Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Extension of the Freund's Bivariate Distribution to Model Load-Sharing Systems

SYNOPTIC ABSTRACT Several authors have considered the analysis of load-sharing parallel systems. The main characteoristics of such a two-component system is that after the failure of one component, the surviving component has to shoulder extra load, and hence, it is more likely to fail earlier than would be expected under the original model. In other cases, the failure of one component may release extra resources to the other component, thus delaying the system failure. Freund introduced a bivariate extension of the exponential distribution, which is applicable to two-component load-sharing systems. It is based on the assumption that the lifetime distributions of the components are exponential random variables before and after the change. In this article, we introduce a new class of bivariate distribution using the proportional hazard model. It is observed that the bivariate model proposed by Freund is a particular case of our model. We study different properties of the proposed model. Different statistical inferences have also been developed. We have considered four different special cases: when the base distributions are exponential, Weibull, linear failure rate, and Pareto III distributions. One data analysis has been performed for illustrative purposes. Finally, we propose some generalizations.
Influence of pruning on wood characters in hybrid aspen.

Fast-growing hybrid aspens (Populus tremula L. × P. tremuloides Michx.) are currently of great interest in Sweden since they can produce biomass at high rates and, at the same time, can be used to produce higher value wood products. This study focuses on the effects of pruning hybrid aspen to improve its wood quality. About 50% of the trees in the experimental stand were pruned by removing twigs, at heights up to 4 m, when they were 7–8 years old. Ten years later, 20 pruned and 20 unpruned trees, representing four clones, were randomly selected. Ten knots or twig/stem junctions, respectively, per tree were exposed for inspection using a chain saw and examined. The results revealed that pruned trees cicatrised the knots within about three years and thereafter produced substantial amounts of faultless wood. In contrast, unpruned trees (which had retained almost 80% of their twigs, often as dry twigs with bark pockets) had produced small uneven amounts of quality wood. Removal of twigs with acute angles and/or large diameters resulted in greater colour defects and rot in annual rings outside the pruning position, but the time of cicatrisation was not significantly affected. The results show that pruning can be used to enhance the wood quality of hybrid aspen over a short time period, and that pruning should be performed early during the rotation period when branches are small, in order to minimize discolouration and rot in the new annual rings.
Analyzing Risk of Student Hostel Investment: The case of Private Investors

In recent times, there has been a rapid growth of private student hostel (PSH) in Bamahu an area in the Upper West Region, Ghana. This paper aims on ranking the risk types in student hostel investment (SHI) from the highest and commonest to the least and rarest. The study involved a sample size of 72 respondents from private student investors in Bamahu. A self-administered questionnaire was administered to respondents; in effect a 94% response rate was used for analysis. The findings indicate correspondingly from the highest to the lowest; management being the highest risk, environmental risk, inflation risk, legislative risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk and financial risk being the lowest experienced risk. Among the recommendations are the need for professional student hostel managers, thorough market studies should be undertaken before embarking on this type of this investment. Educate private student hostel investors by GREDA on the risks involved in this kind of investors and the reduction of interest rates.
The Effect of Flipped Classroom on Iranian EFL Learners’ L2 Reading Comprehension: Focusing on Different Proficiency Levels

This study investigates the effect of the flipped classroom on reading comprehension performance of Iranian EFL learners with different proficiency levels. To this end, the study carried out among 100 female EFL learners studying at two private language institutes in Shiraz. The participants were selected out of a population of around 120 based on PET proficiency test criteria as upper-intermediate and intermediate level learners. The main participants of each level of proficiency randomly were divided into experimental and control groups. Pre-test of reading comprehension was administered to all groups at the beginning of the study. Then, after 18 sessions of treatment, the post-test was given to groups. Independent-Samples t –tests were used to compare the means of the independent groups (experimental vs. control & intermediate experimental vs. upper-intermediate experimental) for the post-test. Finally, the results indicated that the experimental groups performed significantly better than the control groups. The results also showed that intermediate learners benefit from flipped technique more than upper intermediate learners.
Achieving quality in e-Learning through relational coordination

In this research, the relational coordination model has been applied to prove learners’ and instructors’ high levels of satisfaction in e-learning. According to the model, organizations can obtain better results in terms of satisfaction by providing shared knowledge, shared goals and mutual respect mechanisms, supported by a frequent, timely and problem-solving communication. Online courses learners and instructors from Spanish universities and private companies have been surveyed on these particular issues. By using structural equation model analysis, it is shown that high standards in terms of relational coordination amongst learners and instructors explain higher degrees of satisfaction. This research contributes to the literature by validating from an empirical point of view the effects of the use of the relational coordination model in e-learning. The results should be considered by universities and private companies when they evaluate the results of their actual e-learning systems and search for the improvement of quality.
Reaction to Public Information in Markets: How Much Does Ambiguity Matter?

In this article, we experimentally study trader reaction to ambiguity when dividend information is revealed sequentially. Our results indicate that the role of ambiguity aversion in explaining financial anomalies is limited. Specifically, price changes are consistent with news revelation regarding the dividend, independent of subject experience and the degree of ambiguity. In addition, there is no under or overprice reactions to news. Regardless of experience, market reaction to news moves in line with fundamentals. We find no significant differences in the control versus ambiguity treatments regarding prices, price volatility and trading volume for experienced subjects.
The Error in Rejection Probability of Simple Autocorrelation Robust Tests

A new class of autocorrelation robust test statistics is introduced. The class of tests generalizes the Kiefer, Vogelsang, and Bunzel (2000) test in a manner analogous to Anderson and Darling's (1952) generalization of the Cramer-von Mises goodness of fit test. In a Gaussian location model, the error in rejection probability of the new tests is found to be O(T-super--1logT), where T denotes the sample size. Copyright The Econometric Society 2004.
Smart Helmet with Emergency Notification System-A Prototype

Motorcycles have higher rates of fatal accidents than any other automobiles in India. Hence, wearing a helmet alone is not sufficient to prevent accidents and save victims. Helmet wearing alone is not sufficient to save the life of a motor cyclist. The solution proposed in this work to address this life-threatening problem, is the Smart Helmet with Emergency Notification System (SHENS). This helmet not only protects the head of its rider but also his/her life by alerting the emergency service or an emergency contact when the rider has met with an accident. This smart helmet has the potential to act independently without any human intervention during road accidents. With the help of advanced sensors such as an infra-red sensor, impact sensor and accelerometer sensor, this smart helmet is also capable of detecting the consciousness of the accident victim and indicating the precise location of the accident. The alert to the emergency service is sent with the help of Global System for Mobile (GSM) module as a Short Messaging Service (SMS) containing the Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates which indicate the location of the accident to which the emergency team is expected to reach to offer medical assistance. Thus, this smart helmet can be used to save millions and millions of lives by helping them to get timely medical attention in case of accidents. Keywords-smart helmet; smart helmet with emergency notification system (SHENS); global system for mobile (GSM); global positioning system (GPS); accident notification; emergency notification
CHARACTERISTICS OF CEOS AND CORPORATE BOARDS WITH WOMEN INSIDE DIRECTORS

Women corporate inside (executive) directors constitute an elite minority of leaders of large corporations. This study examines the characteristics of CEOs and boards of Fortune 1000 firms that had women who held the dual leadership positions of corporate director and executive officer in 1998 in order to determine whether firms with women insiders had substantially different characteristics than firms without. We find that compared with firms without women inside directors, firms with women inside directors were characterized by CEOs with longer board tenure, more family ties, and fewer director interlocks, and by boards that were larger, with more insiders, and that utilize a management Chair of the board. Corporate governance implications are drawn for the presence of women at the top of the executive hierarchy.
Modeling the Mechanical Properties of Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes and Their Composites: Design at the Atomic Level

This investigation focuses on the design of functionalization configuration at the atomic level to determine the influence of atomic structure on the mechanical properties of functionalized carbon nanotubes (F-CNTs) and their composites. Tension and compressive buckling behaviors of different configurations of CNTs functionalized by H atoms are studied by a molecular dynamics (MD) method. It is shown that H-atom functionalization reduces Young’s modulus of CNTs, but Young’s modulus is not sensitive to the functionalization configuration. The configuration does, however, affect the tensile strength and critical buckling stress of CNTs. Further, the stress-strain relations of composites reinforced by nonfunctionalized and various functionalized CNTs are analyzed.
Interpreting Euro Area Inflation at High and Low Frequencies

Several authors have recently interpreted the ECB's two-pillar framework as separate approaches to forecast and analyse inflation at different time horizons or frequency bands. The ECB has publicly supported this understanding of the framework. This paper presents further evidence on the behaviour of euro area inflation using band spectrum regressions, which allow for a natural definition of the short and long run in terms of specific frequency bands, and causality tests in the frequency domain. The main finding is that variations in inflation are well explained by low-frequency movements of money and real income growth and high-frequency fluctuations of the output gap.
Snow/Firn Densification in Polar Ice Sheets

A sophisticated physical model of the dry snow/firn densification process in ice sheets is proposed. Macroscopically, snow and firn undergo vertical uniaxial compression with non-zero deviatoric stresses and strain rates. The present mathematical description of densification includes dilatancy and "force-chain" effects in snow and develops previous concepts of ice-particle rearrangement by grainboundary sliding and sintering by power-law creep under overburden pressure. Both densification mechanisms work together during the first snow stage until the closest packing of ice grains is reached at critical densities of 0.7-0.76 and the firn stage controlled only by the dislocation creep sets on. In addition to the ice-grain coordination number and the slope of the radial distribution function, a new structural parameter is introduced to account for grain bonding (agglomeration) effects. The model is constrained and validated on direct stereological observations of ice core structures and a representative set of snow/firn densitydepth profiles covering a wide range of present-day climatic conditions (−57.5 to −10 °C and ice accumulation at 2.15 to 330 cm yr). Simple equations are derived for predicting the depth of pore closure in firn and the ice age at close-off. The paleoclimatic evolution of quasi-stationary density-depth profiles and close-off characteristics at Vostok Station (East Antarctica) are simulated and discussed.
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Are Potential Therapeutic Targets of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling mental illness affecting approximately 2.5 million Americans. Despite enormous efforts made by scientists, the precise etiology of schizophrenia remains largely unknown to date. Interestingly, many lines of evidence over many years have revealed a high prevalence of smoking in patients with psychiatric illnesses, especially schizophrenia. Preclinical and clinical studies indicate that both α7nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7-nAChRs) and β2*-nAChRs play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. This review emphasizes evidence of linkage between nAChRs and schizophrenia and potential therapeutic applications of α7-nAChR agonists and β2*-nAChR agonists in the treatment of schizophrenia.
In-situ observations of the isotopic composition of methane at the Cabauw tall tower site

Abstract. High-precision analyses of the isotopic composition of methane in ambient air can potentially be used to discriminate between different source categories. Due to the complexity of isotope ratio measurements, such analyses have generally been performed in the laboratory on air samples collected in the field. This poses a limitation on the temporal resolution at which the isotopic composition can be monitored with reasonable logistical effort. Here we present the performance of a dual isotope ratio mass spectrometric system (IRMS) and a quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS)-based technique for in situ analysis of the isotopic composition of methane under field conditions. Both systems were deployed at the Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research (CESAR) in the Netherlands and performed in situ, high-frequency (approx. hourly) measurements for a period of more than 5 months. The IRMS and QCLAS instruments were in excellent agreement with a slight systematic offset of (+0.25 ± 0.04) ‰ for δ13C and (−4.3 ± 0.4) ‰ for δD. This was corrected for, yielding a combined dataset with more than 2500 measurements of both δ13C and δD. The high-precision and high-temporal-resolution dataset not only reveals the overwhelming contribution of isotopically depleted agricultural CH4 emissions from ruminants at the Cabauw site but also allows the identification of specific events with elevated contributions from more enriched sources such as natural gas and landfills. The final dataset was compared to model calculations using the global model TM5 and the mesoscale model FLEXPART-COSMO. The results of both models agree better with the measurements when the TNO-MACC emission inventory is used in the models than when the EDGAR inventory is used. This suggests that high-resolution isotope measurements have the potential to further constrain the methane budget when they are performed at multiple sites that are representative for the entire European domain.
Sexual distribution of aspen in the Sierra Nevada

A study to establish a more complete understanding of the sexual diversity of aspen in the Sierra Nevada was undertaken in 2001 in order to test the hypothesis that there are only male aspen clones on the Western Slope of the range and thus only vegetative reproduction of aspen would be possible. Transects identifying the presence of both male and female clones were completed in the Eldorado and Tahoe National Forests in the spring of 2001. These transects produced nearly identical male to female clone ratios of 2:1.
Saving and Portfolio Allocation Before and after Job Loss

Using administrative panel data from Norway, we investigate the development of household labor income, financial wealth and asset holdings over a nine-year period surrounding job loss. Consistent with a simple theoretical model, the data show precautionary saving and a shift toward safer assets in the years leading up to unemployment, and depletion of savings during unemployment. This suggests that at least some households can foresee and prepare for upcoming unemployment, which indicates that private savings can complement publicly provided unemployment insurance.
Can Tariff-Jumping Foreign Investment Be Beneficial?

Can tariff-jumping foreign investment be beneficial? It is well known that tariff-jumping foreign investment is costly. The tax paid by foreign firms may not be sufficient to offset that cost. We present a model that incorporates two additional benefits of foreign investment. Being more efficient, foreign firms generally pay higher wages than domestic firms and generate spillovers that enable domestic firms to become more efficient and competitive. Our analysis suggests that attracting foreign investment through import protection can improve welfare if the spillover effect is significant. However, once domestic firms have learnt their trade, developing economies should liberalize trade to reduce the distortion cost.
Classification Accuracy Effects of Q-Matrix Validation and Sample Size in DINA and G-DINA Models

This article studies the extend of change in latent classes, relating to students, which were calculated using DINA and Generalized-DINA(G-DINA) Models under different distributions and sub-sample sizes which were calculated using DINA and Generalized-DINA(G-DINA) Models. Main focus of this study is the results of practical application rather than statistical structure of Cognitive Diagnostic Models (CDM). The attribute the individuals master that take the test in CDM are determined categorically. For this reason, both the fit of Q matrix with data and the effect of sample size are searched in modelling the students’ category. In the case of low model data fit and inadequate sample size, the findings of this research will be a guide in how the decisions change about which attribute a student master or not. To this end, a mathematic test consisted of 18 multiple choice questions taken by a group of 1000 examinee was employed. Analyses were carried out using 5 different Q-Matrices, for which relations between test items and attributes were determined by experts, and latent classes determined by both DINA and G-DINA models were compared. Comparisons were made with a view to accuracy of values between classes associated with examinees in different sample sizes drawn from the same population and values obtained for population. Thus, for both models, whether they lead to independent results from the samples was tested for sample sizes of 30, 50, 100, 200 and 400 and effects of Q matrix- data fit on analysis results were determined. Results of analysis showed Q-matrix – data fit had significant impact on decisions about students for both models. Keywords: Cognitive Diagnostic Models, DINA model, G-DINA model, Q Matrix
Quality Upgrades of EU Agri-Food Exports

We investigate determinants of quality upgrades in EU agri-food exports using panel data models for the period 2000–2011. By employing highly disaggregated data we show that the unit value of exports is positively correlated to level of economic development and size of population. Our results highlight the negative impacts of comparative advantage and trade costs on upgrades in export quality. Our analysis partly confirms the role of income distribution in quality specialisation, that greater income inequality increases specialisation in quality upgrades. Findings are robust when applied to alternative subsamples, including vertically specialised and final agri-food products.
Magnesium Level Changes and its Possible Effects on the Outcome of Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit

Background: Hypomagnesemia is a usual finding in patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) that is usually the result of magnesium (Mg) loss from renal or gastrointestinal (GI) tracts. Objectives: The current study aimed at evaluating the relationship between the level of Mg in serum and outcome of patients admitted to ICU. Methods: The current cross sectional, descriptive study was performed on patients admitted to ICU for 1 year. All of the patients stayed at least 2 days in ICU. Data on the underlying disease were collected based on a check list. All patients were followed-up until the discharge time. Parametric and non-parametric tests were used for the statistical analyses using SPSS software ver. 18.0. Results: One hundred one patients (52 males and 49 females) were enrolled in the current study. Most of the underlying diseases in patients were pulmonary (31.7) and renal (24.8) diseases. Hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia were observed in 31.7 and 17.8 of the patients, respectively. Hypomagnesemia was mostly observed in patients with gastrointestinal (50) and renal diseases (36). Among the 101 patients, 71 (70.3) cases died and 30 (29.7) cases were discharged from the hospital. Hypomagnesaemia was observed in 28.1 of dead patients and 40 of the discharged ones. There was no significant correlation between the serum level of Mg and patients outcome. Conclusions: Further studies should be conducted on the total serum Mg and ionized level of Mg in serum, and their correlation with the outcome of patients admitted to ICU. © 2017, Nephrology and Urology Research Center.
Hermit crabs from north Australian and eastern Indonesian waters (Crustacea Decapoda: Anomura: Paguroidea) collected during the 1975 Alpha Helix Expedition

Fifty-two species of hermit crabs of the families Coenobitidae, Diogenidae and Paguridae were collected in the Arafura Sea and in Maluku (Moluccas), Indonesia. Five of these species were previously unrecorded from the Arafura Sea and Torres Strait. At the Banda Islands, where the major part of the collecting was done, 34 out of 3 7 species are reported for the first time. The collection included 18 new records for Seram and 14 for Saparua. Four new species are described from Maluku. Live colour notes and information on natural history are presented for most of the species in the collection, and associations are noted with anemones, rhizocephalans, cirolanid and parasitic isopods, copepods, a shrimp and a polychaete. This paper is Contribution 428 ofthe Allan Hancock Foundation. HAIG, 1. & E.E. BALL, 1988. Hermit crabs from north Australia and eastern Indonesian waters (Crustacea Decapoda: Anomura: Paguroidea) collected during the 1975 Alpha Helix Expedition. Records of the Australian Museum 40(3): 151-196.