Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial Variability of Extreme Sea States on the Irish West Coast

Recent studies have revealed a long history of large waves around Ireland, which can be attributed to persistent strong winds in this area. At the same time, due to the consistently high levels of wave energy, the West Coast of Ireland has attracted a lot of interest as a prospective site for deployment of wave energy converters (WECs) farms. The design of such devices, and in fact of any offshore installation, depends crucially on the knowledge of extreme sea states they will experience during their deployment time.With this in mind, an Extreme Value Analysis incorporating seasonality and accounting for long-term trends was performed, based on a 29 year hindcast for Ireland. The hindcast was performed using the WAVEWATCH III wave model in a 3 nested grid setup, with the largest grid covering the North Atlantic basin and the finest resolution grid (10km) focusing on Ireland. The model was forced with ERA-Interim 10m winds from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts. The wave model was validated by comparison to buoy data from the Irish Marine Data Buoy Network.The analysis was performed on the entire fine resolution grid. This affords a characterisation of the spatial variability in extremes both along the coast and with depth gradients. This is of interest in many marine applications, and in particular WEC design and deployment. Indeed, in the nearshore, wave energy levels can be similar to those found in the offshore. This, in conjunction with the diminished risk of extreme sea states, makes nearshore areas attractive for future ocean energy sites.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Factors influencing employee satisfaction in the police service: the case of Slovenia

Purpose – The paper has two purposes – first, to examine the dimensionality of employee satisfaction and, second, to identify the impact of the groups of factors on employee satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – The measurement of satisfaction of all employees in the Slovenian Police based on the comprehensive on-line questionnaire. Factor analysis was used to formulate the facets of satisfaction. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors of three facets of employee satisfaction. Findings – Three facets of employee satisfaction were determined and the influence of three types of factors (demographic, job-related and organizational-support-related factors) on them was investigated. The results show that the worst assessed facet was salary and security, whereas no significant differences were found between two other facets, namely relationships and leadership, and tasks and working conditions. The three factors influenced employee satisfaction with different levels o.
Basidiomycetes at the timberline in Lapland. II, An annotated checklist of the polypores of northeastern Finland

Seventy-seven polypores are listed from virgin forests in northeastern Finland, ten of which are classified as threatened in Finland. The host range and abundance of each species are given. The occurrences of threatened and also some abundant species are treated with special reference to their distribution and habitat ecology. Fungal species compositions of spruce, pine and birch forests are compared: 33 species were recorded growing on Picea abies subsp. obovata, 31 species on Pinus sylvesrris and 24 species on Betula pubescens. The economically most harmful pathogenic polypores found in the swdy area were Climacocystis borealis (Fr.) Kotl. & Pouz. , Fomesfomentarius (L.: Fr.) Fr. , Fomitopsis pinico/a (Sw. : Fr.) Karst. , Inonotus obliquus (Pers.: Fr.) Pil. , Onnia leporina (Fr.) Jahn, Piptoporus betulinus (Bull.: Fr.) Karst. and Porodnedalea chryso/oma (Fr.) Fiass. & Niemela Problems in estimating abundances of wood-rotting fungi are discussed_ The term boreo-continental is proposed to replace the misinterpreted concept 'taiga species' for a northeastern distributional pattern. The ecological role of wood-rotting fungi in a northern ecosystem, and yearly variation in fruit-body emergence are discussed. A new combination Ske/etocutis Ienis (Karst.) Niemela is proposed and the background of the combination is briefly discussed_
Vigilance and social foraging in Octodon degus (Rodentia: Octodontidae) in central Chile

Social foragers frequently show diminishing levels of per capita vigilance as the group size increases. This phenomenon, called the "group size effect", was studied in a natural population of the caviomorph rodent Octodon degus. Through field observations of groups of different size, I quantified the duration of bouts of vigilance and foraging. Results showed that degus spent significantly less time being vigilant as group size increased, which agrees with the group size effect. The reduction in vigilance was achieved through a decrease in the duration of vigilance bouts as well as in scanning rate. Further, foraging bouts of group members lasted longer with increasing group size. Total group vigilance also increased with group size. Degus adjusted their behavior in similar manner to that of other social feeding species. Time saved from vigilance was allocated to foraging. Group foraging may confer anti-predator as well as short-term feeding advantages to 0. degus. Further studies in this area of research may help to understand the evolution of sociality in this species.
Examining the Influence of Campus Climate on Students' Time to Degree: A Multilevel Discrete-Time Survival Analysis.

Utilizing longitudinal data of 3477 students from 28 institutions, the authors examine the effects of structural diversity and quality of interracial relation on students’ six-year persistence towards graduation. Multilevel discrete-time survival analysis was utilized to model longitudinal persistence patterns as well as the nested structure of students within institutions. Compared to White students, African American and Latino/a students had lower odds of persisting to graduation within six years. African American and Asian students had higher odds of persisting towards graduation at institutions with a critical mass of underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities and Asian students, respectively. For Latino/a students, the odds of persisting to graduation was higher when the perceived quality of interracial relation with Latino/as was more positive. White students had lower odds of persisting to graduation at institutions with higher percentage of underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities. Other important predictors of student time to degree included sex, parental education, high school GPA, number of advanced placement class passed, institutional selectivity, college GPA, effort put in studying, and financial aid. Several scholarly and practical implications based on these findings are provided.
The Impact of Cost Sharing on Internal Efficiency of Public Secondary Schools in Ndivisi Division, Bungoma District Kenya.

Adoption of cost sharing policy in education has witnessed the return to communities and parents a substantial proportion of financial responsibility for schooling. With increased poverty levels, many parents and communities have not been able to meet the cost requirements under cost sharing policy. Thus their investment in education and support to their children’s education have dwindled, this study therefore intended to evaluate the impact of cost sharing on internal efficiency of public secondary schools in Ndivisi division of Bungoma district. In particular the study sought to find out the direct costs of secondary school education, the proportion of dropout, absenteeism and repetition attributed to costs of secondary education, the extent to which parents and communities contribute to physical facilities and equipment in schools. It is hoped that this study has contributed useful information applicable to the effective implementation of cost sharing policies in education in Kenya. It has encouraged further interest and inquiry into the application of cost-sharing policies in education. This is also a significant contribution to the development of an appropriate policy for financing education in Kenya, the scope of the study was all public secondary schools in Ndivisi division of Bungoma district. Seven secondary schools in the division were purposively sampled. The study was carried out using descriptive survey study design. The researcher used questionnaires, observation and interview schedules as research tools. Analysis of documented data was also done to gather relevant information. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed. Qualitative data were analyzed in narration form while quantitative data were analyzed by use of %, means and frequencies. Tables were used to present data for easy interpretation. The study found out that school fees, uniform, transport and stationary were among the direct costs incurred by parents. On average, the transition rate was 0.30, dropout rate was 0.095 and repetition rate was 0.03, parent’s contribution to physical facilities and equipment was minimal. Parents and teachers view cost sharing as a burden and it has both negative and positive impact. Negative in the sense that it has increased dropout, repetition and absenteeism and it has led to inadequate facilities and equipment in schools, positively, it has led to democratization in the management of schools. The study recommended that the government should establish the unit cost of secondary education and provide fee guidelines that are acceptable by all and additional costs in the middle of the term or year should be avoided. School administrators should encourage and use locally available teaching-learning materials, start income generating activities and sensitize parents on their role in the provision of physical facilities and equipment in schools. Key words: Cost sharing, internal efficiency
Measuring e-shopping intention: An Iranian perspective

β β β = 0.275, P < 0.05). Perceived e-ease of use had positive effect on e-attitude (β β β β = 0.453, P < 0.05) and e-shopping intention (β = 0.465, P < 0.05). Results revealed that e-attitude had positive effect on e-shopping intention (β = 0.396, P < 0.05). Analysis showed that perceived e-risk had no effect on the e-attitude and e-shopping intention. Findings also showed that perceived e-ease of use had the biggest direct, indirect, and total effects on the e-shopping intention.
Detection of Surface Crack in Building Structures Using Image Processing Technique with an Improved Otsu Method for Image Thresholding

The detection of cracks is a crucial task in monitoring structural health and ensuring structural safety. The manual process of crack detection is painstakingly time-consuming and suffers from subjective judgments of inspectors. This study establishes an intelligent model based on image processing techniques for automatic crack recognition and analyses. In the new model, a gray intensity adjustment method, called Min-Max Gray Level Discrimination (M2GLD), is proposed to preprocess the image thresholded by the Otsu method. The goal of this gray intensity adjustment method is to meliorate the accuracy of the crack detection results. Experimental results point out that the integration of M2GLD and the Otsu method, followed by other shape analysis algorithms, can successfully detect crack defects in digital images. Therefore, the constructed model can be a useful tool for building management agencies and construction engineers in the task of structure maintenance.
Photoprotective, antibacterial activity and determination of phenolic compounds of Neoglaziovia variegata (Bromeliaceae) by high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) analysis

The photoprotective activity of flowers and antibacterial activity of the leaves of Neoglaziovia variegata were investigated. This study also identified the first phenolic compounds of the extracts and fractions of this species by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The photoprotective activity was measured using the spectrophotometric method. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by microdilution method. The chromatographic analysis was performed in HPLC coupled with iode array detector (DAD) detector, using wavelengths of 254 and 320 nm. Nv-Fl-EtOH, Nv-Fl-CHCl3 and Nv-Fl-AcOEt showed characteristic absorption bands in regions UVB and UVA in a concentration-dependent manner. Nv-Fl-CHCl3 presented the highest sun protection factor (11.45 ± 2.87). Extracts from the leaves showed activity against most of the microorganisms tested, especially Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Serratia marcescens and Shigella flexneri. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of six phenolics: two flavonoids (isoquercetin and kaempferol-3-O­-rhamnoside) and four phenolic acids (caffeic, protocatechuic, p-coumaric and vanillic acids). This result justifies the biological properties, that the species has demonstrated and can lead other phytochemical studies aiming the isolation of these compounds. Key words: Bromeliaceae, Neoglaziovia variegata, photoprotective activity, antibacterial activity, phenolic compounds.
COMPARISON OF EFFECT OF ANTIBIOTICS (FLAVOMYCIN), PROBIOTICS (PROTEXIN), PREBIOTICS (IMMUNOVAL) AND SYNBIOTICS (BIOMIN IMBO) ON WEEKLY GROWTH AND ECONOMICAL INDICES OF BROILERS

An experiment was conducted in order to investigation on effect of antibiotics (Flavomycin), probiotics (Protexin), prebiotics (Immunoval) and synbiotics (Biomin IMBO) on weekly growth and economical indices of broilers. The studied treatments were as follows: treatment 1: basal diet (control); treatment 2: basal diet included 15 ppm antibiotics Flavomycin; treatment 3: basal diet included 0.10 g/kg probiotics Protexin; treatment 4: basal diet included 0.10 g/kg prebiotics Immunoval; and treatment 5: basal diet included 0.15 g/kg synbiotics Biomin IMBO. From obtained results, dietary additive type had significant effect on weight of 1 chick at 42th days of age (P≤0.05), so Biomin IMBO synbiotics had the highest weight of 1 chick at 42th days of age significantly (3131.225 g). Also, dietary additive type had significant effect on feed cost per kg live weight (P≤0.05), so Biomin IMBO synbiotics had the best feed cost per kg live weight significantly (26777.396 Rials/kg). Dietary additive type had significant effect on production index (P≤0.05), so Biomin IMBO synbiotics had the best production index significantly (440.336).
Apostasy versus legitimacy: Relational dynamics and routes to resource acquisition in entrepreneurial ventures

This article explores the relational dynamics of legitimation within a professional service venture context, using a Bourdieusian framework to elucidate the struggles for capital and legitimacy that characterise the venture development process. Two profiles of individual business owners who renounce or adhere to established norms of the professional field are identified: apostate and traditional. Small accounting ventures may benefit from improved access to resources if they concentrate on fitting in with prevailing small firm professional logics, eschewing logics from outside the focal field associated with apostates. A model of legitimacy is developed that accounts for the efficacy of institutional and strategic modes of legitimacy relative to the maturity of the field and objectification of its social formations. We propose that entrepreneurial habitus mediates field-level conditions and capital formations that, when combined, create symbolic capital and resource acquisition possibilities.
THE EFFECT OF QUALITY CULTURE AND CORPORATE ETHICS VALUES ON INTENTION TO LEAVE AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

The purpose of this study was to examine: 1). The effect of quality culture on of organizational commitment, performance, job satisfaction, and the intention to move, 2). The effect of corporate ethics value on organizational commitment, performance, job satisfaction, and the intention to move, 3). The mediating role of organizational commitment to the effect of quality culture on the of performance, job satisfaction, and the intention to move, 4). The mediating role of organizational commitment to the effect of corporate ethics value on performance, job satisfaction, and the intention to move. This research was carried out on the employees of production department with 76 respondents. A questionnaire consisting of 31 question items using a Likert scale is used as research instrument. Instrument testing is performed by the test validity using CFA (confirmatory factor analysis) and reliability testing using Cronbach’s alpha. The hypotheses were tested using Hierarchical Regression Analyisis. The results showed that: 1). Quality culture has a significant effect on the organizational commitment, performance, job satisfaction, and the intention to move. 2). Corporate ethics value has a significant effect on organizational commitment, performance, job satisfaction, and the intention to move. 3). Organizational commitment mediates the effect of quality culture on performance and job satisfaction, and 4). Organizational commitment mediates the effect of corporate ethics value on performance.
Impacts of Man-Made Structures on Avian Community Metrics in 4 State Parks in Northwestern Arkansas

Avian community metrics often differ between areas with no human disturbance and areas with high levels of human disturbance. However, the relationships between avian community metrics and smaller-scale disturbances are not as clear. Our goal was to investigate if avian abundance, richness, evenness, and diversity differed in areas with and without small-scale human developments. We used fixed-radius 50-m avian point counts to compare points which contained a man-made structure (n = 47), such as a picnic area, road, or campsite to those that did not contain a man-made structure (n = 181) at 4 state parks in Arkansas during 18 May – 7 August 2015. We used paired t-tests to compare points at the park scale and one-way ANOVAs or Kruskal-Wallis tests to investigate differences among the hiking and biking trails within parks. At the park scale, avian abundance (t3 = -1.44, P = 0.246), richness (t3 = 0̠.86, P = 0.453), diversity (t3= 2.02, P = 0.137), and evenness (t3 = 0̠.37, P = 0.733) did not differ between points containing man-made structures and points without man-made structures. Species richness (F1,11 = 5.03, P = 0.047) and diversity (χ1= 4.20, P = 0.040) were higher at points with man-made structures (Simpson’s D mean = 0.13 ± 0.01SE; S mean = 8.99 ± 0.70SE) at Pinnacle Mountain than points without man-made structures (Simpson’s D mean = 0.18 ± 0.03SE; S mean = 7.17 ± 0.47SE); abundance (F1,11 = 1.43, P = 0.257) and evenness (F1,11 = 0.16, P = 0.695) did not differ among points. Within the 3 remaining parks, abundance (F1,7-9 = 0.11 – 2.59, P = 0.152 – 0.748), richness (χ1 = 0.300 – 1.68, P = 0.195 – 0.584), diversity (χ = 0.300 – 1.05, P = 0.305 – 0.584; F1,7 = 1.82, P = 0.219) and evenness (F1,7-9 = 0.35 – 4.28, P = 0.077 – 0.570) did not differ between points with and without man-made structures. Given the results of our analyses both at the park scale and within parks, it appears that small-scale man-made disturbances may have limited or no impact on avian community metrics.
The Effect of Combined Magnetic Geometries on Thermally Driven Winds. I. Interaction of Dipolar and Quadrupolar Fields

Cool stars with outer convective envelopes are observed to have magnetic fields with a variety of geometries, which on large scales are dominated by a combination of the lowest-order fields such as the dipole, quadrupole, and octupole modes. Magnetized stellar wind outflows are primarily responsible for the loss of angular momentum from these objects during the main sequence. Previous works have shown the reduced effectiveness of the stellar wind braking mechanism with increasingly complex but singular magnetic field geometries. In this paper, we quantify the impact of mixed dipolar and quadrupolar fields on the spin-down torque using 50 MHD simulations with mixed fields, along with 10 each of the pure geometries. The simulated winds include a wide range of magnetic field strength and reside in the slow-rotator regime. We find that the stellar wind braking torque from our combined geometry cases is well described by a broken power-law behavior, where the torque scaling with field strength can be predicted by the dipole component alone or the quadrupolar scaling utilizing the total field strength. The simulation results can be scaled and apply to all main-sequence cool stars. For solar parameters, the lowest-order component of the field (dipole in this paper) is the most significant in determining the angular momentum loss.
Economics and Business – Behavioural Economics Optimism-Economics & Psychology : Two Sides of the Same Coin ?

This paper investigates a possible correlation between the economic concept of optimism as measured by the parameters of the probability weighting function and the psychological concept of optimism as measured with the revised version of the LifeOrientation Test. 39 students of the Erasmus University Rotterdam were individually interviewed to measure these two types of optimism. Even though the existing literature points towards a possible correlation between economic and psychological optimism, no such correlation is found in this study. However, optimism is a broad term containing several different types of optimism. It is therefore possible that the difference between what literature suggests and the findings of this paper can be explained by the fact that they refer to different types of optimism.
Estimate of Genetic Variability Parameters among Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Genotypes in Ethiopia

Sixteen groundnut genotypes (including local check) were evaluated for quantitative parameters. The crop was sown during 2015 wet season in Ethiopia across four locations. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Twelve quantitative parameters were studied. The analysis of variance revealed the prevalence of significant difference among the genotypes for all studied parameters. Based on mean performance of genotypes Beha gudo, Manipeter and Werer-962 were found to be best for grain yield in kg/ha. High to moderate estimates of genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were exhibited by all characters except for SHP and NSP indicating that those characters could be used as selection indices for crop improvement. High heritability was observed for 100SW (91.2%), AGBP (90.3%), NBP (90.2%), PH (89.4%), NMP (86.8%), NSPOD (85.7%), HI (83.7%) and KY (79.7%) accompanied by high genetic advance indicating the predominant role of additive gene action and the possibilities of effective selection for the improvement of groundnut genotypes based on these characters. Low broad sense heritability and low genetic advance was observed only for SHP and NSP indicating low genetic potentials for these characters and non-additive gene effect prevails.
Correlation between first trimester uric acid level and subsequent development of gestational diabetes mellitus

Background: The aim of the study was to correlate between first trimester uric acid level and its association with subsequent development of gestational diabetes mellitus. Methods: This is a prospective study conducted at Govt. Raja Mirasudar Hospital attached to Thanjavur Medical College, Thanjavur over a period of one year from September 2015. A total of one hundred and eighty seven ante natal women less than 14 weeks of gestational age who attended the outpatient antenatal department were included in this study. Serum uric acid estimation was done in women with 3.6 mg/dl and 2 with serum uric acid <3.6 mg/dl developed GDM. This shows development of GDM increases with increase in uric acid concentration. Conclusions: Though our study results suggest that serum uric acid level estimation in first trimester can be used as a marker to predict GDM in pregnant women, large scale studies are required before it can be recommended as a routine first trimester screening test for prediction of gestational diabetes mellitus.