Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Relationship between Multiple Intelligences and Performance of EFL Students in Different Forms of Reading Comprehension Tests

The major aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Multiple Intelligences (MI) scores and the performance of Iranian EFL students on different forms of reading comprehension tests. To this aim, 90 learners of English from Parax Institute of Science and Technology (Mashhad Branch) were selected. They were asked to complete MIDAS multiple intelligences questionnaire and a reading test, which included two tests formats (multiple-choice and cloze test). The result of the correlational study indicated that the total MI score correlated positively with performance on multiple-choice and cloze test. Out of its 8 sub-intelligences linguistic, intrapersonal, spatial, and mathematical intelligence correlated positively with multiple-choice test of reading. Performance on cloze test correlated positively with linguistic, spatial, and mathematical intelligence. The results of regression equations also showed that MI scores predict both the performance on multiple-choice and cloze test. Out of its sub-intelligences, linguistic intelligence and musical intelligence predict performance on multiple-choice questions and linguistic intelligence predicts performance on cloze test.
Development of Earthquake-Induced Building Damage Estimation Model Based on ALOS/PALSAR Observing the 2007 Peru Earthquake

For quick estimation of damage building ratio due to earthquakes occurred in Peru using L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, a regression discriminant function that uses differences and correlations of the backscattering coefficient as explanatory variables and a likelihood function for severe damage ratio were developed based on the dataset of ALOS/PALSAR images observed the 2007 Peru earthquake and the detailed field survey data of Pisco city. We also investigated the effects of pixel-window size for calculating two variables in evaluating building damage. From the analysis, an optimum window size for the damage evaluation was -obtained. Finally, the model which integrates the fragility functions of building damage in terms of seismic intensity and proposed likelihood function from ALOS images was introduced.
The Recognition of Discontinuous Verbal Dependencies by German 19-Month-Olds: Evidence for Lexical and Structural Influences on Children's Early Processing Capacities

Recent work has shown that English-learning 18-month-olds can detect the relationship between discontinuous morphemes such as is and -ing in Grandma is always running (Gomez, 2002; Santelmann & Jusczyk, 1998) but only at a maximum of 3 intervening syllables. In this article we examine the tracking of discontinuous dependencies in children acquiring German. Due to freer word order, German allows for greater distances between dependent elements and a greater syntactic variety of the intervening elements than English does. The aim of this study was to investigate whether factors other than distance may influence the child's capacity to recognize discontinuous elements. Our findings provide evidence that children's recognition capacities are affected not only by distance but also by their ability to linguistically analyze the material intervening between the dependent elements. We speculate that this result supports the existence of processing mechanisms that reduce a discontinuous relation to a local one based on subcategorization relations.
Amorphous ZnO transparent thin-film transistors fabricated by fully lithographic and etching processes

Oxide-semiconductor-based thin-film transistors (TFTs), particularly the amorphous ones, are becoming an important emerging technology. Since oxide semiconductors easily form polycrystalline phases, usually more complicated oxide mixtures are needed for growing amorphous phases. In this letter, we report that by simply reducing the thickness, ZnO can be intentionally grown into the amorphous phase. Furthermore, both top-gate and bottom-gate amorphous ZnO TFTs of micrometer scales were effectively implemented using fully lithographic and etching processes. Rather high field-effect mobilities of 25 and 4cm2∕Vs and on∕off current ratios of >107 and >106 were achieved for top-gate and bottom-gate configurations, respectively.
Corporate social responsibility, country-level predispositions, and the consequences of choosing a level of disclosure

We study the different levels of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures of the largest European firms. We find that firms are more predisposed to disclose more CSR information in countries with better investor protection, higher levels of democracy, more effective government services, higher quality regulations, more press freedom, and a lower commitment to environmental policies. Our analysis of the association of different levels of CSR disclosure with share prices indicates that a high level of CSR disclosure is associated with higher share prices, whereas a low level of CSR disclosure in sensitive industries is associated with lower share prices (compared to no disclosure). These results are also present when we analyse changes in CSR disclosure and are robust to the inclusion of an accounting quality measure in our model. The overall effect of the association of higher levels of CSR disclosure with higher share prices is stronger in countries with more democracy, more government effectiveness, better regulatory quality, and more press freedom. Therefore, market participants find CSR disclosures more informative in countries where investors are in a better position to voice their concerns and where there is better regulation and more effective government implementation of regulations.
Preschoolers Optimize the Timing of Their Conversational Turns Through Flexible Coordination of Language Comprehension and Production

Conversation is the natural setting for language learning and use, and a key property of conversation is the smooth taking of turns. In adult conversations, delays between turns are minimal (typically 200 ms or less) because listeners display a striking ability to predict what their partner will say, and they formulate a response before their partner’s turn ends. Here, we tested how this ability to coordinate comprehension and production develops in preschool children. In an interactive paradigm, 106 children (ages 3–5 years) and 48 adults responded to questions that varied in predictability but were controlled for linguistic complexity. Using a novel distributional approach to data analysis, we found that when children can predict a question’s ending, they leave shorter gaps before responding, suggesting that they can optimize the timing of their conversational turns like adults do. In line with a recent ethological theory of turn taking, this early competency helps explain how conversational contexts support language development.
Political connections, founding family ownership and leverage decision of privately owned firms

In this paper, we examine the effect of political connections versus founding family ownership on the relationship between disproportional ownership structure and leverage decisions of privately owned firms listed in Chinese market. We find that disproportional ownership has positive effect on leverage, indicating that controlling shareholder tends to use both disproportional ownership structure and debt to expropriate. We also find that the interacted term between disproportional ownership and political connections has a positive impact on leverage ratio, and disproportional ownership structure is negatively related with leverage ratio of founding-family controlled firms, which indicate a substitute effect between political connections and founding-family ownership for the impact of disproportional ownership on leverage ratio. Finally, we provide evidence that controlling shareholder of firms with disproportional ownership structure tends to use more related party loans for tunnelling. We argue that under China’s weak creditor protection institutions, political connections of chairman or CEO provide better access to financing for private-owned firms, but also provide excess external resources for controlling shareholder to expropriate. However, founding-family ownership can largely mitigate the tunnelling effect of controlling shareholder while privately controlled firms through taking-over from former State owned firms tends to facilitate the tunnelling effect of controlling shareholder through its political connections.
Comparison of pervaporation models with simulation of hybrid separation processes

The industrial application of pervaporation as a membrane separation technology is increasing caused by the numerous advantages of this method. However, to complete engineering design, like in the cases of distillation, azeotropic distillation and absorption, reliable and adequate modelling of the process in flowsheeting environment is indispensable. A proper model is especially needed if the more complicated but more economical and environmentally sound hybrid separation methods are designed or investigated.In this study two pervaporation models, the solution-diffusion model of Rautenbach [1] and its developed form [2], are compared and evaluated with computer simulation on the dehydration processes of isobutanol-water and ethanol-water mixtures. Simulations of a hybrid separation method containing pervaporation for the separation of these mixtures are performed, thus proving the importance of using a proper pervaporation model regarding the discrepancies caused by the application of a false model.
A Clinical Review of the Treatment of Diabetic Ulcers , Pressure Ulcers and Venous Stasis Ulcers in Human Subjects Using Silver Sol Gel While Residing in a Geriatric Health Care Facility

Diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers and venous stasis ulcers were treated with Silver Sol Gel in conjunction with Advanced Healing Systems Formulary process that includes new technologies that are in combination with the best practices available in wound care resulting in remarkable recoveries. The weekly photographic and empirical quantification of the healing processes are recorded in this study. The weekly improvements seen in very difficult cases illustrate the broad-spectrum abilities of Silver Sol Gel. Diabetics suffer from hormone changes, reduced blood flow to extremities and wounds that heal very slowly if at all. These diabetic wounds remain open for long periods of time and are susceptible to bacterial, viral and fungal infection. Diabetic wounds have been shown to be polymicrobial and difficult to treat. Silver Sol Gel was used to treat the diabetic ulcer, pressure ulcers and venous stastis ulcers of patients being treated in outpatient and long term care facilities where data was collected by Advanced Health Systems (AHS). The resident doctors and nurses applied Silver Sol Gel to these types of wound and recorded the size of wound depth of wound, area of wound and time to closure. In addition photos were taken and recorded on a weekly basis. In this study Silver Sol Gel in combination with best practices reduced the size of the wound, the depth of the wound and area of wounds found in diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers and venous stasis ulcers, and accomplished complete wound closure and healing in 5 to 12 weeks. The improvements seen in the weekly photographs visually depict three remarkable recoveries using Silver Sol. The remarkable recoveries can be explained by the fact that silver sol completely destroys bacteria, viruses and fungi. By reducing the polymicrobial infections sustained in diabetic wounds, the associative swelling was reduced, thus allowing better circulation immune access and improved wound healing.
Heterogeneous Distribution of Rainfall and Discharge Regimes in the Ecuadorian Amazon Basin

The hydrology of the Ecuadorian Amazon basin is still poorly documented. The research developed between the Institute for Research and Development (IRD) and the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMHI) of Ecuador takes advantage of a newly available rainfall and discharge dataset to explore spatial distribution and regimes in this region (135 600 km 2 ). Forty-seven rainfall and 27 discharge stations were retained over a 30-yr period (1965-94). A new annual isoyets map is proposed for the Amazon basin of Ecuador. The most striking result is a high spatial regime variability, to the extent that out-of-phase regimes are found in nearby stations. Indeed, in high intra-Andean basins there is a marked bimodal rainfall regime, with maxima in March-April and in October and a minimum from June to August. On the contrary, as moisture transport reaches a maximum in June, a rainfall peak can also be observed at the same time on slopes to the east due to the moist easterlies. In the lowlands, a bimodal regime is observed as in the intra-Andean basin; as water vapor is abundant, seasonal variability is not as strong as in the Andes. Discharge regimes are related to rainfall regimes. However, even if no delay is observed between maximum rainfall and maximum discharge in the inner Andean basins, a delay varying from one to two months is observed in larger basins. Soil conditions also affect the discharge regime in the upper and inner Andes: paramo soils (a kind of tundra formation) release water, in particular after the March-April rainfall peak, and sustain the dry season runoff.
In vitro dilutions of thioridaxine with potential to enhance antibiotic sensitivity in a multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus uropathogen

This research effort seeks to use doses of thioridaxine to enhance antibiotic sensitivity in a multidrug resistant (MDR) Staphylococcus aureus strain. Five axenic (pure) strains of S. aureus coded SA 1 to SA 5 were obtained from five infected midstream urine samples, inoculated on sterile cystine lactose electrolyte deficient (CLED) agar and stocked on sterile nutrient agar slants at 4°C in a refrigerator. Bacteria strains were sub-cultured on fresh sterile CLED agar and mannitol salt agar plates to confirm S. aureus strains. Gram staining, catalase test and coagulase test were done on the resulting colonies to further confirm the strains as S. aureus . Antibiotic susceptibility test was done by agar disc diffusion method using sterile Mueller- Hinton agar plates before and after treatment with laboratory dilutions of thioridaxine. S. aureus strains 1, 3 and 5 were multidrug resistant as they resisted 3 (37.5%), 3 (37.5%) and 4 (50.0%) of the antibiotics used. The highest (11.8±1.4 mm) and least (0.8±10.0 mm) zones of inhibition by all five strains were recorded for streptomycin and augmentin, respectively whereas, all five uropathogen strains resisted cloxacillin, they were sensitive to gentamycin, cotrimoxazole, chloramphenicol and streptomycin. After treatment with 2000 to 2240 ug/ml laboratory dilutions of thioridaxine, ≤50.0% loss of resistance was recorded for each of all seven dilutions but only 2240 ug/ml dilution recorded mean±S.E. loss of 56.2±17.8% for gentamycin, cotrimoxazole and streptomycin after treatment of SA 5 uropathogen. This was followed by resistance losses of 41.4±10.8 and 42.7±8.3% induced by 2080 and 2200 ug/ml dilutions, respectively. Cumulative effect of all dilutions resulted in 40.0±8.2 and 40.5±17.1% borderline resistance losses to cotrimoxazole and chloramphenicol, respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration of chloramphenicol was lowered by 2080, 2160 and 2240 ug/ml dilutions of thioridazine by four-fold (7.5 ug), four-fold (7.5 ug) and two-fold (15 ug), respectively. Upon this, the medical/chemotherapeutic implications of these findings are discussed. Key words : In vitro, dilutions, thioridaxine, enhance, antibiotic, sensitivity, multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Barriers to women participation in agricultural development in Bauchi Local Government area of Bauchi State, Nigeria

The study was conducted to analyze the barriers to women participation in agricultural production in Bauchi local government area of Nigeria. The specific objectives addressed in the study were to: analyze the socio-economic characteristics of women farmers; investigate level of women participation in agricultural production activities; assess their access to extension services; and, identify the agricultural production problems encountered by women farmers in the study area. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. The primary data were obtained using structured questionnaires administered to 60 respondents that were randomly selected. Frequency and percentage were used to analyze the socio-economic characteristics of women farmers, their level of participation in agricultural production and accessibility to extension services as well as the problems encountered by the respondent. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and their level of participation in agricultural production. Analysis of data showed that, majority (83%) of the respondents were in their active age with fairly large family size and low educational status and income. Majority of the women were highly involved in agricultural production as more than half of them spend more than five hours of their daily activities on the farm during the farming season. It was also found that the major constraint of the respondents was low capital due to unavailability of credit facilities. The result of the Pearson’s correlation revealed that, age, family size, education level, income, membership of cooperatives, presence of extension staff and extension training received were positively related to women’s participation in agricultural production and all were significant at 1% level. Marital status of the respondents is however, negatively related to the respondents’ participation in agricultural production and it is significant at 5% level. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that the activities of extension agencies should be re-orientated and the peculiar area of challenges facing women farmers should be taken into cognizance in the design of extension programmes. In addition, credit facilities should also be made available to women farmers with collateral demands structured to accommodate their peculiar nature of the.
Using Social Media to Identify Market Inefficiencies: Evidence from Twitter and Betfair

Information extracted from social media has been used by academics, and increasingly by practitioners, to predict stock returns. But to what extent does social media output predict asset fundamentals, and not simply short-term returns? In this paper we analyse 13.8m posts on Twitter, and high-frequency betting data from Betfair, concerning English Premier League soccer matches in 2013/14. Crucially, asset fundamentals are revealed at the end of play. We find that the Tweets of certain journalists, and the tone of all Tweets, contain fundamental information not revealed in betting prices. In particular, Tweets aid in the interpretation of news during matches.
Relationship between Vitamin Composition and Spermatological Characteristics in Semen of Different Ram Breeds of Turkey

The aim of this study was to evaluate the vitamin levels of ram seminal plasma and the relationship between vitamins and spermatological characteristics. For this aim, nine 3-5 year old rams of Norduz, Karakas and Ile-de-France x Akkaraman (G1) genotypes were provided. Sperm of each ram was collected once per month from June to October of the year 2007 by artificial vagina. In each month, the concentrations of retinol acetate, alpha tocopherol, delta tocopherol, alpha tocopherol acetate and vitamin D3 in seminal plasma were analyzed by using HPLC. Spermatological characteristics viz. sperm volume, pH, mass activity, sperm motility, abnormal spermatozoid, death/alive ratio and sperm concentration were evaluated. As testicular characteristics, scrotal circumference and testicular diameter were measured. Monthly changes and breed differences on the vitamin levels were statistically insignificant, whereas there was a positive correlation was obtained between testis diameter and retinol acetate levels (p<0.05) and a positive correlation was also estimated between analyzed vitamins. As a result, the relationships between the testicular, spermatological characteristics, and vitamin compositions should be taken into account in the
CLARA's view on the escape fraction of Lyman α photons in high-redshift galaxies

Using clara (code for Lyman alpha radiation analysis) we constrain the escape fraction of Lyman α radiation in galaxies in the redshift range 5 ≲z≲ 7, based on the MareNostrum High-z Universe, a smoothed particle hydrodynamics cosmological simulation with more than two billion particles. We approximate Lyman α emitters (LAEs) as dusty gaseous slabs with Lyman α radiation sources homogeneously mixed in the gas. Escape fractions for such a configuration and for different gas and dust contents are calculated using our newly developed radiative transfer code clara. The results are applied to the MareNostrum High-z Universe numerical galaxies. The model shows a weak redshift evolution and good agreement with estimations of the escape fraction as a function of reddening from observations at z∼ 2.2 and z∼ 3. We extend the slab model by including additional dust in a clumpy component in order to reproduce the ultraviolet (UV) continuum luminosity function (LF) and UV colours at redshifts z > rsim 5. The LAE LF, based on the extended clumpy model, reproduces broadly the bright end of the LF derived from observations at z∼ 5 and z∼ 6. At z∼ 7, our model overpredicts the LF by roughly a factor of 4, presumably because the effects of the neutral intergalactic medium are not taken into account. The remaining tension between the observed and simulated faint end of the LF, both in the UV continuum and Lyman α at redshifts z∼ 5 and z∼ 6, points towards an overabundance of simulated LAEs hosted in haloes of masses 1.0 × 1010≤Mh≤ 4.0 × 1010 h−1 M⊙. Given the difficulties in explaining the observed overabundance by dust absorption, a probable origin of the mismatch is the high star formation rate in the simulated haloes around the quoted mass range. A more efficient supernova feedback should be able to regulate the star formation process in the shallow potential wells of these haloes.
Setting a New Standard in the Analysis of Binary Stars AGB NUCLEOSYNTHESIS AT LOW METALLICITY: WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM CARBON- AND S-ELEMENTS-ENHANCED METAL-POOR STARS

CEMP- s stars are very metal-poor stars with enhanced abundances of carbon and s -process elements. They form a signiﬁcant pro-portion of the very metal-poor stars in the Galactic halo and are mostly observed in binary systems. This suggests that the observed chemical anomalies are due to mass accretion in the past from an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. Because CEMP- s stars have hardly evolved since their formation, the study of their observed abundances provides a way to probe our models of AGB nucleosynthesis at low metallicity. To this end we included in our binary evolution model the results of the latest models of AGB nucleosynthesis and we simulated a grid of 100 000 binary stars at metallicity Z = 0 . 0001 in a wide range of initial masses and separations. We compared our modelled stars with a sample of 60 CEMP- s stars from the SAGA database of metal-poor stars. For each observed CEMP- s star of the sample we found the modelled star that reproduces best the observed abundances. The result of this comparison is that we are able to reproduce simultaneously the observed abundance of the elements aﬀected by AGB nucleosynthesis ( e.g. C, Mg, s -elements) for about 60% of the stars in the sample.