Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Land surface phenology from optical satellite measurement and CO2 eddy covariance technique

[1] Land surface phenology (LSP) is an integrative indicator of vegetation dynamics under a changing environment. Increasing amounts of remote sensing measurements and CO2flux observations offer unprecedented opportunities to quantify LSP phases at landscape scale. LSP start of season (SOS) and end of season (EOS) estimates are often based on the use of a single-purpose vegetation index derived from optical satellite data, characterized by poor performances in decoupling soil and snow cover dynamics from LSP cycles, as well as contrasting responses of the needleleaf and broadleaf forests in boreal ecosystems. We propose a new remote-sensing-based phenology index (PI) which combines the merits of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference infrared index (NDII) by taking the difference of squared greenness and wetness to remove the soil and snow cover dynamics from key vegetation LSP cycles. We have cross-validated the remote-sensing-based LSP dates with those of CO2 flux observations from 11 selected tower sites across Canada and the United States consisting of needleleaf forests, broadleaf forests, and croplands. The results indicate that PI estimates the SOS and EOS dates better than NDVI when compared to the LSP dates from CO2flux measurements (reduced RMSE, bias and dispersions, and higher correlation). PI-based SOS and EOS estimates are in good agreement with those derived from CO2flux measurements with mean bias comparable to the temporal resolution of the high-quality, 8-day composite satellite measurements. Finally, PI also shows a smoother time series compared to NDVI and NDII.
Power loss and junction temperature analysis of power semiconductor devices

A new developed electro-thermal calculation method is implemented to estimate the power loss and working temperature of IGBT devices. Based on the measurement of IGBT characteristics, the exact estimation of power loss considering the junction temperature is introduced. Then the thermal network is used to calculate the working temperature. The comparison between experiment and calculation results shows that this method is effective as a designing step with only the time domain voltage and current data obtained from simulation results.
Inter-relationships among focal dimensions in relationship quality: a quantitative and exploratory approach

It is generally agreed that the relationship quality (RELQUAL) in business exchange situations is important. However, there does not appear to be a consensus on the conceptualisation and measurement of the many dimensions of this construct. This may be due to the difficulty in measuring many dimensions in one empirical study. This raises a concern regarding the understanding of the interaction among the various dimensions. Using data gathered in a survey of Canadian managers and executives the present study investigates how focal dimensions pertaining to RELQUAL inter-relate. A model consisting of the following ten dimensions derived from RELQUAL literature was tested: continuity, satisfaction, trust, commitment, opportunism, cooperation, coordination, formalisation, dependence, specific assets. All recommended guidelines for convergent, discriminant and nomological validity, as well as construct reliability, were met.
Post National Credit Act reckless lending in the South African banking industry

One of the main aims of the National Credit Act (NCA) of 2005 in South Africa is to curtail rising consumer overindebtedness by encouraging credit providers to adopt responsible lending practices. This research study seeks to ascertain whether the NCA’s responsible lending requirements have limited reckless lending by credit providers. Data are collected by a telephonic survey amongst debt counselors and in-depth interviews amongst bank employees. Descriptive statistics are used to analyze data from the descriptive survey, while data from in-depth interviews are analyzed using the thematic approach. Credit providers have divided opinions on whether the NCA limits reckless lending practices. Debt counselors claimed that credit providers are lending irresponsibly. By contrast, insights obtained from bank employees indicate compliance. However, both agree that borrowers are not borrowing responsibly. As a result, consumer education is required to educate consumers on both the benefits and risks of borrowing. It is also recommended that lenders be audited for compliance to the Credit act.
Cryptobiota associated to dead Acropora palmata (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) coral, Isla Grande, Colombian Caribbean

Cryptobiota of dead fragments of five branehes in live position and five fallen pieces of the coral Acropora palmata each one of approximate Idm3, eovered by filamentous algae were extraeted from the north reef erest of Isla Grande (Colombian Caribbean), in April 1991. There were three groups of organisms according lo size and position (on and wi! hin the coral): 1) mobile epibenthos, mainly microcrustaceans ihat iive among the fIlamentous algae 2) boring microcryptobiota, located in lhe layer between ihe epilithic organisms and the coral skeJeton
Tax Avoidance, Corporate Governance and Corporate Innovation

In the background of implementation the strategy of innovation-driven development, this paper investigates the impact of corporate tax avoidance on corporate innovation. Using applications of invention patents as a proxy of corporate innovation, we find that tax avoidance significantly reduce the firm’s innovation ability, which supports the agency cost hypothesis in corporate tax avoidance; and the negative relation between tax avoidance and corporate innovation will decrease with the improvement of corporate governance. This paper will contribute to the literature on economic consequences of corporate tax avoidance and influence factors of corporate innovation. It also has the important implication for our understanding for how to promote the corporate innovation by tax avoidance.
What's good for the goose ain't good for the gander: cock-eyed counterfactuals and the performance effects of R&D

We investigate the effects of R&D investment on performance outcomes (sales growth and relative profitability) for Indian manufacturing firms. Previous research shows contradictory results - while some studies find a positive effect of R&D on firm performance, some find that firms investing in R&D do not perform significantly better, in some cases, even perform worse than their non-investing counterparts. We claim that the effects of R&D on performance are often mis-specified: The contradictory results are likely due to 1) inverse causality, i.e., firms invest in R&D as a function of sales growth and/or 2) a bias caused by censored data (i.e. R&D investment has a lower bound at zero). We apply endogenous switching regression to tackle the issue of selection and censored data, and the results we observe are sharp: firms investing in R&D would have had less growth and less relative profitability if they had not done so. Interestingly, firms that did not invest in R&D would not have benefited had they done so.
Assessing the Trade-Related Sources of Productivity Growth in Emerging Economies

This paper contributes new empirical evidence on the relationship between productivity and international trade. This is accomplished using an econometric approach that combines input-output and productivity data, which allows a more detailed tracking of the relationship between trade in intermediate and final products and productivity in countries at different stages of economic development. The results show that various forms of trade integration strongly support productivity in emerging economies. Exporting final products, importing intermediates for domestic production and re-exporting are all associated with higher productivity levels, pointing to the particular importance for this country grouping of being able to integrate into regional and global value chains. Our results emphasise also important linkages between different economic sectors and call for broad-based approaches to facilitating integration with foreign intermediate inputs and final products markets.
Servicescapes: A Review of Contemporary Empirical Research

ABSTRACT This paper reviews forty three extant contemporary empirical servicescape studies conducted in the area. The review is limited to articles which focus on the servicescape as defined by Bitner (1992) and Mehrabian and Russell (1974) Pleasure, Arousal and Dominance (PAD) dimensions from environmental psychology. The publication time frame covers the period from 1980 to 2007. The review observes key patterns and trends within the literature. The content was analysed on the basis of issues such as research variables, methodological approaches, sampling methods, research origin and the theoretical frameworks underpinning the research. The analysis highlights gaps and further research directions that could be taken. These research opportunities include the expansion of research sites to address the paucity of European research which has been fragmentary in nature to date while simultaneously reflecting on the research design and implementation issues highlighted.
The Impact of Big Five Personality Traits and Positive Psychological Strengths towards Job Satisfaction: a Review

Human resource can be a dynamic asset or a debilitating liability depending upon how well it is harnessed. Many progressive organizations around the world have begun to internalize this reality and keeping the human resource satisfied is considered one of the key factors for the success of any organization. Dispositional base of job satisfaction has gained renewed interest since job satisfaction is a mixture of beliefs and feelings. With an eye toward research and practice, the current study consolidates various literatures and examines the relationship between Big Five Personality, Positive psychological strengths towards job satisfaction. The study also takes into consideration the demographic impact towards job satisfaction. It provides acumen and a different magnitude for predicting job satisfaction apart from conventional variables like work itself, pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers.
Induction Therapy: Comparison between Poly and Monoclonal Antibodies

Objective: Compare the effects of 2 molecules as induction treatment in renal transplantation (RT): polyclonal antibodies (rATG or thymoglobulin) versus a monoclonal antibody antagonist of interleukin 2 receptors (basiliximub) in terms of occurrence of episodes of rejection, delayed graft function, graft loss, and the occurrence of infectious and neoplastic complications. Patients and methods: A retrospective study involving 191 patients transplanted from 2007 to 2016 with a minimum follow-up of 3 months at department of nephrology, dialysis and transplantation Sahloul Sousse Tunisia. The induction treatment consists of the administration of a monoclonal antibody for 67 patients group 1 (G1) and polyclonal antibodies (anti-thymocyte anti-thymocyte globulin or thymoglobulin) for 124 patients group 2 (G2). In maintenance, patients were treated with ciclosporin or tacrolimus combined with MMF and corticosteroids or MMF alone with corticosteroids. Results: We included 191 transplant patients with mean age of 33.13 ± 13.04 years. The occurrence of episodes of rejection was more frequent in patients treated with rATG (21.77% in G2 versus 14.92% in G1) but without significant difference (p =0.253). The delay of occurrence of rejection was shorter in the G1. The uni-varied study showed that the occurrence of pneumopathies (p=0.005, OR=6.626, IC [1.503-29.20]), urinary tract infections (p=0.020, OR=2.044, CI [1.115-3.748]), cystitis (p=0.038, OR=1.918, CI [1.032-3.564]), CMV infections (p=0.04, OR=2.567, CI [0.996-6.615]) and digestive infections (p=0.035, OR=4.472, CI [0.991-20.186]) are significantly observed with rATG treatment. In multi-variate analysis only pneumopathies (p=0.014, CI [0.034-0.681]) and urinary tract infections (p=0.04, CI [0.277- 0.969]) were significantly frequent with ATG treatment. Neoplastic complications occurred exclusively in G2. We found no significant difference for delayed graft function and graft loss in both groups.
Plant-parasitic nematodes associated with vegetable crops in Benin: relationship with soil physico-chemical properties

Surveys were conducted in vegetable-producing communes of Benin between May 2004 and November 2005 to study the diversity and incidence of plant-parasitic nematodes affecting these crops and to assess the effects of soil physico-chemical properties on the nematodes. A total of 171 plant root and 171 soil samples collected from 26 vegetable crops were examined. Eleven species of plant-parasitic nematodes were recorded, of which six are reported for the first time in the country. When analyzed by crops sampled, communes surveyed and agro-ecological zones, the most frequently observed and widely distributed nematode species were root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne spp. , followed by Helicotylenchus dihystera and Scutellonema clathricaudatum. These nematodes infected 96.1, 76.9 and 53.9% of the crops sampled, respectively, and were observed on vegetable crops in 100, 94.4 and 44.4% of surveyed communes, respectively. Mean population density of Meloidogyne spp. (juveniles and males) was greater than that of the other nematode species. Prevalence, relative abundance and mean intensity were also higher for Meloidogyne spp. (79, 62.1 and 99.3%, respectively) than for other nematode species. The largest population densities of Meloidogyne spp. were observed in celosia, cucumber, green pepper, carrot, the African garden eggplant, okra, basil, and crin-crin (West African sorrel) (174, 103, 101, 98, 96, 96, 91, 79 nematodes/g sample, respectively). Correlation analysis indicated a weak relationship between soil physico-chemical properties and nematode population density (maximum value of the coefficient of correlation r = 0.41). The results indicate that, apart from the direct influence of the host plant, soil properties play an important role in the abundance, distribution and structure of plant parasitic nematode communities. This validates the potential of nematodes as bioindicator organisms of soil health.
Trajectory Correction Flight Control System using Pulsejeton an Artillery Rocket

A trajectory correction flight control system is small and durable, and consists of a lateralpulsejet ring mounted on the rocket body. The pulsejet ring consists of a finite number of individualpulsejets. Each pulsejet on the ring imparts a single, short-duration, large force to the rocket inthe plane normal to the rocket axis of symmetry. Lateral pulsejets are used by flight controlsystem to assist the rocket to follow a pre-specified (command) trajectory. The trajectory-trackingflight control system computes the position error by comparing the measured position of therocket with the pre-specified trajectory. In actual application, the position of the rocket couldbe measured using in-house inertial measurement unit (IMU) or by ground-based-tracking radarsystem located at the firing site. A study has been undertaken to explore the feasibility of reducingthe impact point dispersion of a routinely-used artillery rocket using lateral pulsejets coupledto a trajectory correction flight control system. Simulation studies have been conducted to arriveat tuning parameters, namely the tracking error window size, the required elapsed time betweenthe pulsejet firings and the angle of tolerance between the tracking error and the individualpulsejet force. Further, the robustness of the methodology wrt measurement noise has also beenevaluated.Defence Science Journal, 2008, 58(1), pp.15-33, DOI:http://dx.doi. org/10.14429/dsj.58. 1621
SPECIFIC GAGE ANALYSIS ON THE LOWER WHITE RIVER, ARKANSAS

i DEDICATION ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi CHAPTERS CHAPTER 1 – Introduction 1 CHAPTER 2 – Literature Review 3 CHAPTER 3 – Study Area 15 CHAPTER 4 – Methods 22 CHAPTER 5 – Results 34 CHAPTER 6 – Conclusions and Discussion 49 REFERENCES 53 VITA 59
H.P. Minsky and policies to countervail crises

The paper examines Minsky’s reflections on policies designed to act as a countervailing force against crises by fostering “responsible” Big Government, in which the role of the State is profoundly revised and directed towards full and stable non-inflationary employment, and also enabled to sustain consumption and economic growth over time. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of State-established structural direct job creation programs, enacted during severe recessions as a means of achieving full employment without disruptive consequences such as price instability, inefficiency of the public apparatus, unsustainable public and foreign debts. In-depth investigation of Minsky’s perspective highlights that well-focused full employment programs are important to counter inadequacy of effective demand; but if they are to be feasible and financially sustainable they must also improve the productivity of individuals and economic systems in the medium term.
The Impact of Intrinsic Motivation on Employee’s Job Satisfaction

The main purpose of present study is to identify the impact of intrinsic motivation on employee’s job satisfaction.This is basically an empirical study and a scale was developed to find out the impact of four variables namely; jobsecurity, achievement, job responsibility and work itself (intrinsic motivation). The questionnaire was distributedamong the respondents on the basis of simple random sampling. The findings of this study show a significantpositive relationship among four variables and employees job satisfaction. The relationships among job security &job satisfaction, achievement & job satisfaction, job responsibility & job satisfaction and work itself and jobsatisfaction are significant and positive. This research study highlights the areas in which the organizational managerfocuses to increase the individual and organizational performance.
Title : The role of screening expectations in modifying short – term psychological responses to low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening among high-risk individuals

Objective This study aimed to examine the relationship between pre-screening expectations and psychological responses to low-dose computerised tomography (LDCT) screening among high-risk individuals in the United Kingdom Lung Cancer Screening (UKLS) pilot trial. Methods Prior to screening, high-risk individuals randomised into the intervention arm of the UKLS were asked about their expected screening test result. Their actual CT scan result was compared with their baseline screening expectation to determine the level of congruence. Levels of concern about and perceived accuracy of the result were assessed in a questionnaire two weeks following receipt of their test result. Results The sample included 1589 participants. Regardless of their expected results, patients who required follow-up investigations after their initial CT scan were the most concerned about their result (p<0.001). Participants who expected to require follow-up, but did not need it, perceived the test to be least accurate (p=0.006). Conclusions Lung cancer screening participants who require follow-up or who have unexpected negative results can be identified for supportive interventions. Practical Implications These findings can be used to ensure that any future CT lung cancer screening programme is tailored to identify and support those high-risk individuals who may benefit from additional help.
The Epidemiological Profile of Injuries in Children up to 59 Months Old in Kermanshah Province in 2015

Received: 20 June 2017 Accepted: 3 Sep 2017 Introduction: Injuries have always been among the main factors threatening human life and health, and children are one of the vulnerable population groups in this field. The aim of this study is to survey incident and examine the distribution of injuries in children up to 59 months old in Kermanshah Province in 2015. Methods: This survey is a cross-sectional study, gathering its data from Health Vice-presidency of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. It covers all the injured whose reason of injury was referring to private and public hospitals under the supervision of Health Vice-presidency of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, during 2015. Data was collected from the injury software package of Ministry of Health. All registered individuals in this software were included in the study. In addition, all the injuries, including electric shock, road traffic accidents, animal attacks, violence, fall, burn, hit, scorpion and snake sting, drowning, poisoning were entered in our research. Results: The number of injuries in children was 3499 cases: 2216 (63.3%) boys and 1283 (36.7%) girls. Incidence of injuries was 23.3 cases per 1000 children aged 0-59 months old. The highest frequency of injuries was in children aged 0 to 11 months (42%) and majority of them occurred at home (58.5%). Most of the injuries were in summer (especially in September). The most common causes of injuries included fall (52.7%), road traffic injuries (29.6%), and poisoning (14.1%). Conclusion: In the present study, the most frequent injury was falling at home. It is important to make the home a safe environment for children.
How much Keynes and how much Schumpeter? An Estimated Macromodel of the US Economy

The macroeconomic experience of the last decade stressed the importance of jointly studying the growth and business cycle fluctuations behavior of the economy. To analyze this issue, we embed a model of Schumpeterian growth into an estimated medium-scale DSGE model. Results from a Bayesian estimation suggest that investment risk premia are a key driver of the slump following the Great Recession. Endogenous innovation dynamics amplifies financial crises and helps explain the slow recovery. Moreover, financial conditions also account for a substantial share of R&D investment dynamics.
EFFECT OF DIFFERENT WEED CONTROL PRACTICES AND SOWING METHODS ON WEEDS AND YIELD OF COTTON

The field experiment was carried out to study the effect of different weed control treatments namely; manual hoeing, wheat straw mulching at 6 t ha -1 , acetachlor at 125 g a.i. ha -1 and pendimethalin+prometryne at 875 g a.i. ha -1 along with a weedy check under ridge and flat sowing, on weed growth and yield of cotton during the year 2007 and 2008. The density of the weeds under study was decreased significantly with all weed control treatments compared with weedy check and weed control efficiency varied from 32.27 to 73.55%, 54.61 to 7.28%, 16.38 to 72.88% and 28.21 to 59.60% for Cyperus rotundus, Trianthema portulacastrum, Convolvulus. arvensis and Cynodon dactylon at early growth stages. The number of monopodial and sympodial branches and mature bolls per plant, seed weight and seed cotton yield was also increased with all weed control practices over weedy check. Pendimethalin+prometryne @ 875 g a.i. ha -1 resulted in significantly the maximum seed cotton yield of 2249.18 kg ha -1 . Among sowing methods, ridge sowing was the better method in terms of controlling weeds, reducing dry weight of weeds, increasing monopodial and sympodial branches per plant, total number of bolls per plant, number of mature bolls per plant, seed cotton weight and seed cotton yield. To obtain maximum seed cotton yield and net returns in cotton, pendimethalin + prometryne @ 875 g ha -1 applied to control weeds and cotton should be sown on ridges under agro ecological conditions of Faisalabad, Pakistan.