patients finance their healthcare did not influence this. However, findings from the study indicated that the employees sympathetic, reassuring and putting patients’ best interests at heart were the key factors influencing patient return intention at Nisa. Suggested improvement strategy entails improving areas of shortfalls, fostering the domain items noted as point of strength, developing new items within the SERVQUAL domains and revalidate findings periodically. It is anticipated that findings from this study can be adapted to other similar business concern in the healthcare industry.
Endogeneity Bias in the OLS Estimates of Basu’s Model

Basu (1997) is the main reference in the market-based accounting literature related to the measurement of conditional conservatism. However, the econometric specification of Basu’s model involves an endogeneity problem due to simultaneity in the variables used in its empirical application: earnings and returns. In this paper we analyse the effect of endogeneity on the Basu’s conditional conservatism measure by using two alternative estimation techniques: the usual Ordinary Least Squares, affected by endogeneity, and System Generalized Method of Moments, specially designed to deal with the endogeneity problem. We apply these estimation procedures to a comparative model of the conditional conservatism in order to analyse the effect of IFRS first adoption on conditional conservatism. Our results evidence that endogeneity problem exists, that it induces bias in the OLS estimations, and that biases can be large enough to modify empirical conclusions.
Optical gain in NV-colour centres for highly-sensitive magnetometry: a theoretical study

Optical gain in an amplifier based on NV-colour centres (CC) in diamond is proposed as a new method for optical magnetic field detection. An analytical expression for magnetic field sensitivity with this method is deduced. The sensitivity is highest at the pump intensities about 100 times above the saturation intensity of NV-CC and can reach values of ~1.4 fT (√Hz)−1 in a pump-probe configuration with an NV-CC concentration in diamond of 2.5 ppm. Collection efficiency of probe emission can be simpler and significantly higher than that of NV-CC luminescence, used for conventional optical magnetometry in diamond. This makes this method attractive for applications requiring remote magnetic field sensing.
Minimum Sample Size and Optimal Positioning of Flanking Markers in Marker‐Assisted Backcrossing for Transfer of a Target Gene

In recurrent backcrossing designed for introgression of a target al- lele from a donor into the genetic background of a recurrent parent (RP), molecular markers can accelerate recovery of the recurrent parent genome (RPG). The objectives of this study were to determine in marker-assisted backcrossing (MAB) (i) the optimum positioning of flanking markers (d1;d2) and (ii) the minimum number of individuals (n) required for obtaining with a certain probability a given number of individuals that carry the donor al- lele at the target locus and have a minimum proportion of donor genome on the carrier chromosome. Analytical solutions and tabulated results are given for relevant parameters (d1;d2;n) required to obtain, with a specified proba- bility of success, at least one desired individual. They depend on the length of the carrier chromosome, the chromosomal position of the target locus, its distance to the flanking marker loci, and the number of individuals evaluated. Our approach can increase the eciency of MAB by reducing the number of individuals and marker data points required.
The Martin boundaries of equivalent sheaves

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Two-Dimensional Materials: Doping-Induced Variation, Heterojunction FETs and Hybrid Multilayers

TWO-DIMENSIONAL MATERIALS: DOPING-INDUCED VARIATION, HETEROJUNCTION FETS AND HYBRID MULTILAYERS Kwesi P Eshun, M.S. George Mason University, 2014 Thesis Director: Dr. Qiliang Li As the size of Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) field effect transistor (FET) approaches its fundamental physical limit, two-dimensional (2D) layered structures, such as transitional metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), have been proposed as the alternative channel materials to extend the Moore’s law. In this thesis, we proposed and studied a new set of device structures based on 2D MoS2/WSe2 heterojunction in order to construct the smallest field effect transistor, whereas the switching is achieved via gated heterojunction. Following a step-by-step approach, we have studied the doping effect of different TMDs, formation of heterojunction between different TMDs and gated field effect transistor based on these 2D heterojunctions. During the study of Doping effect on 2D TMDs, we found that random dopant position led to large variation in electronic properties of 2D materials. Therefore, we focus on the study of 2D heterojunction FET instead of the pn-junction. We have studied the formation and transport properties of 2D heterojunctions, with a focus on MoS2/WSe2 heterojunction as it exhibits the best junction characteristics. We then used the MoS2/WSe2 heterojunctions as the channel materials to construct the smallest FET. Such 2D junction-based FETs exhibited very interesting and attractive device characteristics. This study has successfully demonstrated a new set of device structures and materials in order to achieve 2D FET for the extension of CMOS scaling. The results of this thesis may open a suit of new applications in future electronics.
Chromosomal location of rDNA clusters and TTAGG telomeric repeats in eight species of the spittlebug genus Philaenus (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Aphrophoridae)

A cytogenetic investigation was performed in eight species of the spittlebug genus Philaenus using silver-NOR (AgNOR)-banding and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with 18S rDNA and (TTAGG)n telomeric probes. This is the first application of FISH technique in the Auchenorrhyncha, a suborder of the Hemiptera. FISH along with the rDNA probe revealed differences between species in the number and chromosomal location of major ribosomal RNA gene sites, the so-called nucleolar organizer regions (NORs). However, we found a lack of perfect correlation between the results of AgNOR-staining and rDNA-FISH in the detection of NORs. FISH with the telomeric probe confirmed that the chromosome ends of the Philaenus species are composed of the (TTAGG)n nucleotide sequence, which is a common motif of insect telomeres.
HIGH FREQUENCY REGENERATION SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION FOR WHEAT CULTIVAR INQILAB-91

In the present study, a high efficiency regeneration system was developed in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cv. Inqilab-91. Mature embryos were taken as explant source and inoculated on MS media for callus induction. MS media with different concentrations of 2, 4-D (2mg/l, 3mg/l and 4mg/l) were used for callus induction. Maximum percentage (76.04%) of callus induction was achieved with 3mg/l of 2, 4-D whereas 53.12% and 56.25% of calli were formed with 2mg/l and 4mg/l of 2, 4-D respectively. Four different hormones (IAA, BAP, Kn and 2ip) were used in different concentrations and combinations in MS medium for regeneration from calli of mature embryos. The regeneration frequency (46.66%) was obtained with 0.1mg/l of IAA and 0.5mg/l of BAP. Different concentrations of Kn (0mg/l, 0.5mg/l, 1.0mg/l) were added to the optimized concentration of IAA (0.1mg/l) and BAP (0.5mg/l) to achieve more regeneration frequency. Regeneration frequency (56.66%) was obtained with 0.5mg/l of Kn along with IAA (0.1mg/l) and BAP (0.5mg/l). 60% regeneration was achieved on medium containing IAA 0.1mg/l and Kn 0.5mg/l. Different concentrations of 2ip (0mg/l, 0.5mg/l, 1.0mg/l and 1.5mg/l) were also tested along with IAA and Kn and regeneration frequency of 65% with IAA (0.1mg/l), Kn (0.5mg/l) and 2ip (1.0mg/l) which was maximum in all the combinations experimented before. High frequency system ranged from 46.66 to 65% depending upon the type of hormone concentration used was optimized. We were successful to achieve high frequency regeneration by manipulating hormonal type and concentration which were not reported earlier.
Determination of the Ni XVIII plasma recombination rate coefficient

The electron-ion recombination and electron-impact ionization of several astrophysically abundant C, N, O, and Ni ions have been investigated using the synchrotron storage ring CRYRING. The recombination rate coefficients predominanty used in the analyses of emission line spectra and for ionization balance calculations are determined from isoelectronic fits and extrapolations of theoretical and limited experimental results available from the literature. The rate coefficients reported by various authors differ by an order of magnitude for various ion species. For low temperature plasmas(<104 K), the available information on resonant recombination rate coefficients is even more limitied and, unfortunately, most available data has been determined from LS coupling calculations, which can have adverse effects on recombination rates due to the mistreatment of autoionizing states. For ions of C, N, and O, the production of metastable states complicates the experimental rate coefficient determinations. Some attempts have been made in this work to utilize both recombination and electron-impact ionization in estimating the metastable ion beam fractions present. Other metastable fractions have been determined by comparing the experimental recombination spectra to intermediate coupling calculations. Some of the absolute recombination rate coefficients reported in this work are given for the first time while many others vastly improve the spectral resolution of previous experiments, allowing for a more detailed study of the low energy resonances which contribute to the resonant recombination rate coefficient at low plasma electron temperatures. This increased resolution has also lead to the observation of trielectronic recombination resonances which greatly influence low temperature recombinaion rates in some ions.
Researchh Articl e 65 5 Reactiv ee oxyge n specie s mediat e Rac-induce d loss of cell-cel ll adhesio n in primar y human endothelia l cell s

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Tranco: A Research-Oriented Top Sites Ranking Hardened Against Manipulation

In order to evaluate the prevalence of security and privacy practices on a representative sample of the Web, researchers rely on website popularity rankings such as the Alexa list. While the validity and representativeness of these rankings are rarely questioned, our findings show the contrary: we show for four main rankings how their inherent properties (similarity, stability, representativeness, responsiveness and benignness) affect their composition and therefore potentially skew the conclusions made in studies. Moreover, we find that it is trivial for an adversary to manipulate the composition of these lists. We are the first to empirically validate that the ranks of domains in each of the lists are easily altered, in the case of Alexa through as little as a single HTTP request. This allows adversaries to manipulate rankings on a large scale and insert malicious domains into whitelists or bend the outcome of research studies to their will. To overcome the limitations of such rankings, we propose improvements to reduce the fluctuations in list composition and guarantee better defenses against manipulation. To allow the research community to work with reliable and reproducible rankings, we provide Tranco, an improved ranking that we offer through an online service available at this https URL.
Adaptation to the Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture in eThekwin i: A literature review.

This work is based on the research co-supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF Grant No 71220) and the European Union’s Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development Phase II (PSPPD II) through the project titled “An analysis of climate change adaptation and poverty reduction: a case study of eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa”. EuropeAid/134258/M/ACT/ZA PSPPD2/CfP/2014/15/42.2
Adoption of Mobile Banking in Bangladesh: A Conceptual Framework

The objective of this paper is to present a framework to study the behavioral intention of customers to use mobile banking service in Bangladesh.Though many companies have taken initiatives to make it popular among the customers, there is still no sign of significant progress. It is therefore necessary to understand what factors influence the intentions of customers to adopt mobile banking in Bangladesh. However, there is a lack of scientific frameworks available to adopt for this study purpose. Classification JEL: G21; G28