Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Profitability of Style based Investment Strategies: Evidence from India

In this paper, we aim to identify profitable investment styles on the Indian stock market by using various combinations of important stock pricing anomalies consisting of. size, value, volume, profitability, earnings surprises, short term and long term prior returns. Using NSE200 stocks, three different investment styles viz. univariate, independent bivariate and conditional bivariate are constructed for the period July 2005-June 2016.Results show that on an absolute return basis, bivariate strategies do not seem to outperform univariate strategies. The unifactor CAPM is able to absorb 42% of the returns owing to the explanatory power of beta. After adjusting for risk using the three factor Fama and French (1993) model, 42% of the alphas are explained. However, additional risk factors from the Carhart (1997) model and Fama and French (2015) model do not provide any incremental explanatory power over the three factor model, recommending the use of the latter as a baseline to evaluate investment strategies in India. The highest supernormal returns of 1.1% per month are obtained from combining attributes and employing the conditional bivariate investment strategy viz.E2L1 (earnings momentum-Liquidity), M2S1 (price momentum-size), E2M3 (earnings momentum-price momentum). The findings are pertinent to portfolio managers, financial regulators and other stakeholders.
Oral Finding and Cytomorphometric Analysis of Oral Mucosal Cells in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Background/purpose: Patients with diabetes mellitus have been associated with gingivitis, periodontitis, salivary dysfunction, altered taste, and candidiasis. Diabetes can cause considerable cellular changes. The aims of this study were to assess the oral manifestations in type 2 diabetic patients and to detect cytomorphometric measurements of oral mucosal cells in type 2 diabetic patients and healthy control subjects by using exfoliated cytology smears. Methods: Samples were collected from 50 adults, aged 30-60 years (25 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 25 non-diabetic healthy persons as the control group). Smears were obtained from two sites, normal buccal mucosa and lateral border of the tongue from each subject. The freshly obtained specimens were assessed for cytomorphometric analysis. An eyepiece micrometer was used to take mean values of ND, CyD, and N: C ratio. Comparison of nuclear diameter (ND), cytoplasmic diameter (CyD) and the ratio of two diameters (N: C) among groups was performed by using ANOVA. Results: The results showed that statistically significant increase in ND (p=0.01 for buccal mucosa and 0.007 for tongue) and N:C ratio (p=0.01 for both tongue and buccal mucosa), with a statistically significant decrease in CyD, was found in diabetic patients compared to controls (p=0.001 for both tongue and buccal mucosa). Conclusion: Diabetes produces definite cytomorphometric changes in the oral mucosal cells of patients. The results suggested that nuclear diameter increased while cytoplasmic diameter was decease in type 2 diabetic patients. The most predominant oral manifestations found in type 2 diabetic patients were periodontal disease and oral dryness.
Impacts of geo-physical factors and human disturbance on composition and diversity of roadside vegetation: A case study from Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve of Southwest China

We examined vegetation-disturbance-environment relationships in the Xiaomengyang Section of Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve (XNR) using multivariate analysis to understand the impacts of geo-physical factors and human disturbance on vegetation along the highway corridor. We found that native forests were the best habitat for protected/endangered species and native species. The exotic plants Eupatorium odoratum and Eupatorium adenophora were found primarily in secondary forests and their presence was positively associated with altitude and soil potassium concentrations. The distribution of two protected plants, Phoebe nanmu and Pometia tomentosa, was negatively associated with road disturbance. Species richness was correlated with environmental factors but not related to historical land use and road disturbance. Understanding the complex effects of geo-physical factors and anthropogenic disturbance is important for developing and implementing conservation strategies for the protection and restoration of biological diversity and the integrity of roadside ecosystems.
Comparative study on induced breeding of shing, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch) between HCG and PG with different combination

Induced breeding of shing, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794) was carried out by using pituitary gland (PG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). Twenty pairs of brood fishes were reared up to maturation for spawning operation in a fish farm by providing farm-made artificial diet containing 30% protein for 4-5 months before onset of breeding season. The breeders were induced with hormone HCG (Male 1250 IU/kg and female 2000 IU/kg), PG (Male 10 mg/kg and female 70 mg/kg), HCG 1250 IU/kg for male and PG 70 mg/kg for female, PG 10 mg/kg for male and HCG 2000 IU/kg for female for treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. The brood fishes were injected with a single dose. When the brood fishes were injected with HCG the breeding behavior was exhibited quickly and perhaps males lost most of their milt before the ovulation of female and resulting less fertilization rate (84%) in T1. Whereas, the male and female fishes were injected with PG the eggs and milt released at the contemporary times, resulting highest fertilization rate (95%) in T2. In other combination there was some variation of synchronization of releasing eggs and milt. Fertilization rate was 84%, 95%, 80% and 89% and hatching rate was 81.40%, 93%, 89% and 68.90% in treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. The incubation periods for fertilized eggs were 22-24 hrs in all treatments. Higher fertilization rate (95%) and hatching rate (93%) were found in case of PG-PG combinations in T2. For induced breeding of H. fossilis a dose of PG 10 mg/kg body weight of male and 70 mg/kg body weight of female in T2 was found to be most effective among the combinations of hormones used.
Application of marker-assisted backcrossing to improve cowpea (Vignaunguiculata L. Walp) for drought tolerance

Molecular-assisted backcrossing (MABC) was used to introgress drought tolerance, Striga and root-knot nematode resistance QTLs into a farmer-preferred widely grown cowpea landrace adapted for intercropping in Burkina Faso. Two backcross populations were developed using two drought tolerant donor lines IT93K-503-1 (nematode resistant) and IT97K-499-35 (Striga resistant) and the drought sensitive landrace Moussa Local as the recurrent parent. A set of 184 genomewide EST-derived SNP markers spanning an average of 2-cM intervals and flanking known trait positions was employed for genotyping the backcross progenies using the cowpea KASP genotyping platform. BC1F1 individual plants that were heterozygous for SNPs associated with drought tolerance, Striga and/or nematode resistance (foreground SNPs) and carried as many recurrent-parent alleles as possible at other SNP loci (background SNPs) were selected for the next backcross cycle. This process was repeated to produce BC3F1 families of each donor population. The six best families from the two donors based on marker aided selection and preliminary yield performance under well-watered and water-restricted field trials and Striga resistance screening were selfed to increase seed (BC3F2) for further yield tests. This study demonstrated the high efficiency of using SNP markers in foreground and background marker selection in a MABC scheme to improve a widely grown cowpea variety by adding drought tolerance and biotic stress resistance traits. Key words: Molecular-assisted backcrossing (MABC), drought tolerance, Striga, root-knot nematode, QTLs, EST-derived SNP markers, cowpea.
Acquisition of Spanish Voiceless Stops in Extended Stays Abroad

Acquisition of Spanish Voiceless Stops in Extended Stays Abroad Mary Williams Crane Department of Spanish and Portuguese, BYU Master of Arts Although English and Spanish both have the voiceless stops /ptk/, they differ in VOT; English has long-lag voiceless stops and Spanish has short-lag. This difference means that native English-speaking learners of Spanish are likely to transfer the long voice lag typical of their first language (L1) to Spanish voiceless stops. This study measured the VOT of 20 native English-speaking learners of Spanish, each with a length of residence (LOR) in a Spanish-speaking country of almost 2 years. The study participants were found to produce voiceless stops intermediate to the averages of their L1 (American English) and L2 (Spanish), with some speakers producing voiceless stops with the range observed for Spanish. A significant main effect on VOT was found for all the variables of linguistic context tested: place of articulation, word-initial vs. -internal position, stress, preceding segment and following segment. A significant main effect was also found for speech style, percentage of communication done in Spanish with native Spanish speakers while abroad, years of formal L2 instruction prior to stay abroad, and time spent each week speaking Spanish with native speakers since their return home. While the extra-linguistic variables are correlated with more target-like VOT, the amount of communication done in the L2 with other native English L2 learners of Spanish was correlated with longer VOTs, i.e. less target-like VOTs, possibly due to reinforcement of L1 transfer habits.
Generic and special constructions of pure O‐sequences

It is shown that the h ‐vectors of Stanley–Reisner rings of three classes of matroids are pure O‐sequences. The classes are (a) matroids that are truncations of matroids, or more generally of Cohen–Macaulay complexes, (b) matroids whose dual is (rank+2) ‐partite, and (c) matroids of Cohen–Macaulay type at most 5. Consequences for the computational search for a counterexample to a conjecture of Stanley are discussed.
Rheological characterization of coffee-flavored yogurt with different types of thickener

ABSTRACT: Yogurt is a functional food that has great demand due to the consumer’s search for a healthier diet. In order to expand the consumer market of this product, many fl avors are available, satisfying the most varied preferences. Besides the taste attribute, consistency and viscosity of yogurt are some of the main factors involved in product quality and acceptance. Therefore, this work is a study of the infl uence of concentration of thickener in coffee-fl avored yogurt. The thickener agent used was gelatin. The rheological behavior (fl ow and viscosity curves) of yogurts with and without addition of gelatin was compared with commercial yogurt, which contains another type of thickener (locust bean gum) in its formulation. The fl ow and viscosity curves were obtained from rotational rheometer Thermo Haake Mars, with a range of shear rate from 0.02 to 100 s -1 (rising curve) and 100 to 0.02 s -1 (descendent curve) at a total time of 20 minutes. Hysteresis was determined as the area between the curves and adjusted to the models of Bingham, Casson, Herschel-Bulkley and Ostwald-de-Waele. Were also carried out tests of thixotropy, by measuring the viscosity as a function of time at a constant rate of 100 s -1 for 10 minutes. These curves were adjusted by the Weltman model. All samples showed pseudoplastic and thixotropic behavior. The Herschel-Bulkley model was the best fi t to the three samples tested. The Weltman’s model well described the thixotropy tests, except for the sample of commercial yogurt. The use of gelatin as a thickener showed protective character, reducing the structural break of the gel.
The Learners' Satisfaction of E-learning: A Review Article

The present study was conducted with the aim of "evaluation of the evidence on students' satisfaction of e-learning and the impact of key factors upon e-learning and their usefulness in teaching. " The present systematic review was done on 16 studies from around the world. The inclusion criteria were: use of the specified terminology in the title, designing research, and searching the database of Medline, Elsevier, Proquest, Google, Google Scholar, SID, MagIran. In order to determine the quality of quantitative researches, the scale of Jaddad et al was used. The results indicated that factors influencing the learners' satisfaction of e-learning were divided into three categories: the factors related to the learner, to the instructor (curriculum designing, , and to the management and technical support. In order to increase the learners' tendency toward using this method, the effective factors should be studied and based on which this method be used.
Younger Middle Terrace – Saalian pre-Drenthe deposits overlying MIS 7 Nachtigall interglacial strata near Höxter/ Weser, NW-Germany

In einer Subrosionsstruktur uber Evaporiten des Oberen Buntsandstein sind im Bergland am Oberlauf der Weser zwischen Hoxter und Holzminden pleistozane warm- und kuhlzeitliche „Tone“- und „Torfe“ erhalten geblieben. Sie trennen hier kaltzeitliche Terrassen-Kiese und -Sande der Weser. Als Rohstoff wurden sie in dem kleinen Tagebau Nachtigall abgebaut. Aus Bohrungen, die 1997/98 zur Erkundung der Lagerstatte u.a. als Rammkernbohrungen niedergebracht wurden, standen fur geowissenschaftliche Untersuchungen 33 m nahezu durchgehende Kernstrecke zur Verfugung. Daraus konnten 13,5 m fur sedimentologische, palynostratigraphische und radiochronologische Untersuchungen ausgewahlt werden. Diese warm- und kuhlklimatischen Ablagerungen wurden als Nachtigall-Complex zusammengefasst und 2011 von zwei Autorengruppen des Projekts in zwei methodisch unterschiedlichen Artikeln veroffentlicht. Als geologischer Rahmen wurden 25 km2 Flussniederungs- und Hanglandschaft seit 1994 lithostratigraphisch und strukturgeologisch mit dem hier vorgelegten Ergebnis analysiert. Die zuvor schon bekannte Subrosionsstruktur erwies sich als z.T. von Storungen begrenzt. Die wichtigsten pleistozanen Kartiereinheiten sind die Sedimentkorper von 4 Flussterrassen; nach abnehmendem Alter sind dies: – jungste der Oberterrassen, nicht abgesunken – Altere Mittelterrasse (AMT), abgesunken – Jungere Mittelterrasse, nicht abgesunken – Niederterrasse, z.T. auf Schichten der abgesunkenen AMT. Die Schichten des Nachtigall-Complex liegen direkt uber Schichten der AMT und werden von Schichten der Jungeren Mittelterrasse diskordant uberlagert; sie sind abgesunken und verformt. Auserhalb des Untersuchungsgebietes wird die AMT – ihrer Lage in der Terrassentreppe gemas – dem Marinen Isotopen-Stadium MIS 8 im unteren Teil des Saale-Komplex zugeordnet, die Jungere Mittelterrasse dem alteren Abschnitt von MIS 6 im tiefen oberen Teil des Saale-Komplex vor dem Drenthe-Stadium. Damit wird das sowohl palynostratigraphisch als auch radiometrisch ermittelte MIS 7-Alter des zwischen beiden liegenden jungst definierten Nachtigall 1 Interglazial lithostratigraphisch gestutzt.
Fungivorous beetles in basidiocarps of Fomes fomentarius respond differently to microhabitat variables

This study investigates the influence of microhabitat on the presence of several species of fungivorous beetles in basidiocarps of Fomes fomentarius (L.) Kickx. All dead basidiocarps of F. fomentarius from fragments of forest in an agricultural landscape in Norway were sampled and dissected, and their content of Cisjacquemarti Mellie, 1848/C. alter (Silvferberg, 1991) (did not distinguish between individuals of these two species), C. bidentatus (Olivier, 1790), C. lineatocribratus Mellie, 1848, Ennearthron cornutum (Gyllenhal, 1827) (Ciidae) and Dorcatoma dresdensis Herbst, 1792 (Anobiidae) were identified. Multiple logistic regression models revealed that these species responded differently to the microhabitat variables. The incidence of these beetles was associated with the size (volume), position (height above ground) and moisture content of the basidiocarps. The analyses also indi­ cated possible interspecific interactions between some of the beetles. The presence of some of the species mainly in basidiocarps at particular stages of degradation indicates a successional pattern of occurrence of these species. Together these results indicate that basidiocarps of F. fomentarius are a heterogeneous resource for fungivorous beetles. This has implications for conservation: To pre­ serve the diversity of fungivores, sufficient dead wood has to be left in forests to assure an adequate supply of F. fomentarius basidiocarps of different quality.
Effectof naturalventilationonthe boundarylayerseparation and near-wakevortexsheddingcharacteristicsof a sphere

Experiments were conducted in water and wind tunnels on spheres in the Reynolds number range 6 x 103to 6.5 X 105 to study the effect of natural ventilation on the boundary layer separation and near-wake vortex shedding characteristics. In the subcritical range of Re «2 x 105), ventilation caused a marginal downstream shift in the location oflaminar boundary layer separation; there was only a small change in the vortex shedding frequency. In the supercritical range (Re > 4 x 105), ventilation caused a downstream shift in the mean locations of boundary layer separation and reattachment; these lines showed significant axisymmetry in the presence of venting. No distinct vortex shedding frequency was found. Instead, a dramatic reduc~ tion occurred in the wake unsteadiness at all frequencies. The reduction of wake unsteadiness is consistent with the reduction in total drag already reported. Based on the present results and those reported earlier, the effects of natural ventilation on the flow past a sphere can be categorized in two broad regimes, viz., weak and strong interaction regimes. In the weak interaction regime (sub critical Re), the broad features of the basic sphere are largely unaltered despite the large addition of mass in the near wake. Strong interaction is promoted by the closer proximity of the inner and outer shear layers at supercritical Re. This results in a modified and steady near-wake flow, characterized by reduced unsteadiness and small drag.
Age-specific incidence of malignancy in relation to the epigenetic model of cancer progression

Numerical and analytic calculations of the per cell probability of undergoing malignant transformation utilising realistic estimates of mutation frequencies are shown to be consistent with the proposal that the initiating event of carcinogenesis is the result of mutations causing defective vertical transmission of epigenetic gene silencing and that carcinogenic progression embodies multiple genetic derangements resulting from this, suggesting that the Epigenetic Theory of Cancer Progression provides a satisfactory explanation for the observed hypermutability of malignant tumours.
Psychographic determinants of private-label adoption: a feasibility study in the Portuguese yogurt market Determinantes psicográficos da adoção da marca do distribuidor: um estudo no mercado português de iogurtes

This study seeks to point out the main psychographic determinants of private-label brand proneness in a specific industry: the Portuguese yogurt market. This is a booming industry for store brands in Portugal, which account for nearly half of the total market share. An in-depth interview was held with a sales and marketing expert of the leading yogurt company in Portugal. Next, we conducted a survey targeting consumers of yogurt. Based on the results of a Tobit regression, we conclude that consumers base their decisions about private label versus national brands on three different types of variables: price-related variables, quality-related variables and variables related to involvement with the product category. Managerial implications are also discussed.
Currie, Sandra L. and Beattie, Tara K. (2015) Compost and Legionella longbeachae : an emerging infection? Perspectives

4 Human disease caused by Legionella species is dominated by Legionella pneumophila, the main 5 causative agent in cases of Legionnaires’ disease. However other species are known to cause infection, 6 e.g. Legionella longbeachae causes an equivalent number of cases of disease as L. pneumophila in 7 Australia and New Zealand. Infection with L. longbeachae is commonly associated with exposure to 8 composts and potting soils, and cases of infection with this organism have been increasing in Europe 9 over the past 10 years. The increase in incidence may be linked to factors such as increased awareness 10 of clinical presentation, or due to changing formulation of growing media, although it should be noted 11 that the presence of Legionella species in growing media does not correlate with the number of cases 12 currently seen. This is likely due to the variables associated with infection, for example, host factors such 13 as smoking or underlying health conditions, or difference in growing media storage or climate, 14 especially warm humid conditions, which may affect survival and growth of these organisms in the 15 growing media environment. There are numerous unknowns in this area and collaboration between 16 growing media manufacturers and researchers, as well as more awareness among diagnosing clinicians, 17 laboratory staff and the general public is necessary to reduce risk. More research is needed before 18 definitive conclusions can be drawn: L. pneumophila research currently dominates the field and it is 19 likely that the overreliance on diagnostic techniques such as the Urinary Antigen Test which is specific 20 for L. pneumophila Sg 1, is detrimental to the diagnosis of L. longbeachae infection. 21
Kinetics of HMX and Phase Transitions: Effects of Grain Size at Elevated Temperature

To date a global kinetic rate law has not been written to accurately describe solid-solid phase transformations of HMX and TATB where contributions from grain size effects, binder contents, and impurity levels are explicitly defined. Our recent work presented at the 2001 SCCM topical APS meeting, Atlanta, GA, demonstrated one can not confidently use the second harmonic generation (SHG) diagnostic to study energetic material phase transitions where non-uniform grain size distributions are present. For example, in HMX, the early arrival of SHG before the XRD in the SHG/XRD simultaneous high temperature experiment clearly indicates the partial molecular conversion from centrosymmetric to non-centrosymmetric without any structural changes as exhibit by the XRD pattern. This conversion is attributed to the changes of the surface molecules due to the differences in potential between the surface and the bulk. The present paper reports on accurate XRD measurements following changes of {beta}-HMX to {delta}-HMX at elevated temperature. The results are compared for sample with 2 different grain sizes for HMX. We report accurate temperature dependent lattice parameters and hence volume and linear thermal expansion coefficients along each crystallographic axis. We have also conducted kinetic studies of the behavior of 2 grain-sizes of HMX and concludedmore » that their kinetics, are drastically different. « less
BLENDED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: POSSIBILITIES AND CONSTRAINTS

This paper discusses the content of the interactions that emerged in an academic writing course for learners of English designed in a blended learning format. Drawing on Complexity Theories, it focuses on learners' interaction and collaboration in peer-review activities both in face-to- face and online asynchronous classes. Rather than directly comparing the learning environments this research focuses on their possibilities and constraints as well as on the value of combining them.