Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transient MHD boundary-layer slip-flow of heat and mass transfer over a stretching surface embedded in porous medium with waste discharge concentration and convective boundary conditions

The transient two-dimensional MHD boundary-layer stagnation point flow with heat and mass transfer in a saturated porous medium is presented here by taking into account the transient dispersion of a pollutant spewed by an external source in the presence of a uniform transverse magnetic field and stress (pressure) work. The laminar flow of viscous incompressible and electrically conducting fluid encompassing a convectively heated stationary permeable sheet is assumed to be described in terms of Darcian law. The nonlinear governing partial differential equations obtained are converted into ordinary differential equations by means of appropriate similarity transformations and consequently solved numerically using the forth order Runge-Kutta method with a shooting technique and depicted graphically for some pertinent values of the physical parameters embedded in the flow model. In addition, the skin-friction coefficient, the heat and pollution mass concentration rates are sorted out in tabular form, analyzed and discussed. We opine that findings of this present study will be found useful for environmental systems in pollution control and ventilation, and serve as complementary reference for researchers.
The Climate Response to Stratospheric Aerosol Geoengineering Can Be Tailored Using Multiple Injection Locations

By injecting different amounts of SO2 at multiple different latitudes, the spatial pattern of aerosol optical depth (AOD) can be partially controlled. This leads to the ability to influence the climate response to geoengineering with stratospheric aerosols, providing the potential for design. We use simulations from the fully coupled whole‐atmosphere chemistry climate model CESM1(WACCM) to demonstrate that by appropriately combining injection at just four different locations, 30°S, 15°S, 15°N, and 30°N, then three spatial degrees of freedom of AOD can be achieved: an approximately spatially uniform AOD distribution, the relative difference in AOD between Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and the relative AOD in high versus low latitudes. For forcing levels that yield 1–2°C cooling, the AOD and surface temperature response are sufficiently linear in this model so that the response to different combinations of injection at different latitudes can be estimated from single‐latitude injection simulations; nonlinearities associated with both aerosol growth and changes to stratospheric circulation will be increasingly important at higher forcing levels. Optimized injection at multiple locations is predicted to improve compensation of CO2‐forced climate change relative to a case using only equatorial aerosol injection (which overcools the tropics relative to high latitudes). The additional degrees of freedom can be used, for example, to balance the interhemispheric temperature gradient and the equator to pole temperature gradient in addition to the global mean temperature. Further research is needed to better quantify the impacts of these strategies on changes to long‐term temperature, precipitation, and other climate parameters.
Import competition, dynamic resource allocation and productivity dispersion: micro-level evidence from China

Can trade liberalization shape sector dynamics by inducing reallocation of resources towards more efficient use? This paper explores whether and how import competition affects productivity dispersion within 425 four-digit manufacturing industries in China. Using a number of comprehensive micro-level datasets over the period of 2000–-2006, we find that import penetration reduces the productivity dispersion in general and the main channel is through the competition-induced dynamic resource allocation within industries by driving the least efficient firms out of the market. The trade-induced productivity truncation is more evident for imports under the ordinary trade regime and for final imported goods and intermediate goods imported by the same industries. The results are robust to various model specifications and estimation methods.
An Examination on the Relation Between Mathematics Anxiety and Achievements of 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Students

The basic aim of this study is to develop an anxiety scale to determine the anxieties of primary education 5 th - 8 th graders felt for mathematics course and to examine the relation between the students' anxieties and their achievements in mathematics in terms of various variables. Screening model was used in research. The 5 th -8 th graders studying in primary education schools in Sindirgi district of Balikesir province in 2010-2011 education years constitute the population of the study. 244 students studying in a mobile village primary education school in district constitute the sample of the study. An exploratory factor analysis was performed by the researcher to examine the structural validity and factor structure of anxiety scale. The significance of difference between the upper and lower 27% for reliability was examined through Cronbach alpha coefficient. The findings revealed that the scale had a two-factor structure and that Cronbach alpha reliability was 0.89 and that the reliability values of all sub dimensions were higher than 0.70 and that all differences between item averages of upper and lower 27% groups were significant. In addition, according to the obtained results, it was determined that there was no difference in students' anxiety levels according to the classes and that there was a negative relation between mathematics achievement scores and mathematics anxiety.
Rural Non-farm Livelihoods in Transition Economies: Emerging Issues and Policies

This article reviews key conceptual issues related to the development of the rural non-farm economy (RNFE) in a transition context and analyses available empirical evidence on the role of RNFE during recovery from the transition recession. Growth in the RNFE in the transition countries took place during the recession transition, which shows that it may be distress driven, but the paper explores other factors which may be driving the RNFE. It looks at the RNFE in light of the factors driving income growth and inequality, i.e. endowments and institutions. It concludes that, although not uniform across transition countries, the RNFE should be seen as a component of a growth strategy rather than as a temporary “refuge” or survival one. The patterns of growth of the RNFE will closely follow those of general economic recovery as well as the developments in the agricultural sector itself.
Incidence of Dengue in Ozamiz City, Philippines

The incidence of dengue has become a serious health concern in many areas around the world. The increasing number of dengue cases are said to be the result of rapid population growth and climate change. This study assessed the incidence of dengue in Ozamiz City, Philippines. It also determined the relationship of climatic factors on dengue incidence reported in the area. Documentary analysis was done in seven hospitals to identify the incidence of dengue in the city. Pearson’s correlation was used to determine the association between climatic factors and dengue incidence. Multiple regression analysis was also used as a statistical model. A total of 1,908 dengue cases were reported from January 2008 to September 2013. Majority of the patients belonged to the age group of 1-10 years. Maximum number of cases was seen in 2010 (398 cases) which was highest in the month of January (215 cases). Out of the total 1,908 cases, 821 (43.03%) were dengue hemorrhagic fever, 781 (40.93%) were dengue fever and 306 (16.04%) were dengue shock syndrome. Among the 51 Barangays in the City, Barangay Aguada has the highest number of 186 cases (9.75%). Of all climatic factors, only relative humidity has a positive correlation with dengue incidence. Vector control and education campaign needs should be assessed as these factors may significantly influence the occurrence of dengue in the city. Strategic plans and measures for dengue prevention need to be implemented targeting young population. Keywords: Barangay Aguada, climate change, health, humidity, vector.
An asymptotic model for the Kelvin–Helmholtz and Miles mechanisms of water wave generation by wind

The generalized Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) and Miles mechanisms of the water wave generation by wind are investigated for two-layer piecewise linear model of the wind profile. It is shown by asymptotic expansions in small air-to-water density ratio that two mechanisms of the instability operate in quite different scales. Miles’ short waves are generated by weak winds, in particular, Miles’ regime is responsible for initiation of the instability at the minimum wind speed, while the generalized KH regime dominates at strong winds and raises moderately short waves.
Effect of Planting Pattern and Weeding Frequency on Weed Infestation, Yield Components and Yield of Cowpea [ Vigna unguiculata (L.) WALP.] in Wollo, Northern Ethiopia

Weed competition is one of the most important production constraints causing up to 91.6% reduction in potential yield of cowpea. Therefore, an experiment was conducted at Sirinka and at Jari, northern Ethiopia, during the 2014 main cropping season: to evaluate the effect of planting pattern and frequency of weeding on weeds, yield components and yield of cowpea. There were 18 treatments comprising combination of three planting patterns (S1: 60 cm x 10 cm, S2: 45 cm x 15 cm, S3: 45 cm x 10 cm) and six weeding frequencies viz. one hand weeding and hoeing at 2 weeks after crop emergence (WAE), one hand weeding and hoeing at 3 WAE, one hand weeding and hoeing at 4 WAE, two hand weeding and hoeing at 2 and 5 WAE, weed free check, and weedy check. The treatments were arranged in factorial combination in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results showed significantly lower total weed dry weight at Sirinka than at Jari. The highest weed control efficacy was recorded in two hand weeding and hoeing at 2 and 5 WAE of cowpea at Sirinka. The plants in weedy check plots at Jari attained maximum height which was significantly higher than all the other treatments. Significantly highest number of pods per plant was recorded in weed free check under 60 cm x 10 cm spacing at Jari. Number of seeds per pod was highest in weed free check at 45 cm x 10 cm spacing at Sirinka. The interaction of weeding frequency and location had significant effect on cowpea dry biomass yield. The highest total dry biomass (12413 kg ha-1) was obtained in one hand weeding and hoeing at 4 WAE at Jari while the highest grain yield (4508 kg ha-1) was recorded from complete weed free under 60 cm x 10 cm spacing at Sirinka. The harvest index ranged from 18.2% in weedy check at Jari to 39.1% in weed free check at Sirinka. The results indicated that the use of 60 cm x 10 cm planting pattern in combination with hand weeding and hoeing at 3 WAE at Sirinka and hand weeding and hoeing at 4 WAE at Jari proved to be the most feasible practice.
Effect of flexural modes on squeeze film damping in MEMS cantilever resonators

We present an analytical model that gives the values of squeeze film damping and spring coefficients for MEMS cantilever resonators taking into account the effect of flexural modes of the resonator. We use the exact mode shapes of a 2D cantilever plate to solve for pressure in the squeeze film and then derive the equivalent damping and spring coefficient relations from the back force calculations. The relations thus obtained can be used for any flexural mode of vibration of the resonators. We validate the analytical formulae by comparing the results with numerical simulations carried out using coupled finite element analysis in ANSYS, as well as experimentally measured values from MEMS cantilever resonators of various sizes vibrating in different modes. The analytically predicted values of damping are, in the worst case, within less than 10% of the values obtained experimentally or numerically. We also compare the results with previously reported analytical formulae based on approximate flexural mode shapes and show that the current results give much better estimates of the squeeze film damping. From the analytical model presented here, we find that the squeeze film damping drops by 84% from the first mode to the second mode in a cantilever resonator, thus improving the quality factor by a factor of 6 to 7. This result has significant implications in using cantilever resonators for mass detection where a significant increase in the quality factor is obtained by using a vacuum.
Relative Standing and Life-Satisfaction: Does Unobserved Heterogeneity Matter?

Unlike most studies of subjective well-being in developing countries, we use a fixed effects regression on three rounds of rich panel data to investigate the impact of relative standing on life satisfaction of respondents in urban Ethiopia. We find a consistently large negative impact of relative standing - both relative to others and to oneself over time - on subjective well-being. However, controlling for unobserved heterogeneity through a fixed effects model reduces the impact of the relative standing variables on subjective well-being by up to 24 percent and reduces the impact of economic status by about 40 percent. Our findings highlight the need to be cautious in interpreting parameter estimates from subjective well-being regressions based on cross-sectional data, as the impact of variables may not be disentangled from that of unobserved heterogeneity.
Impact of Ownership Structure and Bank Performance – An Empirical Test in Vietnamese Banks

By using the data collected from the whole 44 banks in the banking system in Vietnam from 2010-2012, the authors try to investigate the impacts of ownership structure on bank performance in Vietnamese banking system. Research results show that capital concentration and private ownership have positive impact on bank profitablity, the nonperforming loan ratio has negative relation with banks’ profitability. Besides, the research results are also consistent with the previous researches (Nguyen, Tran & Pham, 2014) on the positive correlation of corporate governance and bank performance in Vietnam. The findings in this paper are also relevant with the previous researches in Kenya, China, Malaysia (Wen, 2010, Rokwaro, 2013). From these findings, some policy implications are also suggested as follow: (i) encourage the large shareholders participation the Board of Director to reduce the interest conflict in banks, (ii) enhance private ownership to increase bank profitability, (iii) improve the corporate governance of banks under international standards, and (iv) push-up the solving of non-performing loans in the bank restructuring in Vietnam.
Factors Influencing Customers’ Bank Selection Decision in Ethiopia: The Case of Bahir Dar City

To plan a suitable marketing strategy, to keep existing customers and for attracting new customers, commercial banks need to identify the criteria by which customers determine their bank selection decision. The central objective of this study is to examine determinants of customers’ bank selection decision in private and state owned Commercial banks in Ethiopia. The study employed survey type specifically questionnaire to collect data from sample respondents of 204 customers in five Commercial Banks. Results of the multinomial regression model indicated that friendly or pleasing manner of staff, ATM service, bank speed, service quality, external bank appearance and internal sitting arrangement, secured feeling, proximity to home or work place, availability of several branches and long operating hours were significant factors whereas others’ recommendations, number of counter windows, safety of funds, good reception at the bank and low service charge were insignificant factors for bank selection decision. The implication of this paper is bank management, academicians and policy makers have to devote resources and evaluate and redesign current marketing strategies in order to attract (or retain) business customers in the competitive bank environment inside and outside Bah Dar city. Key w ords: Selection decision, Customers, Banks, Ethiopia
Evaluation of the United States National Air Quality Forecast Capability experimental real-time predictions in 2010 using Air Quality System ozone and NO 2 measurements

Abstract. The National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) project provides the US with operational and experimental real-time ozone predictions using two different versions of the three-dimensional Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system. Routine evaluation using near-real-time AIRNow ozone measurements through 2011 showed better performance of the operational ozone predictions. In this work, quality-controlled and -assured Air Quality System (AQS) ozone and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) observations are used to evaluate the experimental predictions in 2010. It is found that both ozone and NO2 are overestimated over the contiguous US (CONUS), with annual biases of +5.6 and +5.1 ppbv, respectively. The annual root mean square errors (RMSEs) are 15.4 ppbv for ozone and 13.4 ppbv for NO2. For both species the overpredictions are most pronounced in the summer. The locations of the AQS monitoring sites are also utilized to stratify comparisons by the degree of urbanization. Comparisons for six predefined US regions show the highest annual biases for ozone predictions in Southeast (+10.5 ppbv) and for NO2 in the Lower Middle (+8.1 ppbv) and Pacific Coast (+7.1 ppbv) regions. The spatial distributions of the NO2 biases in August show distinctively high values in the Los Angeles, Houston, and New Orleans areas. In addition to the standard statistics metrics, daily maximum eight-hour ozone categorical statistics are calculated using the current US ambient air quality standard (75 ppbv) and another lower threshold (70 ppbv). Using the 75 ppbv standard, the hit rate and proportion of correct over CONUS for the entire year are 0.64 and 0.96, respectively. Summertime biases show distinctive weekly patterns for ozone and NO2. Diurnal comparisons show that ozone overestimation is most severe in the morning, from 07:00 to 10:00 local time. For NO2, the morning predictions agree with the AQS observations reasonably well, but nighttime concentrations are overpredicted by around 100%.
Insects Infesting Selected Vegetables in Lagos and The Control of Infestation on Celosia Argentea (L.) With Two Plant Essential Oils

There is a dearth of information on insects infesting vegetables in Lagos, Nigeria, and farmers depend heavily on synthetic insecticides for control. A field study was therefore conducted in the Ojo campus of Lagos State University to investigate the insect species associated with Abelmoschus esculentus (L. Moench), Celosia argentea (L.) and Corchorus olitorius (L.) on one hand, and the effect of n-hexane extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Chenopodiaceae) and Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides (Watern.) (Rutaceae) on the incidence of Aspavia acuminata, Cletomorpha sp and Euophryum sp on Celosia argentea for eight weeks after treatment with Actellic 20 – EC as check. The vegetables were planted on prepared beds following a Randomized Complete Block Design. Insects were collected weekly on all the vegetable crops for eight weeks and identified. The results show that 12 species represeting four Orders namely Coleoptera, Euophryum species (Curculionidae), Lixus sp (Chrysomelidae), Podagrica sp (Chrysomelidae), Agrilus viridator (Buprestidae); Heteroptera, Aspervia acuminata (Pentatomidae), Carbula carpito (Coreidae), Hermietta sp (Stratiomyidae), Dysdercus species (Pyrocoreidae); Homoptera, Lycus folliaceus (Lycidae), Lycus sermianplexus (Lycidae); and Hymenoptera, Crematogaster africana (Formicidae), infested the test vegetabels. Euophryum was the most abundant followed by A. acuminata while the least was Lixus sp with 41.94%, 12.90 % and 1.54 % abundance respectively. N-hexane extracts of Z. Zanthoxyloides and C. ambrosioides respectively caused significant (p<0.05) reduction in the number of insects on C. argentea relative to the controls. These results show insecticidal potentials of the test essential oils for the control of some insect pests of C. argentea.
Validation of using Gumbel probability plotting to estimate Gutenberg-Richter seismicity parameters

The Gumbel Type I statistics of extreme events have been successfully used in the past to forecast various natural events such as annual exceedence of design flood level, and hail fall. Some attempts have been made to determine seismicity parameters using the annual maximum magnitude events in historic records. The results from these determinations have invariably been criticized for various reasons, including the perception that the methodology ignores important data, and that the method has no verification basis. This paper addresses both topics by discussing the principles of the Gumbel Type I statistical method, and verifying that the method is capable of reliably deducing the Gutenberg-Richter seismicity parameters of complete synthetic earthquake calendars, using only the annual maxima.
Evaluation of the association between natural mold resistance and chemical components of nine wood species

The association between natural mold resistance and the wood’s chemical components was studied for nine wood species. The mold resistance of the different wood species was tested by artificially accelerated tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical components were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results indicated that the sequence of mold resistance of different wood flours was as follows, from greatest to least resistance: spruce, Mongolian pine and camphor, toon and teak, eucalyptus (E. urophylla and E. grandis × E. urophylla), sweetgum, and castor straw fiber. GC-MS analysis indicated that the total contents of the antifungal compounds present in all wood flour extractives were consistent with the sequence of mold resistance of wood flour. This suggested that the natural durability of wood flour against molds was affected by its chemical components.
Improved Dehydrogenation and Rehydrogenation Properties of LiBH4 by Nanosized Ni Addition

The complex hydride LiBH4, with a hydrogen density of 18.5mass%, has been attracting significant interests for hydrogen storage, while suffers from its high dehydrogenation and rehydrogenation temperature. In this work, we systematically investigated the improvement effects of nanosized Ni on the dehydrogenation and rehydrogenation reactions of LiBH4 using thermogravimetry, quadrupole mass spectrometry and pressure-composition-isotherm analyses. Nanosized Ni was homogeneously dispersed on the surface of LiBH4 after ball milling. The dehydrogenation peak temperature of LiBH4 was reduced from 743 to 696K with addition of 25mass% Ni. First, LiBH4 tended to react with Ni to form Ni4B3, which suggests the thermodynamic destabilization effect of Ni. Then, the in-situ formed Ni4B3 was suggested to play a catalytic role on the dehydrogenation of the unreacted LiBH4. Moreover, the rehydrogenation content of LiBH4 was improved from 4.3 to 10.8mass% by addition of 25mass% Ni, suggesting the significant improvement effect of Ni4B3 on the rehydrogenation. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MG201407]