Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Review article: Inferring permafrost and permafrost thaw in the mountains of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region

Abstract. The cryosphere reacts sensitively to climate change, as evidenced by the widespread retreat of mountain glaciers. Subsurface ice contained in permafrost is similarly affected by climate change, causing persistent impacts on natural and human systems. In contrast to glaciers, permafrost is not observable spatially and therefore its presence and possible changes are frequently overlooked. Correspondingly, little is known about permafrost in the mountains of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, despite permafrost area exceeding that of glaciers in nearly all countries. Based on evidence and insight gained mostly in other permafrost areas globally, this review provides a synopsis on what is known or can be inferred about permafrost in the mountains of the HKH region. Given the extreme nature of the environment concerned, it is to be expected that the diversity of conditions and phenomena encountered in permafrost exceed what has previously been described and investigated. We further argue that climate change in concert with increasing development will bring about diverse permafrost-related impacts on vegetation, water quality, geohazards, and livelihoods. To better anticipate and mitigate these effects, a deepened understanding of high-elevation permafrost in subtropical latitudes as well as the pathways interconnecting environmental changes and human livelihoods are needed.
Existence of short term momentum effect and stock market of Turkey

The aim of this paper is to examine the existence of short term momentum effect in the stock market of Turkey. Momentum effect’s existence is a questionable and debatable issue because it has been claimed by many that short term momentum effect has been found in the stock markets across the globe but the opposite group gives entirely different opinion and argues that short term momentum effect does not exist in many stock markets. There are conflicting results that have been documented in the financial literature about its existence. To address the existence of momentum issue, stock market of Turkey has been chosen in this regard because one group of authors claims that short term momentum effect exists in the stock market of Turkey but other group argues that momentum effect was not found in the Turkey’s financial market. It is found out that strong short term momentum effect is presented in the stock market of Turkey and all momentum strategies are statistically significant and profitable. Future research should focus on sub-variants of price momentum strategy but it should also focus on finding the source of short term momentum effect because risk based model and behavioral models could not successfully explain short term momentum effect.
A inclusão da disciplina de Libras nos cursos de licenciatura: visão do futuro docente

RESUMO Objetivo Descrever a percepção de acadêmicos de licenciatura a respeito da disciplina Língua Brasileira de Sinais - Libras, quanto à sua organização e importância na formação profissional, bem como o entendimento dos acadêmicos sobre a Libras e a surdez. Métodos Foi realizada uma pesquisa com 59 acadêmicos de duas universidades localizadas em uma cidade no Sul do Brasil, que cursavam licenciaturas e que já haviam finalizado essa disciplina. A coleta dos dados ocorreu por meio da aplicação de questionário sobre a disciplina de Libras, sua organização e propósito. Resultados Notou-se, nas respostas dos discentes, que a organização e o funcionamento da disciplina, pelos docentes, parecem seguir uma tendência de ensino de vocabulário e gramática da língua, em detrimento de questões mais abrangentes sobre a surdez, os surdos e sua própria inclusão. A maioria dos participantes afirmou que a disciplina teve um impacto importante na sua visão com relação aos surdos e à Libras. Conclusão Destaca-se a necessidade de mais estudos relacionados à inserção da disciplina de Libras nos cursos de licenciatura, para que os discentes não tenham contato apenas com a língua de sinais, enquanto sistema linguístico, mas sim com discussões mais abrangentes a respeito da educação de surdos.
METHOD OF ANALYSIS OF RANDOM WAVE EXPERIMENTS WITH REFLECTING COASTAL STRUCTURES by

A method of evaluation of the incident and reflected wave spectra in laboratory experiments or field investigations, based on the analysis of wave records obtained with a three-gauge array, is presented. Results of a laboratory investigation with a rubble-mound breakwater and with a special type of sea-wall (ARC system) are given to illustrate the applications of the method. INTRODUCTION Random wave experiments performed with reflecting coastal structures require calibration of the wave generator movement in order to obtain incident waves conforming to specified characteristics. This calibration raises a problem because of multiple wave reflections from the structure and the wave paddle. A technique often used in such cases, as well as in field investigations, consists in measuring the water level variation in front of the structure and in applying a method of analysis which estimates the incident and reflected waves. Several methods of analysis based on measurements with two wave-gauges have formerly been published by Kajima (3], Thornton and Calhoun [5], Goda and Suzuki [2), Morden, Richey and Christensen [4], In these methods, however, the incident wave spectral density cannot be estimated correctly in the vicinity of a discrete number of critical frequencies, for which the distance between the two wave-gauges is a multiple of half the corresponding wave-length. In this paper a different method, based on the analysis of wave records obtained with a three gauge array is presented. With this method, it is possible to estimate the incident and reflected wave spectra for the whole range of frequencies of interest.
Corporate Governance and the Performance of Nigerian Banks

Although the consolidation and regulatory reforms were initiated in the Nigerian banking industry in 2004, the expected improvement in the operational performance and efficiency in the banking system has not been reflected in the overall health of the economy. It is in the light of the above, that this research examined the relationships between corporate governance mechanisms and performance of banks in Nigeria. This study used secondary data derived from publications of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 2006 to 2014. The Pearson Correlation was used to assess the relationships between the corporate governance variables and banks’ performance. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analysis. The study observed that a significant negative relationship exists between board size, board composition and the financial performance of banks, while a positive and significant relationship was observed between directors’ equity holding and banks’ performance. The study concludes that, the directors’ equity holding is paramount in boosting the performance of banks in Nigeria. Thus, this study recommends that the regulatory authorities should make sure that all directors own a reasonable amount of equity in the banks they oversee as this will move them to do their best to enhance the performance of these banks.
Shopper Response to Bundle Promotions for Packaged Goods

Bundle promotions—the practice of granting consumers a discount when they buy a certain number of units from a designated range of stockkeeping units—have gained popularity among manufacturers and retailers. In this research, the authors investigate the purchase effects of bundle promotions for a category of packaged goods. Contrary to intuition, they find that promotional bundles are far more effective at inducing switching than at boosting category sales. The strong switching effects result from two mechanisms: (1) Stockkeeping units that are part of a bundle promotion appear to reinforce each other's choice probability, and (2) the bundle discount tends to attract consumers even if they do not buy enough to qualify for the price reduction. The weak category effects follow from the notion that the purchase quantity requirement is often too stringent to make consumers buy earlier and/or more in the category. The authors develop incidence, quantity, and choice models that incorporate the intricate bundle mechanisms, and they use simulations to contrast the sales impact of bundle and traditional per-unit promotions. On the basis of the model estimates, they present managerial implications and tentative guidelines for optimal bundle design.
Isolation and identification of some bacterial isolates from table egg

This paper presents the degree of contamination of table eggs with bacteria of the genus Staphylococcus, E-coli, Salmonella, Streptococcus and Clostridia taking into account the source of the eggs. The results of the study indicate a relatively high degree of contamination of table eggs with Staphylococcus bacteria and enterobacteriaceae both in yolk and on egg shell. The study included inspection, examination of brown eggs, gathered in winter and summer seasons from local markets, the origin the bacteria diagnosed by cultural, microscopic examination and biochemical tests methods. Results referred that bacteria were the main organism contaminate the egg 95% and fungi were 5%, we focused here on bacterial growth. Contamination ratio was; Staphylococcus 75%, enterobacteriaceae 20% (E-coli 9% and salmonella 11%) and 4.9% streptococcus and 0.1 clostridium perfringens. Smears are taken from egg shell and yolk, bacterial growth concentrate on shell in winter at 100 % while yolk 0%, in summer the growth was equal 50%-50% in both egg shell and yolk.
Comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of pork using different protein sources in pig feed

Abstract. Feed production is the main contributor to a subset of environmental impacts of pork production. In this context, this study is concerned with the substitution of soy products in pig diets in order to reduce these impacts. The aim of this study was to assess three alternative diets in gestating and lactating sows as well as growing and finishing pigs in order to reduce the amount of soy products used as ingredients. In the three alternative scenarios soy proteins were compensated for by either using a combination of different feedstuffs (e.g. rapeseed meal, fava beans, and synthetic amino acids) (LOW), maximising the use of legumes (mainly fava beans) (LEG) and increasing the amount of synthetic amino acids (AA). These alternative scenarios were compared with standard diets (ST) and formulated in order to reduce the crude-protein content of the diet while maintaining the same performance of the pigs. Each of the resulting 16 diets was then assessed with respect to global warming, eutrophication, acidification, and land use, both when accounting and not accounting for emissions due to land use change. The analysis per kilogram of feed showed that the ST diets performed best with regard to global warming, eutrophication, and acidification. When emissions from land use and land use change were added, ST and AA diets appeared to have the least impact. In contrast, the assessment of scenarios per kilogram of pork highlighted that the AA scenario contributed the least in all impact categories. In conclusion, it is possible to partly replace soybean products by using synthetic amino acids in order to minimise the environmental impacts of the pork supply chain.
Role of transabdominal ultrasound in detection of ectopic pregnancy

Background & Objectives: Ectopic pregnancy is one of the common medical emergencies encountered in the clinical practice. Confirmation of diagnosis is usually done by urine pregnancy test and transabdominal sonography. Thus, the present study is carried out to determine the role of transabdominal ultrasonography in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy by comparing the ultrasonography findings with that of operative and histopathology and to evaluate clinical profile of the women with confirmed ectopic pregnancy. Materials & Methods: Transabdominal ultrasound record of patients referred for first trimester ultrasound, from January 2008 to December 2015, at radiology department of Kist medial college teaching hospital were reviewed to identify patients with ectopic pregnancy. Among these patients those who underwent surgery and histopathology confirmed ectopic pregnancies were identified and their medical records were retrieved. Ultrasound and clinical profile were recorded and statistically analyzed. Results: There were 19 patients with ultrasound diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy among 1480 first trimester ultrasound record. Among these patients, ectopic pregnancy was confirmed on 18 patients. Ultrasound diagnosis included adnexal mass with pelvic fluid in 15 (83.3%) patients and pelvic fluid without adnexal mass in 4 (16.7%) patients. The study result revealed that sensitivity of transabdominal ultrasonography was 100% and specificity was 99.9%. Positive predictive value and negative predictive value of transabdominal ultrasonography was 94% and 100%. Conclusion: The transabdominal ultrasound accurately diagnose ruptured ectopic pregnancy. JCMS Nepal. 2016;12(1):1-4.
Passive and active earth pressures in the presence of groundwater flow

This paper deals with the effect of seepage flow on the lateral earth pressures acting on deep sheeted excavations in cohesionless soil. The computation of the passive and active earth pressures in the presence of hydraulic gradients is performed using the explicit finite difference method implemented in Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC) code. The available effective passive earth pressure coefficients in the presence of upward seepage forces are given for both associative and non-associative material. The present solutions show that the soil dilation angle influences the effective passive earth pressures for large internal friction angle values of the soil. They also show that the effective passive pressures diminish with the hydraulic head loss. Good agreement is observed between the present results and those using an upper-bound approach in limit analysis for an associative material. For the active case, the effect of downward seepage forces on the active earth pressures is investigated. The .
Why Natural or Electron Irradiated Sheep Wool Show Anomalous Sorption of Higher Concentrations of Copper(II)

Sorption of higher concentrations of Cu(II) solution onto natural sheep wool or wool irradiated by an electron beam was studied. Sorption isotherms were of unexpected character, showing extremes. The samples with lower absorbed doses adsorbed less than non-irradiated wool, while higher doses led to increased sorption varying with both concentration and dose. FTIR spectra taken from the fibre surface and bulk were different. It was concluded that there was formation of Cu(II)-complexes of carboxylic and cysteic acids with ligands coming from various keratin macromolecules. Clusters of chains crosslinked through the ligands on the surface limit diffusion of Cu(II) into the bulk of fibre, thus decreasing the sorption. After exhausting the available ligands on the surface the remaining Cu(II) cations diffuse into the keratin bulk. Here, depending on accessibility of suitable ligands, Cu(II) creates simple or complex salts giving rise to the sorption extremes. Suggestion of a mechanism for this phenomenon is presented.
A study of gratitude and well being among adolescents

This paper reports the results of a study on adolescents' gratitude and well being. Gender and age differences were assessed. An association between gratitude, well being, age and gender was explored. Questionnaires were distributed to the participants and filled on the spot. Data from 200 participants 12-19 years of age was collected from two districts of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Independent samples t test and Product moment method was used for statistical analysis. The results revealed age difference in well being. An association between age and well being was also found. The results have an implication for future research. The findings of this study have applicability in school settings. The researcher emphasizes on replicating this research, and in finding out the trends in various cultures.
Update on Management of Fungal Keratitis

Orapin Anutarapongpan1,2 and Terrence P. O’Brien1* 1Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of Palm Beach Gardens, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA 2Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand *Corresponding author: Terrence P. O’Brien, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of Palm Beach Gardens, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA, Tel: (561) 515-1544; Fax: (561) 355-8600; E-mail: tobrien@med.miami. edu
Healthcare-associated infections among patients with different types of acute leukemia in China: A surveillance-based study

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) may be diverse among patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However studies were limited. We aimed to quantify and compare the characteristics and relevant factors associated with HAIs among patients with AML and ALL. The surveillance-based study was conducted in a university teaching hospital. All adult patients diagnosed with acute leukemia (AL) and admitted into the Hematology Department for over 48 h were included. HAI characteristics and relevant factors were compared between AML and ALL patients. A consecutive sample of 994 patients with AL was recruited. The proportions of infected cases (27.78% vs . 28.31%, p = 0.888) and the HAI incidence (21.29 vs . 22.82 per 1,000 patient-days at risk, p = 0.733) were comparable among AML and ALL patients, respectively. Compared with ALL patients, higher risks of HAIs were found among AML patients with increasing duration of chemotherapy or lower hemoglobin level. Meanwhile, increased length of stays during previous cycles of chemotherapy, lower level of platelets, and diabetes were associated with higher risks of HAIs among ALL patients compared with AML patients. In conclusion, our results found that AML and ALL patients experienced different risks of HAIs associated with diverse relevant factors. Future multi-center studies are needed to provide stronger evidence.
L-moments of the Birnbaum–Saunders distribution and its extreme value version: estimation, goodness of fit and application to earthquake data

ABSTRACT Understanding patterns in the frequency of extreme natural events, such as earthquakes, is important as it helps in the prediction of their future occurrence and hence provides better civil protection. Distributions describing these events are known to be heavy tailed and positive skew making standard distributions unsuitable for modelling the frequency of such events. The Birnbaum–Saunders distribution and its extreme value version have been widely studied and applied due to their attractive properties. We derive L-moment equations for these distributions and propose novel methods for parameter estimation, goodness-of-fit assessment and model selection. A simulation study is conducted to evaluate the performance of the L-moment estimators, which is compared to that of the maximum likelihood estimators, demonstrating the superiority of the proposed methods. To illustrate these methods in a practical application, a data analysis of real-world earthquake magnitudes, obtained from the global centroid moment tensor catalogue during 1962–2015, is carried out. This application identifies the extreme value Birnbaum–Saunders distribution as a better model than classic extreme value distributions for describing seismic events.
Long-range forecasting of intermittent streamflow

Abstract. Long-range forecasting of intermittent streamflow in semi-arid Australia poses a number of major challenges. One of the challenges relates to modelling zero, skewed, non-stationary, and non-linear data. To address this, a statistical model to forecast streamflow up to 12 months ahead is applied to five semi-arid catchments in South Western Queensland. The model uses logistic regression through Generalised Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) to determine the probability of flow occurring in any of the systems. We then use the same regression framework in combination with a right-skewed distribution, the Box-Cox t distribution, to model the intensity (depth) of the non-zero streamflows. Time, seasonality and climate indices, describing the Pacific and Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures, are tested as covariates in the GAMLSS model to make probabilistic 6 and 12-month forecasts of the occurrence and intensity of streamflow. The output reveals that in the study region the occurrence and variability of flow is driven by sea surface temperatures and therefore forecasts can be made with some skill.
Transforming humanitarian logistics: the journey to supply network management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction of the two parts of the Special Edition of the journal devoted to the challenges of humanitarian aid logistics. To achieve this, an overview of the humanitarian logistic field is provided focussing on a number of key areas in which the principles and practices supporting commercial supply network management (SNM) have the potential to offer significant improvement in the efficiency and/or effectiveness of the humanitarian logistics preparation and response.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a conceptual discussion of issues of SNM in a humanitarian aid context, linked to the more specific discussions of the contribution of the research presented by the authors of the papers accepted for the special editions.Findings – The paper discusses the concept of SNM and argues that the fundamental principles that have been the subject of considerable academic scrutiny are equally applicable to the humanitarian logistic field – albeit.
Measuring Passenger Loyalty to Public Transport Modes

This paper incorporates insights from relevant consumer behavior research in marketing to travel mode choice by adopting the loyalty model, a decision-making model, to better understand and evaluate passenger attitudes toward public transport modes. This paper describes the loyalty model and demonstrates and validates its use in transportation using a case study of a choice between two modes, rail and bus. Based on factor analysis, two factors from the loyalty model were identified: loyalty, which measures the repeat purchase of the service and the passenger’s attitude toward it; and hedonic commitment, which mea­sures the emotional feeling after using a mode. The full loyalty model was validated for both rail and bus passengers. The research shows that, like other consuming products toward which subjective emotional feelings affect the consumer’s behavior, passenger choice is significantly affected by subjective emotional feelings toward the mode. Additionally, the subjective effect can be measured easily using marketing research techniques.