Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Picosecond Laser Based Modifications of Amorphous Carbon Coatings on Lubricant-free Tribological Systems

*1 Institute of Photonic Technologies, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Konrad-Zuse-Str. 3/5, 91052 Erlangen, Germany E-mail: tom.haefner@fau.de *2 Erlangen Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies (SAOT), Friedrich-AlexanderUniversität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Paul-Gordan-Str. 6, 90152 Erlangen, Germany *3 Institute of Engineering Design, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstr. 9, 91058 Erlangen, Germany *4 Institute of Manufacturing Technology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Egerlandstr. 13, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Technical Efficiency of Peasant Farmers in northern Ethiopia: A stochastic frontier approach

Empirical works on efficiency of small farmers has been triggered by Schultz's (1964) popular 'poor-but-efficient hypothesis'. Peasant farmers in traditional agricultural settings are reasonably efficient in allocating their resources and they respond positively to price incentives. If farmers are reasonably efficient, as hypothesized by Schultz, then increases in productivity require new inputs and technology to shift the production frontier upward. If, on the other hand, there are significant opportunities to increase productivity through more efficient use of farmers' resources and inputs with current technology, then a better allocation might be essential. But how to measure and compare their efficiency? The concept of efficiency measurement by means of a frontier method has its origin with Farrell (1957). Several different approaches could be applied (see e.g. Fried et al. . for an overview). We have chosen for the output-oriented or primal approach, where the central issue is by how much output could be expanded from a given level of inputs. The empirical analysis uses a stratified sample of farm dataset refers for the 1996 and 1997 production years. Farmers in the sample are located particularly in Enderta and Hintalo-Wajerat districts of the Tigrai region. A preliminary analysis showed that productivity differences among farmers are rather small (compared to other studies). There appears to be increasing emphasis by policy-makers on investments in new technologies and inputs rather than efforts aimed at improving the efficiency of less efficient farmers. Obviously, the level of efficiency of peasant (small) farmers has important implications for choice of development strategy. As the choice of development strategy, at least partly rests on the policy makers' conceptions of farm/ farmer-level performances. This analysis is intended to contribute to such strategic choices.
Forty Years of Heavy Quarks

In this paper we first give a brief review of light quarks (u, d, and s) proposed in 1964 as the building blocks for organizing the spectra of mesons and baryons in the flavor SU(3) symmetry of Gell-Mann and Neeman. We then consider topics in heavy quark sectors (c, b, and t) in which the author was involved beginning in 1974. The topics discussed were quarkonium states, hadron transitions between heavy quarkonium states, and implications of combined spin and flavor symmetry of heavy quarks and chiral symmetry of light quarks for heavy mesons and heavy baryons that contain a heavy quark and one or two light quarks.
Brief communication: Solar radiation management not as effective as CO2 mitigation for Arctic sea ice loss in hitting the 1.5 and 2 °C COP climate targets

Abstract. An assessment of the risks of a seasonally ice-free Arctic at 1.5 and 2.0 ∘C global warming above pre-industrial levels is undertaken using model simulations with solar radiation management to achieve the desired temperatures. An ensemble of the CMIP5 model HadGEM2-ES uses solar radiation management (SRM) to achieve the desired global mean temperatures. It is found that the risk for a seasonally ice-free Arctic is reduced for a target temperature for global warming of 1.5 ∘C (0.1 %) compared to 2.0 ∘C (42 %), in general agreement with other methodologies. The SRM produced more ice loss, for a specified global temperature, than for CO2 mitigation scenarios, as SRM produces a higher polar amplification.
Fundamental Elements to Produce Sesame Yoghurt from Sesame Milk

Problem statement: In previous work sesame milk was developed. The developed milk had slightly acceptable flavor and limited shelf life. Fermentation of sesame milk is one way to overcome these problems. Approach: Sesame yoghurt experiments were carried out using pasteurized sesame milk (75°C for 5 min) with 14% initial sesame seed concentration and 2.7% glucose with different dairy products: lactose, Cheese Dried Whey (CDW), Non Fat Dried Milk (NFDM) and skim milk. The formulas were fermented using commercial yoghurt starter culture for different times. Results: The texture of all resulted yoghurt lacked the typical set yoghurt body and was similar to that of drinking yoghurt. The best formula was sesame milk with 2% CDW followed by sesame milk with 2% NFDM and then by sesame milk extended with skim milk in a ratio of 1:1. The optimum fermentation times were 6, 8 and 8 h respectively. Conclusion/Recommendations: The addition of dairy products was essential to promote acid and flavor development.
A nonlinear fracture mechanics approach to the growth of small cracks

Abstract : Using linear-elastic and nonlinear fracture mechanics, many investigators have tried to explain the growth of small cracks in plates and at notches. These studies have concentrated on the growth of small cracks ranging in length from . 01 to 1mm. On the basis of linear-elastic fracture mechanics, the small cracks grew much faster than would be predicted from large crack data. Nonlinear fracture mechanics, in particular the J-integral concept, and an empirical length parameter have been used to correlate small and large crack- growth rate data. The physical interpretation of the length parameter, however, is unclear.
Assessment of the biodegradation of 1-methyl naphthalene using immobilized Pseudomonas macerans and Bacillus subtilis on periwinkle snail shell

The treatment of pollution using eco-friendly and sustainable methods is one of the bases of biotechnology. The work reports the use of periwinkle snail shell (PS) as carrier to immobilize Pseudomonas macerans and Bacillus subtilis for the biodegradation of 1-methyl naphthalene in aqueous medium. The biodegradation of 1-methyl naphthalene (500 mg L -1 ) were monitored after 36 h and 72 h by determining the concentration of carbonic acid (by titrimetric method) following the release of carbon (IV) oxide. The pH as well as the Fourier Transform-infrared (FT-IR) of the metabolites from the bioreactors/reactors were also studied. The pH of all the supernatants in the bioreactors/reactors decreased with time. There was increase in the concentration of H 2 CO 3 due to the biodegradation of 1-methyl naphthalene by immobilized Pseudomonas macerans and Bacillus subtilis on 1.0 g and 2.0 g of PS. However, the use of immobilized Pseudomonas macerans on PS resulted to significant biodegradation of 1-methylnaphthalene (range of 0.61 - 0.81 mg/L H 2 CO 3 ) compared to degradation alone with PS after 72 h. FTIR of the metabolite at end products show new peaks within 3372- 3268 cm -1 and within 1643-1640cm -1 , these bands are attributed to overlapping of hydroxyl (OH) and carbonyl (C=O) stretching in carboxylic acid respectively, this implies that 1-methyl naphthalene got converted to carboxylic acid. Therefore, the use of carbonaceous wastes for localization in order to enhance biodegradation of hydrocarbons can be harnessed for mop-up of oil spills. Keywords: Biodegradation, Immobilized, Periwinkle snail shell, Pseudomonas macerans , Bacillus subtilis
Study of Cardiovascular Malformation in Congenital Rubella Syndrome in Two Tertiary Level Hospitals of Bangladesh

Background: Congenital Rubella infection is a serious disabling problem for children resulting in Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS). The exact pattern of the CRS related cardiovascular malformation has not yet been well established in Bangladesh. The objective of this study was to observe the pattern of cardiovascular malformation in Congenital Rubella Syndrome. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD). Total 40 suspected CRS cases were recruited from both indoor and outpatient departments of the two study hospitals. Serum samples were tested for rubella-specific IgM and IgG, visual and hearing assessment, chest radiography and colour doppler echocardiography were performed at appropriate specialized centres. Results: The mean (±SD) age of the study population (n=40) was 6.6 (±5.7) months (range: 024 months), 68% children were male and 32% were female. Congenital heart disease (CHD) was found in 78% children. Patent ductus arteriosus was the commonest (47.5%) structural defect followed by pulmonary stenosis (22%), atrial septal defect (17.5%) and ventricular septal defect (17%). The chest X-ray of CHD cases showed cardiomegaly in 71% cases and patchy opacity and/or consolidation in 65% cases. Regarding serological assessment of the 37 patients (3 patients rejected blood collection), 60% cases showed IgG positive and 28% cases revealed positive IgM. Conclusions: Various forms of cardiovascular malformation are present in CRS patients. Treatment modalities differ in each type of CHD and its early detection can reduce childhood mortality and morbidity. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjch.v38i3. 22822 Bangladesh J Child Health 2014; VOL 38 (3) :137-141
Estimating Term Premia at the Zero Bound: An Analysis of Japanese, US, and UK Yields

This paper estimates an affine term structure model (ATSM) and a shadow rate model (SRM) using Japanese, US, and UK data until March 2013. These models produce very different results, which are attributable to the ATSM's neglect of the zero lower bound (ZLB). The 10-year term premium estimated by the ATSM occasionally deviates from that estimated by the SRM by around 2 percentage points, and the deviation has recently widened in the US and the UK. The ATSM consistently overestimates the long-run level of the short rate, which appears to contribute to the tendency to underestimate the term premium.
A genomic assisted breeding program for cassava to improve nutritional quality and industrial traits of storage root

Cassava is cultivated for two ends proposals: "sweet cassava" as fresh consumes and "industry cassava" as source of starch and farina. Landraces were used to discover "spontaneous mutations" and to develop evolutionary and breeding perspective of gene function. Genomic and Proteomic resources were obtained. Gene expression by RNA blot and Microarray analysis were performed to identify differentially expressed genes. A new sugary cassava was identified to be related to missing expression of BEI and a nonsense mutation in GBSSI gene leading to amylose free starch. A pink phenotype showed no expression of CasLYB gene, and a yellow phenotype a down regulation of CasHYb. Proteomic analysis of carotenoid-protein complex together with gene expression analysis of CAP4 revealed a heteroduplex double strand cDNA associated with high carotenoid content. GBSSI gene sequencing identified 22 haplotypes and large nucleotide diversity. Segregating populations by crossing differential biochemical phenotypes and parents adapted to Cerrado's Region were obtained.
Exploratory of Problems between Iranian Parents and Their Male Adolescents

Problems between parents and their male adolescents are a fast growing phenomenon in Iran. This study attempted to examine the problems between parents and their male adolescents, how they are formed, and what factors influenced the problems formation process between them. Thirty-five participants including parents, their male adolescents, and experts (10 adolescents, 10 fathers, 10 mothers, and 5 experts) participated in a semi structured deep interview; and data was analyzed qualitatively and based on a grounded theory approach. Based on the findings of this study, a preliminary understanding of problems formation process between Iranian parents and their male adolescents is presented and discussed in details. Through systematic analysis, we uncovered several factors influencing the problems formation process in the population. Qualitative findings revealed that adolescents’ characteristics, parents’ features, the type of relationships between parents and their male adolescents, adolescents’ growth, cultural changes, family environment, friends, and school affected the problems between Iranian parents and their male adolescents.
Exploration in Mapping Kernel-Based Home Range Models from Remote Sensing Imagery with Conditional Adversarial Networks

Kernel-based home range models are widely-used to estimate animal habitats and develop conservation strategies. They provide a probabilistic measure of animal space use instead of assuming the uniform utilization within an outside boundary. However, this type of models estimates the home ranges from animal relocations, and the inadequate locational data often prevents scientists from applying them in long-term and large-scale research. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end deep learning framework to simulate kernel home range models. We use the conditional adversarial network as a supervised model to learn the home range mapping from time-series remote sensing imagery. Our approach enables scientists to eliminate the persistent dependence on locational data in home range analysis. In experiments, we illustrate our approach by mapping the home ranges of Bar-headed Geese in Qinghai Lake area. The proposed framework outperforms all baselines in both qualitative and quantitative evaluations, achieving visually recognizable results and high mapping accuracy. The experiment also shows that learning the mapping between images is a more effective way to map such complex targets than traditional pixel-based schemes.
FAMILY OWNERSHIP CONTROL AND EARNINGS MANAGEMENT: EVIDENCE FROM HONG KONG FIRMS

This study examines the impact of family ownership control on earnings management for firms operating in Hong Kong. We find evidence that family-controlled firms are less likely to engage in earnings management activities in the earnings management settings to avoid reporting an earnings decline and to avoid reporting a loss than non-family-controlled firms. Additionally, we observe that deferred tax expense is useful in detecting earnings management in the earnings management settings to avoid reporting an earnings decline, to avoid reporting a loss, and to avoid failing to meet or beat the consensus analysts’ earnings forecast. Moreover, we find that the positive association between deferred tax expense and earnings management is weakened significantly by family ownership control. Overall, the empirical evidence indicates that lower earnings management is more prevalent in familycontrolled firms compared to non-family-controlled firms. This finding is consistent with a greater alignment of interest between controlling and outside owners, rather than the expropriation by the controlling families which can be achieved by managing reported earnings.
Fragrance analysis using molecular and biochemical methods in recombinant inbred lines of rice

The aroma or fragrance of Basmati rice is associated with the presence and content of the chemical compound, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline and the trait is monogenic recessive. Several polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based co-dominant markers based on RG28 locus were developed, which can differentiate between fragrant and non-fragrant rice cultivars. For molecular and biochemical analysis of aroma, a mapping population comprising 208 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a diverse cross between CSR10 and Taraori Basmati through Single seed descent (SSD) method was used. RILs are among the best mapping populations, which provide a novel material for linkage mapping of genes/QTLs marker for various traits. Biochemical analysis of aroma was performed with the 1.7% KOH solution and molecular analysis of aroma was carried out with microsatellite markers present on chromosome 8 (BAD2, BADEX7-5, SCUSSR1) to determine the extent of association between trait, marker and chromosome 8. Among these markers, BAD2 amplified aroma specific alleles having 256 bp in 72 lines, BADEX7-5 with 95 bp in 74 lines and SCUSSR1 with 129 bp in 79 lines. Mantel test of significance detected by biochemical analysis of RILs (with 1.7% KOH) and molecular marker study revealed high degree (>90%) of association of aroma with the above mentioned markers, respectively. Some of the F10 lines amplified the heterozygous alleles for two sets of specific markers (BAD2 and SCUSSR-1) but did not show the presence of aroma as analyzed by chemical test. Aromatic and nonaromatic lines were almost common in three markers, indicating association of markers with the trait and chromosome 8. The results reveal that these markers could be used for marker assisted selection and RIL population for mapping of aroma QTLs/genes.
Genetic studies on the South African Mutton Merino: growth traits

Genetic parameters were estimated for 36-, 42-, 50-, 100- and 150-day weight in the South African Mutton Merino breed. The direct heritability estimates obtained were 0.270, 0.366, 0.278, 0.185 and 0.115 respectively. The maternal heritability estimates for the respective weights were 0.494, 0.249, 0.129, 0.091 and 0.080. The correlation between the animal effects (direct and maternal) varied between -1.000 for 36-day weight to -0.376 for 150-day weight. Very little selection progress was made over the period (1980-1999) in the breed. (South African Journal of Animal Science, 2000, 30(3): 172-177)
Status, Dispersal, and Breeding Biology of the Exotic Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) in Arkansas

The exotic Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) was first sighted in Arkansas at Harrison (Boone Co.) on 25 June 1989. Since this initial sighting the species has grown in numbers and is now present in 42 of 75 counties across the state. In the spring and summer of 2009 and 2010, 20 nests were observed in the urban areas of Fort Smith (Sebastian County). Fifteen of the 20 nests (75%) were located on human-made structures of which 13 (65%) were on an electrical substation and two (10%) were on utility poles. The remaining 5 nests (25%) were in trees. Mean nest height was 7.62 m (n = 20 nests), and the mean width of the nest site support was 40 cm (n = 6 nests). Thirteen of the 20 nests (65%) yielded fledgling(s). Three focal nests were chosen for intense observation. Nest building lasted 1 to 3 days (mean = 2 days); incubation period was 15 days; and fledging occurred 17-18 days after hatching (n = 3 nests). A total of 6 young fledged from these 3 nests.
Carbon sequestration in tropical forests and water: a critical look at the basis for commonly used generalizations

Tree planting in the tropics is conducted for a number of reasons including carbon sequestration, but often competes with increasingly scarce water resources. The basics of forest and water relations are frequently said to be well understood but there is a pressing need to better understand and predict the hydrological effects of land‐use and climate change in the complex and dynamic landscapes of the tropics. This will remain elusive without the empirical data required to feed hydrological process models. It is argued that the current state of knowledge is confused by too broad a use of the terms ‘forest’ and ‘(af)forestation’, as well as by a bias towards using data generated mostly outside the tropics and for nondegraded soil conditions. Definitions of forest, afforestation and reforestation as used in the climate change community and their application by land and water managers need to be reconciled.
Adaptive randomized trial designs that cannot be dominated by any standard design at the same total sample size

Prior work has shown that the power of adaptive designs with rules for modifying the sample size can always be matched or improved by suitably chosen, standard, group sequential designs. A natural question is whether analogous results hold for other types of adaptive designs. We focus on adaptive enrichment designs, which involve preplanned rules for modifying enrollment criteria based on accrued data in a randomized trial. Such designs often involve multiple hypotheses, e.g., one for the total population and one for a predefined subpopulation, such as those with high disease severity at baseline. We fix the total sample size, and consider overall power, defined as the probability of rejecting at least one false null hypothesis. We present adaptive enrichment designs whose overall power at two alternatives cannot simultaneously be matched by any standard design. In some scenarios there is a substantial gap between the overall power achieved by these adaptive designs and that of any standard design. We also prove that such gains in overall power come at a cost. To attain overall power above what is achievable by certain standard designs, it is necessary to increase power to reject some hypotheses and reduce power to reject others. We demonstrate that adaptive enrichment designs allow certain power trade-offs that are not available when restricting to standard designs.
The ins and outs of Greek unemployment in the Great Depression

We investigate the unemployment inflows and outflows using micro-data from the Greek Labour Force Survey (1998-2013). Focusing on the post-2008 recessionary period, aggregate unemployment decompositions show that both, inflow and outflow rates affect unemployment variations. In particular, early in the recession the inflow rate dominates while later the outflow rate takes over. These findings remain unaltered when unemployment persistence and low transition rates are taken into account. Furthermore, applying multinomial regression techniques we find that the ins and outs of unemployment vary with individual-specific heterogeneity (gender, age, education, etc.). This heterogeneity however exhibits a differentiated impact in the pre- and post-2008 periods. Overall, the design of an effective employment policy in Greece needs to take into consideration the exceptionally low job finding rate (10%) and its composition in the ongoing labour market crisis.
Transformational Leadership in India

This article reports on three studies that used a combination of methods to develop a measure of transformational leadership in India. The grounded theory approach was followed for generating the initial item-pool (n = 250). In the second study (n = 379), an exploratory factor analysis was conducted, followed by a confirmatory factor analysis, which resulted in a six-factor model. The factors show support for both universal as well as unique cultural dimensions. In the third study (n = 202; 101 manager—subordinate dyads) survey data were collected and support was found for sound psychometric properties of the new scale, including incremental, discriminant, convergent, and predictive validity. The new scale explained significant variance over and above the variance explained by the currently existing scale for measuring transformational leadership.