Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dialogue as a source of positive emotions during cross-border post-acquisition socio-cultural integration

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how dialogue can be used to promote post-acquisition socio-cultural integration. Specifically, it addresses questions regarding when and how companies can utilise dialogue to generate positivity regarding socio-cultural integration. Design/methodology/approach A single case study approach was adopted owing to its suitability for creating in-depth understanding in the context of socio-cultural integration. Primary data were collected via interviews, an employee satisfaction survey, and participant observation. Secondary data were obtained from the case company’s internal materials, such as strategies, integration workflows, and employee magazines. Analysis methods included descriptive statistics and thematic qualitative analysis. Findings The findings suggest that dialogue can be used to create positivity regarding socio-cultural integration throughout the stages of unfreezing, moving, and refreezing by actively engaging employees in voicing, listening, respecting, and suspending. It is proposed that cultural conflict during post-acquisition socio-cultural integration can be overcome through the generation of positivity; dialogue enables the collective management of emotions during post-acquisition integration by offering a platform for creating positivity and social cohesion; and due to its collaborative and engaging nature, dialogue provides an especially effective means of communication for overcoming cross-cultural conflict. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to showcase dialogue as a specific means of communication for creating positivity during cross-border socio-cultural integration. This study reached beyond comparative cultural research to offer views on positivity, emotion during socio-cultural integration, and dialogue as means for overcoming cross-cultural conflict.
Effect of potassium and secondary nutrients on the essential oil and oleoresin contents in kacholam (Kaempferia galanga L.)

Kacholam ( Kaempferia galanga L.) is an important medicinal and aromatic oil yielding plant of Kerala. A study was conducted in the College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, to identify the role of secondary elements, viz., sulphur, calcium and magnesium, on the qualitative components of the rhizomes of kacholam. Twelve treatments including the package of practices recommendations for kacholam, and combinations of the same with sulphur, calcium and magnesium were applied in the crop in a randomized block design withy three replications. Top dressing of sulphur and magnesium resulted in higher rhizome yields (8.56 and 8.24 t ha-1). Sulphur application also resulted in higher oleoresin and essential oil contents. Higher sulphur and calcium contents in rhizomes were related to application of these elements. Path co-efficient analysis revealed that the secondary nutrients play a decisive role in the development of oleoresin and essential oil in kacholam.
Dietary pattern as a predictor of colorectal cancer among general health population in Arusha Tanzania: A population based descriptive study

Proper diet is important in preventing many diseases, and colorectal cancer is no exception. The aim of this study was to identify major dietary patterns among the general population in Arusha Tanzania to determine whether diet is one of the predictors contributing to the observed pattern and distribution of colorectal cancer in Tanzania. A population based cross-sectional study recruited a sample of self-reported healthy individuals residing in four wards of the City of Arusha, Tanzania. A total of 549 participants were recruited on a voluntary basis. The Food Frequency Questionnaire and the World Health Organization (WHO) Step® survey tool were used to collect data. Factor analysis, Pearson correlation (Pearson’s r), and logistic regression were used to analyze the data.Two major dietary patterns, namely “healthy” and “western”, and one minor pattern existed among the study population. The "healthy" pattern was generally associated with females (56.2%, p=0.074), people with primary level of education (62.7%, p=0.667), age category of 25 to 44 (66.3%, p= 0.370), normal range body mass index (BMI) (42.4%, p=0.967), self-employed (78.5%), non-smokers (86.6%) and non-alcohol drinkers (51%), although the differences were not statistically significant. "Western" dietary pattern adherence was associated with area of residence (p=0.0001), gender (p=0.003) and BMI status (p=0.04) in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, higher odds were observed in individuals aged 25 to 34 (OR=1.104, 95%, CI(0.537-2.2267) and 45 to 54 OR=1.091, 95%, CI(0.521-2.283), alcohol drinkers (OR=1.2, 95%, CI(0.767-1.877), people with college or high levels of education (OR=0. 853, 95%, CI(0.260-2.803) and OR=0.550, 95%,CI(0. 159-1.897), smokers (OR=1.030, 95%, CI(0.519-2.044) and overweight or obese (OR=2.676, 95%, CI(0.981-7.298) and OR=2.045, 95%, CI(0.767-5.454). These data support our previous hypothesis that diet could be an important potential predictor of the previously observed pattern and distribution of colorectal cancer in Tanzania. Key words: Diet, colon cancer, rectal cancer, Tanzania, population.
Forthcoming: Review of Financial Studies Determinants of Trader Profits in Commodity Futures Markets

Using proprietary energy futures position data, we provide evidence that mean hedger profits are negative while speculator (especially hedge fund) profits are positive; that speculators and hedgers who hold long (short) positions when likely hedgers in aggregate are net short (long) have higher profits than traders whose net positions align with likely hedgers; and that profits on long positions vary inversely with inventories and directly with price volatility. These findings are consistent with the risk premium, hedging pressure, and modern theory of storage hypotheses, respectively. Further, our findings suggest that commodity futures momentum may be due largely to hedging pressure. (JEL G12, G13, G18, Q40)
Cotton and fiber quality in function of picker harvest speed

ABSTRACT Cotton price is determined by the quality of the fiber, which can be damaged at the time of harvest, in addition to quantitative losses of non-harvested plume. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse soil and plant losses, and the quality of cotton fiber in relation to five harvest speeds (5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 km h-1) in the spindle system (picker). The experiment was conducted in Lucas do Rio Verde, Mato Grosso, Brazil. A randomized complete block design was used on plots of 0.9 ha, with 20 plot, five speeds, and four blocks. The results showed that the studied speeds did not significantly influence losses on the soil and plant, or the quality of the cotton fiber; therefore, the highest speed may be recommended.
Pore morphology of polar firn around closure revealed by X-ray tomography

Abstract. Understanding the slow densification process of polar firn into ice is essential in order to constrain the age difference between the ice matrix and entrapped gases. The progressive microstructure evolution of the firn column with depth leads to pore closure and gas entrapment. Air transport models in the firn usually include a closed porosity profile based on available data. Pycnometry or melting–refreezing techniques have been used to obtain the ratio of closed to total porosity and air content in closed pores, respectively. X-ray-computed tomography is complementary to these methods, as it enables one to obtain the full pore network in 3-D. This study takes advantage of this nondestructive technique to discuss the morphological evolution of pores on four different Antarctic sites. The computation of refined geometrical parameters for the very cold polar sites Dome C and Lock In (the two Antarctic plateau sites studied here) provides new information that could be used in further studies. The comparison of these two sites shows a more tortuous pore network at Lock In than at Dome C, which should result in older gas ages in deep firn at Lock In. A comprehensive estimation of the different errors related to X-ray tomography and to the sample variability has been performed. The procedure described here may be used as a guideline for further experimental characterization of firn samples. We show that the closed-to-total porosity ratio, which is classically used for the detection of pore closure, is strongly affected by the sample size, the image reconstruction, and spatial heterogeneities. In this work, we introduce an alternative parameter, the connectivity index, which is practically independent of sample size and image acquisition conditions, and that accurately predicts the close-off depth and density. Its strength also lies in its simple computation, without any assumption of the pore status (open or close). The close-off prediction is obtained for Dome C and Lock In, without any further numerical simulations on images (e.g., by permeability or diffusivity calculations).
QUANTITATIVE EXAMINATION OF TRAFFIC CONFLICTS

Traffic conflict studies have been undertaken in many countries to examine the level of safety on road intersections. Most of these studies involve some form of conflict counts based on rather subjective observations of traffic interactions. An objective way of defining conflicts is proposed along with two conflict measures. Instead of relying on conflict counts, the method uses the probability distribution of the conflict severity measures to derive the probability of a serious conflict. To do this, the severity of each conflict is obtained by first identifying the most serious instant of conflict occurrence according to the proposed measures. The method was applied by examining the relevant data from traffic movements at a merging area on an expressway.
STRUCTURE AND DIVERSITY OF THE THREE PLANT ASSOCIATIONS IN THE SAN JUAN RIVER DELTA, CHOCÓ, COLOMBIA

The forests of the Pacific Coasts of Choco are timber suppliers for Colombia. The floodable plant associations have been poorly investigated. To contribute with ecological basis for their management, the aim of this study was to learn about the differences between the forests of three physiographies and how the flood level explains them, comparing these forests with other of the neotropic. Three parcels of 0.5 ha were stablished y and individuals with DBH ≥ 10 cm were measured. The most common species is Oenocarpus bataua in well drained zones and Campnosperma panamensis in permanently flooded or swamp. The principal components analysis separated the three communities; the first and the second components explained 48% and 26% of the total variation, respectively. There is a high species richness and density of small and medium tall trees in the terrace and hill, in contrast with the low richness in the swamp zone with hyperdominance of one species and a bigger basal area. The dominance of species well adapted to stress caused by hydric excess in the swamp evidenced an environmental filter, that determines a composition and structure particular in the swamp. The studied forests have particular characteristics that differentiate them from other forests of low tropical lands, in particular, a high tree density, less species richness and lower mean wood density compared with Amazonia forests.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATION WITH EARNING MANAGEMENT PRACTICES : A META-ANALYSIS APPROACH

This paper aims to investigate the association between firm’s corporate governance and financial attributes (namely, board of directors’ size, board of directors’ independence, chief executive officer (CEO) duality, ownership structure, audit type, firm’s size, firm’s return and leverage) with earnings management practices. The study applies a comprehensive meta-analysis of the findings of 25 journal articles published between 2003 and 2013. The analysis permits this research to accumulate and assimilate the results of previous literature, and their generalization to a wider range of settings. The results showed that all corporate governance and financial characteristics variables have a significant association with earnings management practices.
The Forward-Backward-Forward Method from discrete and continuous perspective for pseudo-monotone variational inequalities in Hilbert Spaces

Tseng's forward-backward-forward algorithm is a valuable alternative for Korpelevich's extragradient method when solving variational inequalities over a convex and closed set governed by monotone and Lipschitz continuous operators, as it requires in every step only one projection operation. However, it is well-known that Korpelevich's method is provable convergent and thus applicable when solving variational inequalities governed by a pseudo-monotone and Lipschitz continuous operator. In this paper we prove that Tseng's method converges also when it is applied to the solving of pseudo-monotone variational inequalities. In addition, we show that linear convergence is guaranteed under strong pseudo-monotonicity. We also associate a dynamical system to the pseudo-monotone variational inequality and carry out an asymptotic analysis for the generated trajectories. Numerical experiments show that Tseng's method outperforms Korplelevich's extragradient method when applied to the solving of pseudo-monotone variational inequalities and fractional programming problems.
Domestic Wastewater Treatment using Vetiver Grass Cultivated with Floating Platform Technique

This study was aimed to examine the efficiencies of Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash cultivated with floating platform technique to treat domestic wastewater. The study was divided into three phases of eight weeks each, using 7-, 5- and 3-d hydraulic retention time (HRT), respectively. Two different control parameters including vetiver ecotypes (‘Songkhla 3’, ‘Surat Thani’ and no plant as control) and wastewater strengths (HCW: high concentration wastewater, and LCW: low concentration wastewater) were examined. The average HCW influent contained 90.12-94.88 mg/L BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), 41.025-52.806 mg/L TN (total nitrogen) and 5.892-6.657 mg/L TP (total phosphorus), whereas the average of LWC were 44.28-58.92, 34.731-42.144 and 4.8385. 482 mg/L, respectively. The results indicated that the treatment efficiencies of different HRT and wastewater concentrations were significantly different. The 7-d HRT showed highest treatment efficiency. The treatment efficiencies of BOD, TN and TP in HCW were higher than in LCW, with the average of 90.5-91.5, 61.0-62.5 and 17.8-35.9%, respectively. The treatment efficiencies of ‘Songkhla 3’ and ‘Surat Thani’ ecotypes were not significantly different. However, the treatment efficiencies of BOD and TP of ‘Surat Thani’ were slightly higher than ‘Songkhla 3’. The biomass increment of ‘Surat Thani’ in LCW was higher than in HCW, whereas Songkhla 3 showed the opposite trend. Thus, the overall results suggested that the optimal condition of this technique should be designed at 7-d HRT and planted with ‘Surat Thani’ ecotype. However, if wastewater contained high nutrients, ‘Songkhla 3’ ecotype should be planted.
New evidence of a tropical mean 1 K stratospheric bias in radiosonde temperatures in the 1980s from an intercomparison of (un)adjusted radiosonde data, ERA-40 reanalyses and MSU retrievals

The discrepancy between global mean temperature series from homogenized radiosondes and temperature series derived from Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) radiances is a long standing problem in upper air climatology. This paper provides new evidence that the gradual cooling of tropical and global mean lower stratospheric radiosonde temperatures compared to satellite data since the early 1980s is the composite effect of shifts with size larger than 0.5K in individual radiosonde time series. The breaks have been detected with an automatic method (RAdiosonde OBservation COrrection using REanalyses RAOBCORE). The differences between satellite products and time series of ERA-40+ECMWF background forecasts (BG) are much smaller, on the order 0.2K, even on regional (10◦ × 10◦) scales. The warm bias of radiosondes in the 1980s is estimated 0.6±0.2K in the global mean, and 1.0±0.3K in the tropical (20◦S-20◦N) mean for the MSU lower stratosphere (LS) equivalent layer. A similar comparison for MSU-3 (upper tropospheric) layer mean temperatures yielded radiosonde temperature biases of 0.35± 0.1K in the global mean and 0.5± 0.2K in the tropical mean in the late 1980s RAOBCORE uses the BG data as reference for homogenization. The consistency of the BG with MSU satellite products from 1987 onwards is quite high although it has been created with substantially different algorithms for assimilating the radiances. Only before 1987 some shifts in the global mean have been detected that must be removed before using the BG as reference for homogenization. Due to the better understanding of the background behaviour, the uncertainty estimates for the homogenized radiosonde dataset could be reduced compared to a recent paper on RAOBCORE. The resulting adjusted radiosonde time series are in much better agreement with satellite data than was the case in recent satellite-radiosonde intercomparisons. At high latitudes sizeable seasonally varying differences between individual radiosondes and satellite data remain after homogenization. These are partly related to seasonal variations of the daytime radiation error, which are not adjusted by RAOBCORE. Still existing
Comparison of Subantarctic Mode Water and Antarctic Intermediate Water formation rates in the South Pacific between NCAR‐CCSM4 and observations

Average formation rates for Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) in the South Pacific are calculated from the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate System Model version 4 (NCAR‐CCSM4), using chlorofluorocarbon inventories (CFC‐12). When compared to observations, CCSM4 accurately simulates the southeast Pacific as the main formation region for SAMW and AAIW. Formation rates for SAMW in CCSM4 are 3.4 sverdrup (Sv), about half of the observational rate, due in part to shallow mixed layers, a thinner SAMW layer, and insufficient meridional transport. A formation rate of 8.1 Sv for AAIW in CCSM4 is higher than observations due to higher inventories in the southwest and central Pacific and surface concentrations within CCSM4. Also, a lack of data in the southwest Pacific may bias the observational rate low. This model‐observation comparison is useful for understanding the uptake and transport of other gases, e.g., CO2 by the model.
Background documents on three key elements of the electronics manufacturing sector: semiconductors, printed wiring (circuit) boards and TFT-LCD screens

Introduction and summary We live in an age of electronics. In the industrialised world, and increasingly in industrialising nations, our daily lives revolve more and more around the use of a variety of electronic consumer goods, from mobile phones and entertainment devices to desktop and laptop computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs). At the point of sale, electronic goods have a very clean and energyand material efficient image compared with many other consumer goods. But behind the products lie the lifecycles of a myriad chemicals, materials and components which are all too often far from clean and efficient.
Rhetorical Clash between Chinese and Westerners

Based on the relativity of rhetorical theories, the author argues that the standards of rhetoric in the West, which have a unitary development since their identification by Aristotle, are not universals. This conclusion is justified by exemplifying differences in rhetorical philosophy and practices as manifested in different rhetorical tradition between Chinese and Westerners. The author ventures that there are as many rhetorical similarities as there are differences. These rhetorical similarities are chiefly reflected in written forms rather than oral forms.
Regulation of the germination of Rhus coriaria, a post‐fire pioneer, by heat, ash, pH, water potential and ethylene

Germination percentage was increased by ash cover of 1.2 and 2.4 kg m 2 (1 and 2 cm, respectively) but inhibited by ash microsites are characterized by improved nutrition and low competition. cover of 6.0 kg m 2 (5 cm). Wet pine ash from a recently burned forest had pH of 10 and Cp of 0.26 MPa.
Network Neuroscience and Personality

Abstract Personality and individual differences originate from the brain. Despite major advances in the affective and cognitive neurosciences, however, it is still not well understood how personality and single personality traits are represented within the brain. Most research on brain-personality correlates has focused either on morphological aspects of the brain such as increases or decreases in local gray matter volume, or has investigated how personality traits can account for individual differences in activation differences in various tasks. Here, we propose that personality neuroscience can be advanced by adding a network perspective on brain structure and function, an endeavor that we label personality network neuroscience. With the rise of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the establishment of connectomics as a theoretical framework for structural and functional connectivity modeling, and recent advancements in the application of mathematical graph theory to brain connectivity data, several new tools and techniques are readily available to be applied in personality neuroscience. The present contribution introduces these concepts, reviews recent progress in their application to the study of individual differences, and explores their potential to advance our understanding of the neural implementation of personality. Trait theorists have long argued that personality traits are biophysical entities that are not mere abstractions of and metaphors for human behavior. Traits are thought to actually exist in the brain, presumably in the form of conceptual nervous systems. A conceptual nervous system refers to the attempt to describe parts of the central nervous system in functional terms with relevance to psychology and behavior. We contend that personality network neuroscience can characterize these conceptual nervous systems on a functional and anatomical level and has the potential do link dispositional neural correlates to actual behavior.
Communities of Endophytic Fungi in Leaves of a Tropical Timber Tree (Guarea guidonia: Meliaceae) 1

Endophytes are microorganisms that live inside plant tissues without causing symptoms of disease. They are a largely unexplored component of biodiversity, especially in the tropics. In this study, leaves from two populations of Guarea guidonia trees (Meliaceae) in the Luquillo region, Puerto Rico, were screened for diversity and composition of en‐dophytic fungal communities. A total of 268 leaf fragments from 14 trees were surveyed. Thirty‐eight morphospecies of endophytes were found. Phomopsis, Colletotrichum, Xylaria, and Rhizoctonia‐iike fungi were the most abundant taxa. Over 95 percent of the leaf pieces had endophytes. Communities had a few abundant species and many species with few individuals. The fungal community from the Guarea population in a forest preserve was more diverse than that from a disturbed area. Fungal communities were stratified according to height within a tree, but no differences were found between blade, petiolule, and rachis. The data suggest that the smaller and the more scattered the plant fragments sampled, the higher the probability of approaching real diversity values of endophytic fungal communities.