Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigations of Ni content in human hair

Effect of nickel (Ni) on human organism is still evaluated, although there are few research papers dedicated to this problem. The participation of Ni in carcinogenesis and allergic reactions is considered. Nickel is absorbed through the alimentary tract, lungs and skin. Concentration of Ni in blood and urine is low (about 1 µg L-1). More nickel has been determined in tissues such as liver, lungs and osseous tissue. The aim of this work was to assess the Ni level in human hair (n = 220, 110 women and 110 men) and correlations between Ni and other elements i.e. calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd). Hair washed with acetone and redistilled water was mineralized in mixture of HNO 3 and HClO 4 acids. Content of the elements was determined by the atomic absorption spectrometry method AAS. Concentrations of Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, and Fe was measured by the flame technique (FAAS), while concentration of Pb, Cd and Ni was analyzed by the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry in a graphite furnace (GFAAS). The data were the subject of statistical analysis. The mean Ni concentration in the hair samples was 0.24 µg g-1 (median 0.17 µg g-1, range 0.01-1.77 µg g-1). Slightly more Ni was found in hair of women (0.25 µg g-1) than of men (0.22 µg g-1). Statistically higher concentrations of Ni were noticed in hair of men > 20 years than in younger men (p<0.05). Statistically significant positive correlations (for Zn, negative correlation) were established between Ni and Cd, Pb, and Cu concentration. Hair is available easily and noninvasively for tests and owing to a higher Ni level in hair than in physiological fluids, such tests help reduce analytical error. Therefore, hair is a very suitable material for monitoring elements in the human body.
2010-2 Education Policy and Crime

This paper discusses the relationship between education and crime from an economic perspective, developing a human capital-based model that sheds light on key ways in which early childhood programs and policies that encourage schooling may affect both juvenile and adult crime. The paper first discusses evidence on the effects of educational attainment, school quality, and school enrollment on crime. Next, the paper discusses evidence on the crime reduction effects of preschool programs like Perry Preschool and Head Start, school-age programs that emphasize social and emotional development, and job training programs for low-skill adolescents and young adults. Finally, the paper concludes with a broad discussion of education policy and its potential role as a crime-fighting strategy.
Can Expectations Be Informative about Interest Rate Volatility

Forecasting volatility of interest rates remains a challenge in nance. An important aspect of any dynamic model of volatility is the fact that volatility is a positive process, not only with respect to the historical measure, but also with respect to the risk neutral measure. As a consequence, risk neutral forecasts of volatility must also always remain positive. One way for this admissibility condition to hold is for volatility to represent an autonomous process under the risk neutral measure. In contrast to the historical time series, the cross section of bond yield provides very precise information about risk neutral forecasts and therefore strong guidance to which combinations of yields are autonomous. We conclude that in the stochastic volatility setting, the no arbitrage assumption provides strong over-identifying constraints which, when the model is correctly specied, improve inference on the volatility instrument. We also consider
Developing Postharvest Disinfestation Treatments for Legumes Using Radio Frequency Energy

There is an urgent need to develop technically effective and environmentally sound phytosanitary and quarantine treatments for the legume industry to replace chemical fumigation. The goal of this study was to develop practical non-chemical treatments for postharvest disinfestations of legumes using radio frequency (RF) energy. A pilot-scale 27 MHz, 6 kW RF unit was used to investigate RF heating and consequent quality attributes in treated chickpea, green pea, and lentil samples. Only 5-7 min was needed to raise the central temperature of 3 kg legume samples to 60°C using RF energy, compared to more than 275 min when using forced hot air at 60°C. RF heating uniformity in product samples was improved by adding forced hot air, and back and forth movements on the conveyor at 0.56 m min-1. The final temperatures exceeded 55.8°C in the interior of the sample container and 57.3°C on the surface for all three legumes, resulting in low uniformity index values of 0.014-0.016 (ratio of standard deviation to the average temperature rise) for the interior temperature distributions and 0.061-0.078 for surface temperature distributions. RF treatments combined with forced hot air at 60°C to maintain the target treatment temperature for 10 min followed by forced room air cooling through a 1 cm product layer provided good product quality. No significant differences in weight loss, moisture content, colour or germination were observed between RF treatments and unheated controls.
On the occurrence of rainstorm damage based on home insurance and weather data

Abstract. Rainstorm damage caused by the malfunction of urban drainage systems and water intrusion due to defects in the building envelope can be considerable. Little research on this topic focused on the collection of damage data, the understanding of damage mechanisms and the deepening of data analysis methods. In this paper, the relative contribution of different failure mechanisms to the occurrence of rainstorm damage is investigated, as well as the extent to which these mechanisms relate to weather variables. For a case study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, a property level home insurance database of around 3100 water-related damage claims was analysed. The records include comprehensive transcripts of communication between insurer, insured and damage assessment experts, which allowed claims to be classified according to their actual damage cause. The results show that roof and wall leakage is the most frequent failure mechanism causing precipitation-related claims, followed by blocked roof gutters, melting snow and sewer flooding. Claims related to sewer flooding were less present in the data, but are associated with significantly larger claim sizes than claims in the majority class, i.e. roof and wall leakages. Rare events logistic regression analysis revealed that maximum rainfall intensity and rainfall volume are significant predictors for the occurrence probability of precipitation-related claims. Moreover, it was found that claims associated with rainfall intensities smaller than 7–8 mm in a 60-min window are mainly related to failure processes in the private domain, such as roof and wall leakages. For rainfall events that exceed the 7–8 mm h−1 threshold, the failure of systems in the public domain, such as sewer systems, start to contribute considerably to the overall occurrence probability of claims. The communication transcripts, however, lacked information to be conclusive about to which extent sewer-related claims were caused by overloading of sewer systems or failure of system components.
The influence of cadmium exposure on excretion of pyridinoline and deoxypyridinoline in urine

Background: Osteoporosis is a growing health concern across the word. Some epidemiological data suggest that cadmium increases risk for development of osteoporosis and lead to higher rate of fracture incidents even on low environmental exposure level. Material and methods: Cadmium in urine and bone resorption markers – total fraction of the urinary pyridynoline (Pyr) and deoxypyridinoline (DPyr) – were determined in 36 patients, who were examined for toxic effects of cadmium exposure. Additionally calcium in urine was determined. Associations between cadmium exposure and factors related to bone metabolism were estimated and Pyr and DPyr excretion were compared in three groups categorized across cadmium concentrations. Results: In the investigated group there were significant positive correlations between cadmium levels in urine and Pyr and DPyr excretion. None of the other variables correlated significantly with examined bone resorption markers excluding calcium excretion in urine. Excretion of Pyr and DPyr differed significantly between group with the lowest cadmium concentration (*1.2 µg/g creatinine) and group with the highest cadmium concentration (§1.9 µg/g creatinine), where median values of Pyr and DPyr increased by 49.8% and 37.5%, respectively. Conclusion: The results suggest that cadmium increases bone resorption processes and induce osteotoxic effects in environmental exposure level.
Effect of Preparation Condition on Magnetic Properties of Nd-Fe-B/α-Fe Multi-layered Thick Film-Magnets Prepared by PLD Method

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Quality Assessment of the Permian Coals from Dighipara Basin, Bangladesh Based On Proximate, Ultimate and Microscopic Analyses

Assessment of coal quality based on proximate (volatile matter, fixed carbon, ash, moisture), ultimate (C, H, N, S, O) and microscopic (macerals, microlithotypes, coal facies) analyses of the Permian coals from the Dighipara basin, Bangladesh was carried out. A total of 11 coal core samples collected from two bore holes of Dighipara basin were analyzed. ASTM standards were followed for proximate and ultimate analyses. ICCP systems were used for the microscopic study. Thermal maturity, physical characteristics of the coal seams, gross calorific value and atomic ratios of H/C and O/C were also considered. Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Vol. 39, No. 2, 177-194, 2015
Intermittency in Precipitation: Duration, Frequency, Intensity, and Amounts Using Hourly Data

AbstractIntermittency is a core characteristic of precipitation, not well described by data and very poorly modeled. Detailed analyses are made of near-global gridded (about 1°) hourly or 3-hourly precipitation rates from two updated observational datasets [3-hourly TRMM 3B42, version 7, and hourly CMORPH, version 1.0, bias corrected (CRT)] and from special runs of CESM from January 1998 to December 2013 to obtain hourly values. The analyses explore the intermittency of precipitation: the frequency, intensity, duration, and amounts. A comparison is made for all products using several metrics with a focus on the duration of events, and a new metric is proposed based on the ratio of the frequency of precipitation at certain rates (0.2–2 mm h−1) for hourly versus 3-hourly versus daily data. For all seasons and rain rates, TRMM values are similar in pattern to CMORPH, but durations are about 80%–85%. It is mainly over land in the monsoons that CMORPH exceeds TRMM rain durations. Observed duration of precipita.
Energy demand during exponential growth of Octopus maya: exploring the effect of age and weight

Recent work has reported changes associated with physiological, morphological, and behavioural adaptation during the absorption of yolk reserves. The holobenthic endemic species Octopus maya was used to explore the energy supply needed from the food intake (I ;J animal 21 d 21 ) to supply the rate of production energy needed for body mass (P; J animal 21 d 21 ) and respiration rate (R; J animal 21 d 21 ) as a function of weight and age during the exponential early growth phase of the animal. Individually housed juveniles from hatching (1 d) to 105 d after hatching (DAH) were used, with the age and weight known, and the relationship between oxygen consumption (VO2 ;m g O 2 animal 21 d 21 ) and weight (g) was established. Projections of I, R, and P as a function of age (Z) were made. The food intake destined to supply body mass production (%P/I) and respiration rate energy (%R/I) was analysed for an extended age range of 1– 150 DAH. When O. maya juveniles hatched, they had a greater requirement for R than for P from the food intake, 61% (%R/I ) and 13% (%P/I), respectively, suggesting high metabolic cost associated with post-hatching (during yolk absorption). Within the period where ZR . ZP (1– 105 DAH), there was sufficient metabolic energy to satisfy the demands for sustaining exponential body mass production. The age at which %R/I ¼ %P/I delimits the point where P cannot increase for reasons of metabolic constraint.
THE EFFECT OF A SUPPLEMENTAL TRACE MINERAL INJECTION ON DEVELOPING BEEF BULL

Trace mineral supplementation is necessary for proper reproductive success. Little research has evaluated the effect of an injectable trace mineral product, in conjunction with a dietary mineral supplementation program, on reproduction. This thesis includes two separate studies evaluating the use of an injectable trace mineral product, in addition to a dietary mineral program, on the reproductive success of yearling bulls and heifers. In the first study, we hypothesized that when dietary trace mineral needs are met, administration of an injectable trace mineral product to developing beef bulls would cause a short-term increase in circulating trace mineral concentrations, but not alter semen quality nor ability to pass a breeding soundness examination. Trace mineral treatment did not affect scrotal circumferences and BW of bulls throughout the trial (P ≥ 0.20). Trace Mineral bulls had greater (P ≤ 0.0001) trace mineral concentrations at 8 h post-treatment than Control bulls. Semen trace mineral concentrations on d 42 and 91 were similar (P ≥ 0.52) between treatments. Sperm parameters improved (P ≤ 0.003) from d 42 to 91, but did not differ (P ≥ 0.06) between treatments. A similar (P = 0.94) percentage of Trace Mineral (67%) and Control (68%) bulls passed a BSE 91 d post-treatment. In the present study, supplemental trace mineral injection was successful at raising circulating trace mineral levels, but did not alter semen trace mineral levels nor improve semen quality. In the second study we hypothesized that when dietary trace mineral needs are met, the use of an injectable trace mineral product in developing heifers would not affect pregnancy rates at single service fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI). Trace Mineral heifers had greater (P = 0.02) pregnancy rates (51.28%) than Control heifers (25.58%). The percentage of Trace Mineral (30.77%) and Control heifers (47.50%) that displayed estrous behavior prior to FTAI as indicated by a red estrous detection patch was not different (P = 0.13) between treatments. In the present study, despite dietary trace mineral requirements being met, use of an injectable trace mineral injection improved pregnancy rates following FTAI, but did not affect estrous behavior.
Bankers’ Perspectives on Integrated Reporting for Value Creation:Evidence from Nigeria

This study aims to examine the opinions of Zenith bank employees on the value, content and processes as well as the challenges of Integrated Reporting ( ) in Nigeria with the hope of highlighting recommendations to encourage organizations to adopt it. Ninety eight employees responded to our survey. Generally, the respondents agree that ( ) has value that could lead to better reporting of corporate activities. They also identified challenges that could mitigate the value of ( ). It was however noted that some of the challenges could be overcome with time, given that framework exist that is being test run by a number of organizations. The study recommends that there should be awareness campaigns to sensitize organizations on the value of . This paper contributes to the extant literature by offering insights of Zenith Bank employees on .
Time and Form Postponement Competition under Dynamic Behavior of Demand

This paper studies assembly-to-order (form postponement) and make-to-stock (time postponement) duopolistic competition under dynamic price and production strategies for two differentiable products, which share common components at a certain degree of substitution. Both strategies are benchmarked according to the Bertrand and Cournot Stackelberg game. In addition, dynamic game is applied to show the long term effect of both strategic decisions (price and production quantity) on profit and against demand uncertainty. The results show that precommited production is appropriate for high modular products and precommited price for special orders. The final part of the paper concludes the results and outlines future research directions.
Some Observations On The Growth And Nature Of ADR In Australian Workplaces

Formal Alternative Dispute Resolution schemes (ADR) in tribunals and courts in Australia are now well established. The use of private ADR practitioners in industrial relations, however, is still very much in its infancy. This paper presents the findings of the author’s survey of Australian ADR practitioners and draws on 3 case studies of ADR conducted in the workplace. It would appear, from the evidence presented, that Australia is witnessing the ‘thin edge of the wedge’ of a growing movement rather than the short-lived emergence of a management ‘fad’. The growth of consultants in Australia, has meant that most employers are aware of a range of consultancy services available to them. Whilst, the survey showed the uptake to date of these services has been slow, it has demonstrated that most ADR practitioners rated the uptake of their services as growing steadily. Further, it can be surmised from this growth in workplace ADR that employers are satisfied that mediation and other ADR processes have a place in the workplace for a range of disputes. However, the case studies point to serious issues concerning process, ethics, justice and power. The first case study illustrates a dispute in which the employees believed that the ADR process used was facilitation, and the management team understood the process to be fact-finding, but the actual role played by the third party appeared to be neither. The second case detailed a facilitator’s passivity during enterprise negotiations which contributed to the employees accepting a dubious outcome. Finally, in the third case, a mediator’s self imposed time limits were used to put pressure on the parties to settle. The cases raise questions regarding training and standards for workplace ADR practitioners. Cases such as these have the potential to malign the practice of ADR before it is able to gain a foothold in emerging fields such as the workplace.
Influence of Benzyladenine on Longevity of Heliconia latispatha Benth.

Heliconia species have great potential to be used as cut flower due to their beauty, rusticity and in general good postharvest longevity, however premature wilting of the bracts and sepals, and failure of flower opening may occur. Furthermore, there are only a limited number of recommendations, as Heliconia latispatha should be handled at and after harvesting. The goal of this work was to exanimate the influence of benzyladenine on vase life of heliconia inflorescences harvested at two different stages of development. The inflorescences were sprayed with 0, 100, 200 and 300 mg/L benzyladenine harvested at stage showing one to two fully opened bracts (stage 1) and from three to four fully opened bracts (stage 2). The experiment was arranged in a random block design comprising nine stalks per treatment. The growth regulator was sprayed twice until the stalks were completely wet applied within the first hour after harvest. The average of opened bracts throughout vase life was not affected by the benzyladenine treatment, which were 2.5 for the stage 1 and 4.2 open bracts for the stage 2. Treatment with benzyladenine extended the longevity compared to control flowers in both stages of development. A positive correlation was observed between benzyladenine concentration and increase in the vase life. Spraying the stalks with 300 mg/L benzyladenine increased the longevity by at least 1.85-fold compared to the untreated flowers.
Comparative efficacy of neem leaves, pineapple leaves and levamisole against gastrointestinal nematodiasis in sheep.

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of neem leaves, pineapple leaves and levamisole HCl against gastrointestinal nematodiasis in sheep. A total 32 sheep were randomly selected on the basis of their egg count by McMaster method and divided into 4 equal groups. T0 served as control group, whereas groups T1, T2 and T3 were treated with neem leaves, pineapple leaves (10% water extract of leaves @ 100 ml/sheep) and levamisole HCl (Levavet ® @ 8mg/kg body weight), respectively. A significant (p<0.01) reduction of EPG count was found in all treated groups. The body weight and total erythrocyte count (TEC) was significantly (p<0.01) increased on treated groups. On the other hand, total leukocyte count (TLC) was decreased significantly (p< 0.01). The hemoglobin (Hb) content was increased significantly (p<0.05) and packed cell volume (PCV) was increased significantly (p<0.01). We propose that 10% water extract (w/v) of both neem and pineapple leaves have some potential effects on gastrointestinal nematodiasis in sheep. Key word: Levamisole HCl, neem leaves, nematodiasis, pineapple leaves, sheep
Recursive jigsaw reconstruction: HEP event analysis in the presence of kinematic and combinatoric ambiguities

We introduce $Recursive~Jigsaw~Reconstruction$, a technique for analyzing reconstructed particle interactions in the presence of kinematic and combinatoric unknowns associated with unmeasured and indistinguishable particles, respectively. By factorizing missing information according to decays and rest frames of intermediate particles, an interchangeable and configurable set of $Jigsaw~Rules$, algorithms for resolving these unknowns, are applied to approximately reconstruct decays with arbitrarily many particles, in their entirety. That the Recursive Jigsaw Reconstruction approach can be used to analyze $any$ event topology of interest, with any number of ambiguities, is demonstrated through a twelve different simulated LHC physics examples. These include the production and decay of $W$, $Z$, Higgs bosons, and supersymmetric particles including gluinos, stop quarks, charginos, and neutralinos.