Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Numerical analysis of the MFS for certain harmonic problems

The Method of Fundamental Solutions (MFS) is a boundary-type meshless method for the solution of certain elliptic boundary value problems. In this work, we investigate the properties of the matrices that arise when the MFS is applied to the Dirichlet problem for Laplace's equation in a disk. In particular, we study the behaviour of the eigenvalues of these matrices and the cases in which they vanish. Based on this, we propose a modified efficient numerical algorithm for the solution of the problem which is applicable even in the cases when the MFS matrix might be singular. We prove the convergence of the method for analytic boundary data and perform a stability analysis of the method with respect to the distance of the singularities from the origin and the number of degrees of freedom. Finally, we test the algorithm numerically.
Influences of Structural Design on Performance of Tobacco Sewing Machine

In order to optimize the structure of tobacco sewing machine and improve its efficiency,the needle structure,stitching space and tobacco leaf feeding were improved,and the effects of structural design on the results of tobacco sewing were compared and analyzed.The results showed that the machine performance was improved when adopting swinging needle,intermittent movement and 3 cm stitching space,the sewing result would be better if tobacco is fed at fixed positions and laid laterally.The quality of cured leaves show no obvious difference whether they are sewed up by machine or tied up by hands.
Improvement of carboxymethyl cellulase production from Chaetomium cellulolyticum NRRL 18756 by mutation and optimization of solid state fermentation

Cellulase producing fungus Chaetomium cellulolyticum NRRL 18756 was subjected to various doses of gamma irradiation to enhance the production of the industrially important enzyme carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase). Among all the mutants tested, M-7 obtained through 0.5 KGy irradiation showed highest extracellular CMCase production which is 1.6-fold higher than that of the wild type. Optimal conditions for the production of CMCase by the mutant fungal strain using solid-state fermentation were examined. The optimized medium consisted of sugarcane bagasse supplemented with 1% (w/w) peptone, 2.5mM MgSO 4 , and 0.05% (v/w) Tween 80. Optimal moisture content and initial pH was 40% (v/w) and 5.0-6.5, respectively. The medium was fermented at 40° C for 4 days. The resulting CMCase yield was 4.0-fold more than that of the wild type strain grown on the basal wheat bran medium. Some characteristics of partially purified CMCase from the mutant and wild type of C. cellulolyticum were investigated. The partially purified mutant CMCase was more stable than the wild type CMCase. Thus, the higher thermostability of mutant CMCase makes it a potential candidate for commercial and industrial process. Key words: Chaetomium cellulolyticum; Carboxymethyl cellulase; Mutation; Optimization; Solid state fermentation DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjb.v40i2. 9769 Bangladesh J. Bot. 40 (2): 139-147, 2011 (December)
Incidence of two leaf fungal diseases in two plum training systems

In a two-year study, we aimed to determine the susceptibility of four plum cultivars to two fungal pathogens of plum (Stigmina carpophila and Polystigma rubrum) in two training systems with tree spacings of 4 x 1.5m and 6 x 3m. Results showed that shothole symptoms were not detected on cvs ’Bluefre’ and ’Stanley’ in August, 2016. Disease incidence was above 50% in the case of ’Čačanska lepotica’ in both training systems in 2016. There were no significant difference between the two training systems. Shot hole incidence was lower in the 6 x 3m spacings compared to the 4 x 1.5m spacings on cv ’President’ in 2016. Cultivar ’Čačanska lepotica’ showed the highest incidence of Stigmina carpophila in the 4 x 1.5m spacing in 2017. Disease incidence of Stigmina carpophila was significantly lower in the 6 x 3m spacing compared to the 4 x 1.5m spacing. Shothole incidences on cv ’President’ were similar to the values in 2016 ranging from 40% to 60%. Leaf disease incidence was higher in the 4 x 1.5m spacing compared to the 6 x 3m plot. Low disease incidence (below 10%) was observed on cv ’Stanley’ in 2017 and only in the 4 x 1.5m spacing. There were no visible symptoms of blackhorn dotty in 2016 due to inadequate weather conditions for the Polystigma rubrum fungus. However, all the four cultivars were infected by Polystigma rubrum in 2017. The most susceptible cultivar was cv ’Čačanska lepotica’ with the highest disease incidence in the 4 x 1.5m spacing. Disease incidence of this cultivar was lower in the 6 x 3m spacing which was significantly less than in the 4 x 1.5m spacing. The least susceptible cultivar was ’Bluefre’ and symptoms were observed only in the spacing of 4 x 1.5m. The disease incidence of cv ’President’ was similarly low to cv ’Stanley’ in both spacings.
Is more always better? Risk trade-offs among internationalizing new ventures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how ventures manage the negative returns associated with higher levels of internationalization. Many new ventures are internationalizing to fully exploit new innovations and/or gain access to larger markets. Yet at some point the rising costs associated with internationalization outweigh any benefits, resulting in an inverted U-shaped relationship between internationalization and performance. Design/methodology/approach – New ventures are theorized to better manage high levels of internationalization by limiting exposure to other sources of risk. This can be achieved by leveraging greater size and/or limiting simultaneous diversification efforts on product innovation. To test the hypotheses, a regression using Heckman selection was run using a sample of 210 US-based, publicly held ventures in high-technology industries. Findings – The results confirm that when higher levels of internationalization are coupled with either a low emphasis on product innov.
Physicochemical structural changes of cellulosic substrates during enzymatic saccharification

Enzymatic hydrolysis represents one of the major steps and barriers in the commercialization process of converting cellulosic substrates into biofuels and other value added products. It is usually achieved by a synergistic action of enzyme mixture typically consisting of multiple enzymes such as glucanase, cellobiohydrolase and β-glucosidase with different mode of actions. Due to the innate biomass recalcitrance, enzymatic hydrolysis normally starts with an initial fast rate of hydrolysis followed by a rapid decrease of rate toward the end of hydrolysis. With majority of literature studies focusing on the effect of key substrate characteristics on the initial rate or final yield of enzymatic hydrolysis, information about physicochemical structural changes of cellulosic substrates during enzymatic hydrolysis is still quite limited. Consequently, what slows down the reaction rate toward the end of hydrolysis is not well understood. This review highlights recent advances in understanding the structural changes of cellulosic substrates during the hydrolysis process, to better understand the fundamental mechanisms of enzymatic hydrolysis.
Culture results at pancreatic necrosectomy: themicrobiology of infected pancreatic necrosis

Introduction: Necrotizing pancreatitis occurs in 5-10% of patients with acute pancreatitis. Infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is a feared complication. Historically, causative organisms were Gramnegative bacteria, but recent international studies now report a predominance of Gram-positive bacteria. Not all the literature is consistent, and there may be regional variation. There is very limited Australian data. This study aims to report causative organisms in IPN in the Australian setting. Materials and Methods: Retrospective medical record review of all patients who underwent pancreatic necrosectomy at a single centre (tertiary referral center in Adelaide, South Australia) between January 2005 and December 2015. Intraoperative culture specimens were reviewed and the Gram-status and antimicrobial sensitivities noted. Discussion and Results: A total of 1296 patients were admitted for acute pancreatitis in the study period. 28 patients underwent pancreatic necrosectomy. Mean age 55.71 years (range 30-79), including twenty males and eight females. All patients had intraoperative cultures taken. 20 cultures demonstrated growth. There were 12 Gram-negative isolates (34.3%), 20 Gram-positive isolates (57.1%) and three fungal isolates (8.6%). Two bacterial isolates were antibiotic resistant organisms (one MRSA and one VRE). Conclusion: The findings were consistent with the majority of recent international studies demonstrating a predominance of Gram-positive organisms.
1 Possible Diabetic-Foot Complications in Sub-Saharan Africa

In Sub-Saharan Africa, fast uncontrolled urbanization and changes in standard of living are responsible for the rising epidemic of diabetes mellitus and the observed increase presents a substantial public health and socioeconomic burden in the face of scarce resources (Mbanya et al., 2010). Ten to fifteen percent of diabetic patients develop foot ulcers at some stage of their lives and nearly fifty percent of all diabetes-related admissions are due to diabetic foot problems (Kumar and Clark, 2009). The epidemiology of Ketosis-prone atypical diabetes in Africans is not well understood because of scarce data for pathogenesis and subtypes of diabetes. The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus is high in most countries of subSaharan Africa, and individuals who are unaware they have the disorder are at very high risk of chronic complications. Therefore, the prevalence of diabetes-related morbidity and mortality could grow substantially
Status of Artificial Insemination in Tigray Regional State, "Constraints and Acceptability under Field Condition"

The study was conducted in Tigray Regional State, Northern Ethiopia; from September 2010 to August 2011.Tigray regional state is located in the northern part of Ethiopia. Eastern and the South-eastern zone of Tigray is purposively selected because it is believed that these areas are the one in which AI service is widely exercised. Retrospective study, employing questionnaire survey to evaluate the status of AI service of dairy cattle was conducted in the region. In the retrospective study, data were collected from records of IA service covering the period from 1992 to 2002 EC. Artificial insemination records were obtained from AI certificates, from inseminator’s record books & regional Artificial insemination center. Out of the 51032 animals inseminated 28972 animals were pregnant (56%) and the calves born were 18852 (37%). Structured questionnaires were prepared to interview a total of 423 farmers, attendants, managers, veterinarians and AI technicians to collect data on the status of AI services and constraints associated with the service. This survey indicated constraints that hinder the success of AI, heat detection problem (28%), lack of awareness (18%), lack of infrastructures (16%), management problem (14%), low experience of AIT, disease problems, lack of incentive to the technicians and owners are the major limitations among others. As per the respondents from all the PAs of the study area most of the cow and heifers did not come in heat during the dry season of the year. Based on the records of the AIT and the questioner collected the conception rate for total insemination in the dray, rainy and harvest time is 23.92, 35.63 and 55.51% respectively. Conception rate in artificial insemination is affected by the skill of inseminator. The records collected from the farmers (n=380) shows that majority of them (52.89%) came in heat during evening hours followed by those (32.37%) in morning hours. A low number of cows (14.74%) commenced heat during noon/afternoon hours and the rest respondents are not knowing the exact time of the commencement of heat of their animals. The artificial insemination programme in the study areas is greatly influenced by the status of the farmers cows presented for AI belonged to small (51%), marginal (29.57%) and large farmers (19.89%) and this is because farms posses their own bull. Semen samples were evaluated for their motility and livability, 10 straws from each center were used for the evaluation of progressive motility and their livability. Although the lab facilities in same whereas were limited the results of percent progressive motile spermatozoa and percent live spermatozoa obtained are in consistent with the normal ranges of the frozen thawed bull semen.
Persistent Hypoxemia during Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Delayed Diagnosed Paraquat Intoxication

Paraquat is a highly toxic herbicide used in agriculture worldwide that causes progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PF) due to selective accumulation in the lungs. Paraquat intoxication can result in death due to multi-organ failure within a few days or respiratory failure due to PF within a few weeks. Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) is currently a widely used therapeutic strategy for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Presently described is case of a 46-year-old man who was hospitalized with ARDS and treated with V-V ECMO. Expected oxygenation levels could not be attained despite ECMO support. When excluding causes for hypoxia in this patient on ECMO, detailed medical history revealed exposure to paraquat 3 weeks previously. Severe hypoxemia persisted during V-V ECMO and the patient died on sixth day after admission. The aim of this study was to examine probable causes of persistent hypoxemia during V-V ECMO observed in this case.
Active Ownership - Dimson Karakas Li

We analyze an extensive proprietary database of corporate social responsibility engagements with US public companies over 1999–2009. Engagements address environmental, social, and governance concerns. They are followed by a one-year abnormal return that averages +1.8%, comprising +4.4% for successful and zero for unsuccessful engagements. We document outperformance following environmental/social, as well as governance, engagements. Firms are more likely to be engaged, and engagements are more likely to be successful, if the target firm is concerned about its reputation and if it has higher capacity to implement corporate social responsibility changes. After successful engagements, companies experience improvements in operating performance, profitability, efficiency, and governance. JEL classification: G15, G23, G34.
Cystic Fibrosis Pulmonary Exacerbation – Natural History, Causative Factors and Management

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common life-threatening inherited disease in the United Kingdom, affecting over 9,000 people, 56% of which are 16 years or older (UK CF Registry Annual Data Report 2009). Life expectancy currently remains well below the general popu‐ lation, but with improvement of care most CF patients born after 1980 are expected to reach adulthood. Much of the morbidity and mortality associated with CF are related to the respi‐ ratory system (Goss & Burns, 2007).
Cash-on-Hand in Developing Countries and the Value of Social Insurance: Evidence from Brazil

This paper first exploits a "bonus" policy providing low-income workers with cash grants in Brazil to study the effect of liquidity provision on unemployment outcomes. Based on a RD Design, I find that granting unemployed workers with a bonus equal to half of their previous monthly earnings decreases the probability of exiting unemployment within 8 weeks by around 0.65%. Second, by exploiting the UI potential duration schedule, I find that granting workers with an extra month of unemployment benefits decreases the same outcome by 1.9%. Then, theoretical results from Landais (2014) are used to combine these estimates and disentangle liquidity and moral hazard effects of UI. Based on these, I estimate the liquidity-to-moral hazard ratio in Brazil to be as large as 98%, similarly to values previously found in the US. It suggests that, contrary to common belief, providing UI in developing countries with large informal labor markets may yield substantial welfare gains.
Comparative Effect of Aqueous Extract of P. Guajava Leaves and Ascorbic Acid on Serum Sex Hormones Levels in Male and Female Rats

Psidium guajava has a rich ethnomedicinal history, particularly in the treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders. In this study, 200mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of P. guajava leaves(AEPGL) and ascorbic acid(vitC) were administered orally to male and female rats daily, for 30 days, to assess their respective effect on the male and female reproductive functions, using serum levels of follicle stimulating hormone(FSH), luteinizing hormone(LH), estradiol, progesterone and testosterone. The results of this study showed that treatment of rats with AEPGL and vitC, respectively, had insignificant effect (P $ 0.05) on the serum levels of FSH and LH in male and female rats, and a significant increase (P # 0.05) in the serum estradiol and progesterone in females, and testosterone in males. AEPGL increased serum estradiol and progesterone levels by 17.6 and 34.6 percents, respectively, in females, and testosterone by 38.6 percent in males, while vitC increased serum estradiol and progesterone levels by 15.2 and 30.0 percents, respectively, in females, and testosterone by 28.0 percent in males rats. From these results, it was observed that the effect of AEPGL on the levels of these hormones was higher than that of vitC in male and female rats, and that the percentage increase in male sex hormones was significantly higher than the percentage increase in female sex hormones. These observations indicated that AEPGL possess a higher potency in stimulating the secretion of sex hormones than vitC, and that the effect is more significant in male than female rats; hence, AEPGL may be recommended for males with various reproductive dysfunctions.
IMECE 2014-40124 THE EFFECT OF NONCONDENSABLES ON THE BUOYANCY-THERMOCAPILLARY CONVECTION IN CONFINED AND VOLATILE FLUIDS

Convection in confined layers of volatile liquids has been studied extensively under atmospheric conditions. Recent experimental results [1] have shown that removing most of the air from a sealed cavity significantly alters the flow structure and, in particular, suppresses transitions between the different convection patterns found at atmospheric conditions. Yet, at the same time, this has almost no effect on the flow speeds in the liquid layer. To understand these results, we have formulated and numerically implemented a detailed transport model that accounts for mass and heat transport in both phases as well as the phase change at the interface. Surprisingly, the numerical simulations show that noncondensables have a large effect on buoyancy-thermocapillary flow at concentrations even as low as 1%, i.e., much lower than those achieved in experiment.
Resolution of a concatenation/coalescence kerfuffle: partitioned coalescence support and a robust family‐level tree for Mammalia

Recent phylogenetic analyses of a large dataset for mammalian families (169 taxa, 26 loci) portray contrasting results. Supermatrix (concatenation) methods support a generally robust tree with only a few inconsistently resolved polytomies, whereas MP‐EST coalescence analysis of the same dataset yields a weakly supported tree that conflicts with many traditionally recognized clades. Here, we evaluate this discrepancy via improved coalescence analyses with reference to the rich history of phylogenetic studies on mammals. This integration clearly demonstrates that both supermatrix and coalescence analyses of just 26 loci yield a congruent, well‐supported phylogenetic hypothesis for Mammalia. Discrepancies between published studies are explained by implementation of overly simple DNA substitution models, inadequate tree‐search routines and limitations of the MP‐EST method. We develop a simple measure, partitioned coalescence support (PCS), which summarizes the distribution of support and conflict among gene trees for a given clade. Extremely high PCS scores for outlier gene trees at two nodes in the mammalian tree indicate a troubling bias in the MP‐EST method. We conclude that in this age of phylogenomics, a solid understanding of systematics fundamentals, choice of valid methodology and a broad knowledge of a clade's taxonomic history are still required to yield coherent phylogenetic inferences.
UNIVERSITA ' DEGLI STUDI DI BOLOGNA DIPARTIMENTO DI SCIENZE ECONOMICHE Strategic Accessibility Competition

We analyze the effect of competition in market-accessibility enhancement among quality-differentiated firms. Firms are located in regions with different ex-ante transport costs to reach the final market. We characterize the equilibrium of the two-stage game in which firms first invest to improve market accessibility and then compete in prices. Efforts in accessibility improvement crucially depend on the interplay between the willingness to pay for the quality premium of the median consumer and the ex-ante difference in accessibility between regions. From the social standpoint, all the accessibility investment should be carried out by the high-quality firm. Finally quality choice is endogenized.
Stressor intensity determines antagonistic interactions between species invasion and multiple stressor effects on ecosystem functioning

Biological invasions, nutrient enrichment and ocean warming are known to threaten biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. The independent effects of these ecological stressors are well studied, however, we lack understanding of their cumulative effects, which may be additive, antagonistic or synergistic. For example, the impacts of biological invasions are often determined by environmental context, which suggests that the effects of invasive species may vary with other stressors such as pollution or climate change. This study examined the effects of an invasive seaweed (Sargassum muticum) on the structure and functioning of a synthetic macroalgal assemblage and tested explicitly whether these effects varied with nutrient enrichment and ocean warming. Overall, the presence of S. muticum increased assemblage productivity rates and warming altered algal assemblage structure, which was characterised by a decrease in kelp and an increase in ephemeral green algae. The effects of S. muticum on total algal biomass accumulation, however, varied with nutrient enrichment and warming, producing antagonistic cumulative effects on total algal biomass accumulation. These findings show that the nature of stressor interactions may vary with stressor intensity and among response variables, which leads to less predictable consequences for the structure and functioning of communities.
Econometric Tests of Asset Price Bubbles: Taking Stock

Can asset price bubbles be detected? This survey of econometric tests of asset price bubbles shows that, despite recent advances, econometric detection of asset price bubbles cannot be achieved with a satisfactory degree of certainty. For each paper that finds evidence of bubbles, there is another one that fits the data equally well without allowing for a bubble. We are still unable to distinguish bubbles from time-varying or regime-switching fundamentals, while many small sample econometrics problems of bubble tests remain unresolved.